When Emmaus Cambridge first approached us to see whether Art of Clean could help in any way, I didn’t fully appreciate how much I was going to learn about what happens there.
What started with a conversation about cleaning some very tired carpets became an opportunity for us to see behind the scenes at Emmaus, meet some of the people there and understand just how much this community offers.
And, of course, it gave our technicians a challenge too!
How did Art of Clean get involved with Emmaus Cambridge?
We were approached to see whether we could do anything to improve some of the carpets in the walkways and hallways around the accommodation where the Emmaus companions live.
If you’ve never heard the term before, companions are the people who live within the Emmaus community.
When I first visited, I was shown around the site and got to see much more than just the carpets.
I saw the accommodation, communal areas and the huge amount of work that goes on behind the scenes.
That first visit made me realise that Emmaus is about so much more than providing accommodation.
So, when we returned to carry out the cleaning, I really wanted our video, and this blog… to show some of that too.
What does Emmaus Cambridge actually do?
While we were there, I had the chance to speak to Donna, CEO of Emmaus Cambridge, and ask her about the community and what they offer to the people who live there.
Something Donna said really stayed with me.
Emmaus is about giving people the opportunity to build their confidence, find purpose and gain life experience through work, companionship and social connection.
When you walk around the site, you can see this happening.
Companions might be working on the shop counter, helping in the warehouse, listing items on eBay, working within the coffee shop or helping with deliveries, collections and house clearances.
It’s a whole community working together.
A typical day starts together.
One of the things I found really interesting was hearing how each day begins.
Staff and companions come together for a morning meeting in the dining room at around 9 am.
They talk about what’s happening that day, who is available, what activities are taking place and where people will be working.
Everyone knows what’s happening and everyone has the opportunity to contribute.
On the day we visited, Art of Clean being on site was even part of that morning conversation.
You don’t necessarily appreciate it until you visit Emmaus yourself.
There is a lot happening there every single day.
A home for up to 45 people
Emmaus Cambridge has accommodation for up to 45 people at any one time.
Donna explained that the accommodation includes en-suite bedrooms as well as six modular pods on the site, which were donated by Hill.
People in the local community also help in ways you might never think about.
Donna told us about one donor who sends brand-new bed linen whenever a new companion arrives, along with other items to help make their stay comfortable.
I absolutely loved hearing that.
It demonstrates that helping doesn’t always have to mean doing something enormous.
Sometimes it’s simply looking at what somebody needs and asking what you can do.
And that’s really what we were trying to do with this project too.
Meanwhile, Bradley had a carpet cleaning challenge!
While I was learning more about Emmaus, our technician, Bradley, had the task of actually getting the carpets cleaned.
And this wasn’t a straightforward carpet cleaning job.
The carpets we were working on were around nine years old and, we were told, had never been professionally cleaned.
There were plenty of stains, as you might imagine after that amount of time, and there had also been two leaks from the ceiling which had affected areas of the carpet.
But the condition of the carpets wasn’t Bradley’s only challenge.
Cleaning in a building that was still being used
The areas we were cleaning weren’t closed off for us.
Emmaus was open.
People were working.
Visitors were coming and going.
And the hallways we were cleaning were immediately outside companions’ bedrooms.
That meant people still needed to be able to move around while Bradley worked.
Safety had to come before cleaning.
Professional carpet cleaning means equipment, hoses and a van all need to be positioned correctly.
Bradley had to use several different entry points, which meant moving our van several times throughout the job.
He also had to constantly consider hose placement, make sure entrances weren’t blocked, and reduce potential trip hazards for people walking through the building.
It’s something people don’t always see when they watch one of our cleaning videos.
The technical side of cleaning the carpet is only one part of a technician’s job.
Looking after the people around you is just as important.
Could we make these carpets look new again?
No.
And I think it’s important that we’re completely honest about that.
These are heavily used carpets that have experienced years of wear.
Professional cleaning can remove soil and improve the appearance of a carpet, but it cannot reverse physical wear or repair damage to the carpet fibres.
This wasn’t about creating one of those dramatic social media before-and-after pictures where everything suddenly looks brand new.
It was about seeing what we could improve.
Could we make the carpets cleaner?
Could we freshen the areas?
Could we improve the environment for the people living and working there?
That’s what mattered to us.
Donations make a HUGE difference to Emmaus.
Something else that really struck me during my visits was the sheer volume of donated items Emmaus handles.
Donna told us that during a five-hour donation period, they can receive anything from around 56 to 190 carloads of donations.
That’s an incredible amount to process.
Those good-quality donated items are important because they support the social enterprise at Emmaus.
And they need people to help deal with them.
During my first visit, I saw the areas where donated clothes are sorted and just how much work is involved.
Someone needs to physically go through those items and decide what can be kept, what can be sold and what isn’t suitable.
Emmaus really needs volunteers to help with jobs like this.
Seeing it for myself made me realise how much more they could potentially do if they simply had more people willing to give some of their time.
Have you got something Emmaus could use?
Donna also highlighted something they particularly need at the moment: IT equipment.
If you’ve got suitable IT equipment sitting at the back of a wardrobe or at the bottom of a cupboard doing absolutely nothing, it may be worth checking whether Emmaus can use it.
Their team can cleanse suitable equipment, make sure it is secure, and potentially resell it through their social enterprise.
They also rely on the local community for donations of good-quality items.
So before throwing something useful away, it might be worth asking: Could somebody else get some use from this?
One freshly cleaned room ready for somebody new
There was one little moment towards the end of our visit that I particularly liked.
We had cleaned a bedroom ready for its next companion.
Donna came to have a look and said it was looking very good.
It’s such a simple thing.
A clean carpet isn’t going to change somebody’s life.
But preparing a clean, comfortable room ready to welcome the next person matters.
And I think that’s what this whole project was really about.
We weren’t there believing Art of Clean was going to transform Emmaus.
We were there to contribute something we’re good at.
What could you do to help Emmaus Cambridge?
After spending time there, I think this is probably the biggest message I want to share.
There are so many different ways people can help.
You might have good-quality items you no longer need.
You might have suitable IT equipment sitting unused in a cupboard.
You might be able to volunteer some time helping to sort donations.
You might have a rug that’s too good to throw away.
Or perhaps you simply share this article or our video and somebody else sees it who can help.
For Art of Clean, it was our technicians, our equipment, our knowledge and our time that we could give.
We are incredibly proud to have played our small part.
But we’re also really pleased that this project gave us an opportunity to show people a little more about Emmaus Cambridge and what goes on behind the scenes.
Because I certainly went there knowing far less about Emmaus than I do now.
And if this story encourages even one more person to volunteer, donate or simply find out more about them, then that’s another positive thing to come from our day.
Sometimes helping your local community isn’t about doing something huge.
It’s simply looking at what you have to offer and asking: could this help?