Emmaus & Ostara: Making a Difference

At Ostara Systems we take pride in the charitable work conducted by our employees. One such person is Lesley, our Office Custodian.

Lesley started working with Ostara Systems in early 2024 and has quickly become a valued and well-respected member of the team, playing a vital role in day-to-day operations.

Lesley’s charitable work began with her previous employer, John Lewis, in which she applied to work part-time for the Emmaus organisation as part of the Golden Jubilee Award scheme. Lesley enjoyed her time so much with Emmaus that her charity work has extended beyond her agreement with John Lewis and continues today.

Emmaus seeks to provide meaningful employment for their “companions”, in exchange for room and board and an allowance. The companions are those that have experienced hardship, which generally involves homelessness and substance issues.

Lesley helps in running the Emmaus site in Bedfordshire, she volunteers every Tuesday and helps with operational requirements such as organising stock, cleaning and preparation of the store for the next day of trading.

Lesley describes her days at Emmaus as “packed full of laughs and joking”, she encourages others to do the same as her, but warns “be absolutely serious about it – you’ll be relied on”, which just highlights how important these activities are.

Emmaus is the most recent item on a long list of charitable work for Lesley, from litter-picking, to afternoon tea for the elderly, to running a charity shop fashion show. We are very proud to have an employee with such strong values and the drive to act on them.

More information about the wonderful work being done by Emmaus can be found here: https://emmaus.org.uk/