Skills Exchange: Helping St Faiths Sunflowers Bloom
At the heart of St Faiths, a new Facebook page is connecting neighbours, rallying volunteers, and growing local pride.
At the heart of St Faiths, a new Facebook page is connecting neighbours, rallying volunteers, and growing local pride. The ambition behind the St Faiths Community Volunteer Group, known as the Sunflowers, was always to build stronger community ties. Fiona, who founded the volunteer group in July 2024, knew the next step was to set up a dedicated Facebook page so they could build momentum across their community by sharing updates and calling on support. But taking that step felt daunting.
“I’d only joined Facebook for the Marketplace,” Fiona admits,“and I was really unsure of how to set a page up properly. I didn’t want to get it wrong and risk harming the reputation of the group. I was worried about privacy, trolling, and whether I’d have the time or skills to manage it all.”
That’s where the Norfolk Community Foundation’s Good for Good programme came in. After attending an Ask Us About Marketing 1-to-1 with Creativity Unbound (hosted by the Foundation), Fiona left feeling inspired and reassured but apprehensive about her next steps. Seeking further support, Good for Good’s Lauren Birch directed her to our Skills Exchange programme, where she was paired with Sam Teal, the lead marketing professional at Gasway, one of Norfolk’s most established local employers.
The Power of the Right Match
From their very first meeting, Sam approached the challenge not just as a technical task, but as a way to build confidence.
“He asked me straightaway: ‘Why do you want to do this?’ That helped me really clarify our goals,” Fiona says. “Then he talked through all my concerns and reassured me we could do this step by step. I went away and created the page, gave him admin access so he could check it was safe, and we met again to go live.”
For Sam, the experience was just as rewarding.
“A lot of what I did was just create an environment that fostered confidence. Fiona already had a strong sense of what she wanted to achieve. She just needed some guidance and a bit of reassurance to get there,” he reflects.
“I’ve lived in Norfolk for 29 years and there are still parts of it I’m not 100% familiar with, it was interesting to learn about and integrate myself with a new community.”
More Than Just a Page
The result? A professional, active Facebook page that launched in June 2025, and a group that now has more tools to grow its mission.
“The best word I can use is invaluable,” says Fiona. “Sam didn’t just help me set something up. He gave me the confidence to do it safely, well, and with the support to keep going. Who knows, maybe one day he’ll convince me to try Instagram too!”
What’s more, Fiona now knows she’s not alone. Through the scheme, she now has a trusted contact she can turn to for future advice. That safety net means she can lead with more confidence — and that confidence spreads across the whole group.
“Without Sam, I wouldn’t have a live Facebook page today. It’s as simple as that.”
Why Skilled Volunteering Matters
For a local charity, skilled volunteering can be worth 7x as much as regular volunteering in terms of real value. For Sam, Good for Good offers a way to do more with what he already has and show that skilled volunteering isn’t just helpful for charities, but deeply fulfilling personally, too.
“It was great to see the real impact of just a couple of hours of input. We’re already thinking about how to support more groups like St Faiths in the future. It just makes sense.”
Norfolk Community Foundation’s Good for Good programme shows that sometimes, what communities need is confidence, support and a little bit of know-how. With skilled volunteers like Sam stepping up, groups like the St Faiths Sunflowers are flourishing, and so is the spirit of community that holds Norfolk together.
