Picnic and Play in the Holidays

Every Summer our amazing local churches and friends get together to offer our community “Picnic and Play” on Wednesdays in the holidays at The Chapel in Ash Vale GU12 5AY. Mark your diaries please! Dates for 2025 are: Wednesday 30 July, 6th Aug, 13th Aug, 20th Aug 11:30-15:00.

Text / Phone / WhatsApp to book, for a free picnic, a warm welcome, and lots of ways to be creative from sandcastles to clay models, from colouring to chess, from disco dancing to rock painting, and there is plenty of planting and watering to do in the Community Garden too. All are welcome, you don;t have tpo be a church go-er! We welcoem everyone of all faihs and none. Booking is essential please so we can be sure to cater 07730 609446. (Please let us know of any food allergies too)

Can you offer to volunteer? This wonderful annual community summer project only happens thanks to our dedicated volunteers and generous donors. Your help and support is hugely appreciated! There are plenty of jobs to choose from – you can pour the drinks, put up the bunting, bake a cake, come early to make the sandwiches, help put up the gazebos, stay late and tidy up at the end, supervise a craft table, teach a child to play chess, sign people in, fill up the paddling pool, dish out picnics, help serve the pancakes, wash up, sit and be a listening ear to chat to our visitors, run a game, keep an eye on the paddling pool, top up the sand pit, set up the sensory table, …there is a lot to do! Each of these important roles is essential, and if we all do our little bit we will all have a lovely time! If you can help with one of these jobs please get in touch 07730 609446. Thank you for your support.

Donations: We never charge an entrance fee for Picnic and Play, so that money is not a barrier and all can join in. We do ask that if you are able to, please chip in to help cover the costs. We also welcome donations of funds from all our friends and neighbours if you would like to help us keep offering worthwhile project. It makes all the difference so that local people have something fun and free to enjoy in the holidays rather than being stuck at home or hungry or both! Huge thanks to all who donate, we cannot do it without you. https://givealittle.co/c/4BYNqSiaQc0wz1KTSgzKPz Thank you!

Best wishes to all, and we can’t wait to welcome you for some super summer fun!

Bookings are now open! 07730 609446
Wednesdays 11:30-15:00. Dates: 30 July, 6th Aug, 13th Aug, 20th Aug

National Lottery Community Fund news!

Please celebrate with us! Our foodbank team are overjoyed today, because the Ash Villages Food Parcels Team has received news that The National Lottery Community Fund will be supporting us this year! Our recent application has just been approved. Pop over and give the National Lottery Community Fund a like on facebook please to show our appreciation, hurrah! Here’s the link: https://www.facebook.com/TNLCommunityFund

This means a lot. In all seriousness, this funding will help the foodbank to thrive, so we can keep going and keep supporting eveyone who needs us in Ash, Ash Vale, Ash Green and Tongham for many months to come. It also means that donations by local people can make an even bigger difference – every tin you send us is a tin we don’t have to use funding for, so the grant can stretch even further and feed even more families for longer. Our hard working and dedicated volunteers are amazing. They tirelessly pack and deliver parcels, clean fridges, collect and sort donations, take referrals and respond to emergencies, check the stock and tidy the shelves, they are super stars! And it is thanks to your generous giving and this National Lottery Community Funding that the shelves are full and we can be here, ready to help. Thank you!

Are you in need? No-one in our community ever needs to go to bed hungry, just contact CAB, social services, DWP, local churches, school or other agencies and you can be referred to us.

Thank you to The National Lottery Community Fund for their amazing support, it will make all the difference to our community. #foodbank #community #ashvillagesfoodparcelsteam

A very big Foodbank thank you to Volker Fitzpatrick and J&J Palmer

Good news! This week, the Ash Villages Food Parcels Team are celebrating a lovely donation of items for the local community. Volker Fitzpatrick who have constructed our shiny new Chester Bridge and J&J Palmer who have done a lot of the ground works, sent us a huge shopping delivery of items to put in the food parcels over the coming weeks. The Foodbank team were delighted to meet Alex from Volker Fitzpatrick and we hope you like our celebration photo!

“This is an amazing donation and will go a long way, feeding lots of local families this month.” Said the foodbank Project Manager. ” We cannot thank you enough. We are always working hard to appeal for donations, and raise money to fill the shelves. Your support today makes all the difference. “

If you would like to support the Ash Villages Food Parcels Project you are always welcome to donate items at Ash Manor School, Co-op in Ash Vale, St Mary’s Church (Vale Rd), or The Chapel (Wharf Rd). You can also donate funds online so that we can buy our most urgently needed items in bulk. (How about becoming a regular giver and sending us £5 a month?) Thank you for your support!

Web: https://ash-vale.org.uk/foodparcels-2/

Donations: https://givealittle.co/c/7a47190c-ad4e-4cf9-8662-da844101a41c

Foodbank team celebrates 5 years! 

This week, we enjoyed a celebration tea party at the Chapel Peroject to celebrate 5 years of the Ash Villages Food Parcels Project. A lovely time was had by all, and thank you to everyone who baked, contributed, set up, served and cleared down. #TeamAwesome, as ever, much love to you all.

Who would have thought that a simple little Covid support project to help struggling families would become a fully fledged foodbank feeding 3331 people in 2024, and growing even more in 2025. Initially it was basic bread and veg – whatever we had donated – and over time we have fundraised and added more items, to make sure our food parcels give a good balance of nutritious items.

We have seen local needs growing and growing due to the cost of living, fuel crisis, cold winters, mental health crisis, unemployment, low incomes and rising rents. We cover Ash, Ash Vale, Ash Green and Tongham, and the population has grown here too, with over 2,000 more homes locally after all the new builds, so our local population has grown and some of our newest neighbours are in need too. We see you, we are here for you. We are proud to say that no-one in our community needs to go to bed hungry. If you have no food, and no money to buy any, call the church, the school, the GP, Citizens Advice, social worker, Guildford wellbeing team, or any other agency, and they can refer you to us asap for an emergency parcel. 

More need in the community,  means we need more help please! It’s hard to ask for donations when everyone is feeling the pinch… but here we are asking! The easiest way to make sure we have enough of each item on our shelves, is if our wonderful supporters donate funds so we can buy in bulk. If you would like to do this please consider a regular monthly donation, so we can budget carefully, and know that our community can always be fed. https://givealittle.co/c/7a47190c-ad4e-4cf9-8662-da844101a41c (donations link)

Another way to help is to donate the actual food and toiletries.  There are collecting points for tins and packets at Ash Manor School, Ash Vale Co-op, at St Mary’s Church on Vale Road (in the foyer whenever they are open), or at The Chapel (on Wharf Road) on Wednesdays and Fridays 8:30-9:30 while the team are packing parcels. (Or contact us to arrange a time to drop things off 07730609446). If you’d like to know what we need the most, we have an App for that! ‘Bank the food’ is brilliant.  https://www.bankthefood.org/

A huge thank you: We have had so many thank you messages from clients over the years it’s hard to choose the ones to share here. One couple cried with relief and gratitude – they had never needed help before and were so touched by the help they received. Another family said that we have helped them more than we will ever know. An elderly person was overjoyed to receive their parcel, and grateful that we were able to make a referral for other help from the warm hub toget her through the winter. One local mum was delighted to receive Christmas gifts for the children and then amazed to see that she had something for herself under the tree as well, her only present that year. Lots of people said a big thank you for the Easter eggs in their parcels last week, and we are always receiving lovely messages. Please know that every tin, every pack of pasta, every bag of laundry pods, or every pound you donate makes a real difference to a real family, right here in our community. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. 

We are grateful to everyone who donates, whether your donation is large or small, it makes a valuable difference. We also appreciate local stores and businesses, clubs and schools, churches and groups who support us with their kind donations too, which helps with an element of our parcels. Would you like to join them? Do get in touch. 

And finally a huge thank you to the superstar team of volunteers past and present who make it all possible!  They get up early to pack parcels, and stay up late to collect and sort donations. We have heroes that clean the fridges, dedicated delivery drivers, extra helpers at Christmas, champions who help raise funds, tireless helpers tidying, checking dates, taking phone calls, printing labels, making coffee, youth volunteers helping out, and all those many jobs that make it all work like a well oiled machine. We treasure each and every one of you! Thank you all.

A lovely 5 years of working together for good – here’s to many more! 

Alex, Carla, and Neil 

Easter Generosity from Ash Manor School

Thank you to all the families, students and staff at Ash Manor School who donated for the #AshVillagesFoodParcelsProject this Easter. You are community heroes! 

These amazing donations were sorted by the youth volunteers on Thursday night and most of the items went into Food Parcels this morning, delivered to local doorsteps by our fantastic Foodbank volunteer team. 

Donations included all sorts – from tinned tomatoes to Easter treats – what a wonderful help for our neighbours in need in Ash, Ash Vale, Ash Green and Tongham. Thank you all for your support. 

 #Community #Foodbank #AshManorSchool

Did you know? The foodbank has an Amazon wishlist here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/X2K6QAR8VM5X?ref_=wl_share

We also use the app “bank the food” to let everyone know what we need the most. 

https://www.bankthefood.org

Donations of store cupboard donations can be dropped off at Ash Manor in the foyer, or in the donations basket at Ash Vale Co-op or at St Mary’s church (Vale Rd)  or The Chapel (Wharf Rd) whenever we are open. Thank you! 


Quiz Night Thank You!

Wow!! A big THANK YOU to David Brown and all the quizzers tonight at the Victoria Hall! An amazing amount raised, and £426.50 of it is going to the Ash Villages Food Parcels Project, to support families in need locally.

Thank you so much, this will make an huge difference, especially during the cold winter when balancing the costs of heating and eating are a challenge for many.

Thank you for a super evening and see you at the next one!

#AshVillagesFoodParcelsProject #ashvictoriahall #FoodBank #Community #AshVillagesSupportCircle

That’s a wrap! Christmas Foodbank 2024

Hats off to the Wonderful Wednesday team and the Fabulous Friday Foodbank team who packed and delivered a record number of Christmas Food Parcels this week. Big shout out to our delivery drivers who responded to the SOS for help as well when we needed more hands on deck. It’s sad that so many of our neighbours are in need, but what a joy to be able to help make Christmas a little better in this way. Huge thanks to all involved, and everyone who donated so generously towards the Christmas Foodbank this week. We couldn’t have done it without you! Enormous amount of food and gifts donated, wrapped, packed and delivered with love from the local community to our neighbours who are struggling. Our community is the best! Everyone looks after each other, this is why we love where we live! 💕✨🎄🙏🎁💐💕✨


Ps – Foodbank is closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Our amazing volunteers are back in action the week after. If you need a referral you can contact citizens advice, social services, GP, school, other agencies, or any of our local churches and they can refer you to us. The foodbank team packs and delivers parcels on Wednesday and Friday mornings. The deadline for contacting us is 5pm the night before.
If you would like to help us, we need support every week to look after anyone who needs help that week. This need is all year round! How about making a regular donation? Thank you! https://givealittle.co/c/7a47190c-ad4e-4cf9-8662-da844101a41c

Carols by Candlelight Sunday 22nd Dec 2024 6:30pm

Join us this Sunday for a wonderful carol service by candlelight, with choir, musicians, readings, and a chance to sing lots of your favourite carols. 6:30pm start, come early for a good seat! Mulled wine and mince pies served afterwards.
All Welcome.
free / donations appreciated

#CarolsByCandlelight

#CarolService

#Christmas2024

#FollowTheStar

#StMarysAshVale

St Mary’s Ash Vale, Vale Rd, GU12 5JE

A Christmas Thank You 

The amazing Zumba and Zumba Gold classes run by Shell and Jo locally have all chipped in and donated a huge amount in support of #AshVillagesFoodParcelsProject this week, and we are hugely grateful for this wonderful support. We have been so blessed to receive lovely gifts to hand out, food items for the parcels, Christmas treats, and funds towards the Christmas Foodbank parcels. You are helping us to help local people in very difficult times. It will bless a lot of people’s Christmases! Thank you, from the Food Parcels team, and please know that this is a big help to all our clients in Ash, Ash Vale, Ash Green and Tongham. 

Further support has also gone to the Care and Share Shelf outside St Peter’s in Ash. This is another amazing local food project that provides help to anyone who needs it, no questions asked. 

Have a super Christmas one and all! 

If you would like to know more about Zumba and Zumba Gold classes with Shell and Jo 

Their Facebook link is here: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/15MrR22RsG/?mibextid=wwXIfr 

More about the Ash Villages Food Parcels Project here: https://ash-vale.org.uk/foodparcels-2/ 

St Nicholas lantern walk and bonfire party – 7th Dec (booking now open!)

You are invited! Sat 7th Dec 2024
For the annual St Nicholas Lantern Walk! 🌟🎄🎅🏻✨🏮✨
Join us for a lantern lit walk from The Chapel (wharf rd) to St Mary’s (vale rd), and a bonfire party in the garden with St Nic! Bring your Christmas lanterns to light your way or use one of ours. (Dress for the weather!)

we have 3 time slots this year: 4:30/5:00/5:30 setting off from the Chapel. Text to book so you can be sure of a little gift from St Nicholas! Book your start time by text / WhatsApp on 07730 609446
By donation / give what you can, no set fee. All welcome, come and join the fun!
#StNicholasLanternWalk