CHARITIES are often grateful for support from the community.

Donations and volunteering can be a lifeline for many.

But one charity has been doing its bit to give support back to the community.

Acorn Village is a charity for adults with learning disabilities and the work of some of its residents has brought colour into a dull world by sprucing up rural railway stations with flowers, murals and artwork.

Essex and South Suffolk Community Rail Partnership has now been working with the Mistley-based charity for four years.

Terri Ryland, community rail officer with the partnership, and Kate Williams, who is the development co-ordinator of Acorn Village, have been working together to transform the lives of Acorn Village residents while enhancing stations.

Over the past four years, the partnership has helped the residents produce artwork for Manningtree Railway Station’s underpass and create a mural of the Mayflower Ship to mark the 400th anniversary of its sailing to America, taking the Pilgrim Fathers to the New World.

One of the Acorn Village residents who has been helping Terri with the work is Morag, who is now the star of a video which champions the benefits of the partnership.

Terri has been helping Morag gain more confidence and independence by giving her a role in the community rail project.

During that time she has helped put posters up at stations, carried out some gardening and helped put on special event trains by decorating the carriages and giving out treats to passengers on board.

The murals and artwork some of the other residents have created are also featured in the video.

Terri said: “It makes such a huge difference to us, and such a huge different to Morag.

“We’re always looking at new ways we can work together for the benefit of the residents and the whole community.

“The railway offers an excellent place for community projects to flourish and we are grateful to have Greater Anglia’s support for our initiatives.”

She added: “We’ve been working with Acorn Village for about four years and it’s really evolved

“It’s been really good because it’s the people here who have created what they wanted to create, starting with the murals in the tunnel.”

Kate said: “To actually be able to give something back to the community is a great achievement.

“We get a lot of support from the community so for Morag to be able to go out there and give back by helping on the trains, helping hand out flyers, doing the gardens, which the community appreciates, it makes such a difference.”

The partnership has also seen Acorn Village’s residents take part in rail safety training, learning how to use platforms safely and buy tickets.

They also give valuable feedback to rail operator Greater Anglia on how to make travel easier for people with learning disabilities.

This has led to a number of changes including alterations to the positioning of the station help buttons to make them easier to reach.

Greater Anglia’s community and customer engagement manager Alan Neville said: “The partnership is a wonderful example of a project with real community benefit and we are delighted to be a part of that.

“Long may it continue to offer new opportunities to the residents of Acorn Village.

“We are really grateful for their involvement at our stations and proud to display the fantastic art works that they create.”

To view the video visit, www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyivHvNTod8.