Once a week Jakob spends his free time volunteering at St Paul’s Church, Little Hulton to ensure the community has a safe space to visit their loved ones.
Jakob is part of a group of volunteers who are dedicated to cleaning and preserving the church grounds for the community all year round, despite the weather.
The young volunteer, Jakob Hesketh, 23, who lives locally, said: “We try to make sure they have a safe space so there’s no overgrown brambles, no trip hazards and just try to make it presentable.
“Whether it’s rain, sleet, snow, hail, thunder and lightning, summer, autumn, whatever the weather we go out. We have stuff to be doing.”
The group currently consists of five volunteers who range from the age of 23 to over 50s.
They meet every week on a Saturday 10am – 1pm at the church to perfect the grounds and graveyards by doing jobs varying from picking up any rubbish to cutting the grass.
Jakob is the youngest out of the group and is very keen to try to bring some positive light to the community.
He said: “For me it’s all about cheering up the community on the dark days.
“A lot of people say how bad little Hulton is, but it is shocking how many people go out doing gun crimes, knife crimes and stuff like that.
“But it’s just that little bit that Little Hulton doesn’t get any credit for. Which is the volunteers like myself and other people.”
He added: “It’s all down to us to make sure the community feels a lot better than they have been doing recently. ”
They are keen to keep people in the community informed of the work they are doing through Facebook on the group Little Hulton Now And Then.
Jakob said: “I will put it up just for people to see. If people are in the group but live abroad let’s say Canada or America and can’t come and see their relatives.”
The community in and around Little Hulton continue to praise Jakob and the group for their constant work in preserving the grounds of the church.
He added: “The feedback we have been getting is something else, at least 300 comments flying in on a group post in Little Hulton Now and Then and other community groups.
“It makes me feel happy that I have a community to back up and make the community as happy as the can be.”
You can come and see all the work Jakob and the team of volunteers are doing for the community at the church on the map below.
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