Tag: #Community

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Harvest Letter from the Foodbank Team

Ash Villages Food Parcels Project & Ash Vale Community Fridge

Did you know we have our own local foodbank based at the Chapel? The Ash Villages Food Parcels Project is here to help anyone who is struggling in Ash, Ash Vale, Ash Green and Tongham. What originally started during Covid as a crisis project has become part of the furniture locally, and we will be here for as long as we are needed. Volunteers pack parcels twice a week, on Wednesdays and Fridays, and occasionally emergency ones too.

We rely on grants & generous donations for our store cupboard items, and all our parcels are prepared and delivered by a wonderful team of local volunteers. We also receive food donations from Co-op in Ash & Ash Vale, Tesco and Bookers that add fresh items to the menu each week that would otherwise have gone to waste. Could you spare some time to collect donations from the supermarkets, or clean the fridges, or pack and deliver some parcels, or help us with fundraising? Please speak to us we would love to hear from you! Project team number: 07730 609446.

Know someone who is struggling? Citizens Advice can help with all sorts of things like benefits reviews, food bank referrals, advice and emergency loans. They can also refer new clients to us for a parcel. Citizens Advice: 08082787888  Website: https://casws.org.uk/  If you know someone who needs a food parcel we can also do a church referral from St Mary’s to the project. Text or phone the project team 07730 609446.

Your Harvest donations are amazing! They have been taken to the Chapel for sorting, and will be sent out in the food parcels in the next 2 weeks. We support over 100 families in the local area, and usually provide 15-25 parcels each week depending who needs us. The numbers are growing as the population locally grows, and winter is always busier due to people struggling to heat the home and feed the family on low incomes. At Christmas last year we delivered over 50 parcels with Christmas food, winter warmer items (eg gloves and hot water bottles) and toys for the children. In the last couple of years, we have also added “baby bank” items to the project list, including nappies and wipes for struggling families. Your donations are much needed and hugely appreciated. Thank you for your support!

With our best wishes to all our clients, the lovely volunteer team, and to all of you in our local community. Have a wonderful Harvest season 2024.

Wishing you every blessing,

Alex, Neil and Carla  

Alex Sanderson BEM (Project Manager) 07730 609446

Revd Neil Lambert (St Mary’s Church Ash Vale)

Cllr Carla Morson (Ash Villages Support Circle)

This is a joint project between the Ash Villages Support Circle (Carla Morson) and St Mary’s Church Ash Vale (Revd Neil Lambert) Charity Number 1152717 and we are kindly hosted at The Chapel Project on Wharf Rd GU12 5AY. foodparcels@ash-vale.org.uk Web: https://ash-vale.org.uk/foodparcels-2/ You can also find us on the App called “Bank the Food”

Photos: Parcels in progress, Food bank ‘wednesday team’ celebrating a recent grant from Co-op, some of your amazing Harvest donations 2024 at St Mary’s.

Introducing… Ash Vale Community Fridge This separate, very simple project opened in June 2023. The fridge is located in the community shed in the Chapel car park on Wharf Rd GU12 5AY. It’s open 24/7 for you to drop off food you don’t need, or take food home that you can use. It’s pot luck, no guarantees, but it’s free, and it is open to everyone. What a great way to reduce food waste!  One big ask – please do make a note in the red folder in the shed when you drop off or pick up food, so we can keep track of how much we save from being wasted and report back to our funders. In June—Dec 2023 we saved over 1000kg from landfill! We are grateful to Co-Op and Hubbub for making this project possible. This is a separate project from the food parcels and you do not need a referral to use the Community Fridge, just help yourself! Enjoy.

 
 
 
 
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Harvest Appeal for our local Foodbank

Please support your local foodbank this harvest! We help people in crisis in Ash, Ash Vale, Ash Green and Tongham. Donations can be brought to St Mary’s for the harvest festival service this Sunday 6th Oct at 10:30am, or leave your gifts in our foyer whenever we are open. (Or contact us to arrange another time) THANK YOU!

If you prefer to donate funds please follow the link below for more detail. Event better, how about making a regular monthly gift to support this local lifeline?

The Ash Villages Food Parcels Project is a joint project by St Mary’s Church, Ash Vale (Registered Charity 1152717) and the Ash Villages Support Circle, and we are hosted at The Chapel in Ash Vale. #AshVillagesFoodArcelsProject Project contact number is 07730 609446. Web: https://ash-vale.org.uk/foodparcels-2/

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A big Harvest Thank You to the 1st Ash Vale Beavers!

The Ash Villages Food Parcels Project team would like to say a big THANK YOU to the lovely 1st Ash Vale Beavers! We are super grateful for all your wonderful donations, which filled up the donation boxes at St Mary’s on Tuesday.

All these things that you donated will go out in the Food Bank parcels next week, and make a big difference to local families in need of a bit of help at this time.

It was great fun visiting you too, and we discovered that you are all very good at Kims Game! You remembered lots of the things we had in the food parcel box. I wonder if your friends in the Monday group will enjoy this game too?

Thank you too for the beautiful Harvest pictures. We will be sure to display them as part of the Harvest decorations at St Mary’s. The church is celebrating Harvest Festival on Sunday 6th Otober this year, all welcome at the 10:30 service, and we will have refreshments afterwards. Those of you who like to get creative are welcome to come and help decorate the church on the Saturday morning too, it’s lots of fun! See you there.

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Food Parcels Project Newsletter Summer 2024

(Ash Villages Food Parcels Project)

Ash Villages Food Parcels Project & Ash Vale Community Fridge

Newsletter Summer 2024

Introducing…Ash Villages Food Parcels Project:

We are here to help anyone who is struggling in Ash, Ash Vale, Ash Green and Tongham. What started as a crisis project during Covid, has become part of the furniture locally, and we will be here for as long as we are needed.

We rely on grants & generous donations from individuals, businesses, schools and clubs for our store cupboard items, and all our parcels are prepared and delivered by a wonderful team of local volunteers. We also receive fresh food donations from Co-op in Ash & Ash Vale, Tesco, and Bookers, adding short dated items to the menu each week, food that would otherwise have gone to waste.

We have put together this leaflet to pop on your fridge and refer back to when you need us, or pass on to a friend. We hope it’s useful, and feedback is always welcomed.

With our best wishes to all our clients, the lovely volunteer team, our brilliant supporters, and to all of you in our local community. Have a fun and fabulous Summer 2024!

Alex Sanderson BEM (Project Manager)

Revd Neil Lambert (St Mary’s Church Ash Vale)

Cllr Carla Morson (Ash Villages Support Circle)

This is a joint project between the Ash Villages Support Circle (Carla) and St Mary’s Church Ash Vale (Revd Neil) Charity Number 1152717 and we are kindly hosted at The Chapel Project on Wharf Rd GU12 5AY. Project Manager Tel. 07730 609446 Website: https://ash-vale.org.uk/foodparcels-2/ Donations: https://givealittle.co/c/3ijYS6zC4gbOGqwer2tmdY

Know someone who is struggling?

Citizens Advice can help with things like benefits reviews, food bank referrals, advice and emergency loans. They can also refer new clients to us here in Ash Vale for a parcel.

Local Citizens Advice: 08082787888

UK Number: 0800 144 8848

Website: https://casws.org.uk/

Did you know? If you have had a food parcel from the Ash Villages Food Parcels Project before, and need another one, you can phone/text/WhatsApp direct on 07730 609446. You do not need another referral.

Welcome to… The Ash Vale Community Fridge

This simple project opened in June 2023. The fridge is located in the community shed in the Chapel car park on Wharf Rd GU12 5AY. It’s open 24/7 for you to drop off food you don’t need, or take food home that you can use. It’s pot luck, no guarantees, but it’s free, and it is open to everyone. What a great way to reduce food waste! 

One big ask – please do make a note in the red folder in the shed when you drop off or pick up food, so we can keep track of how much we save from being wasted and report back to our funders. In June—Dec 2023 we saved over 1000kg! We are grateful to Co-Op and Hubbub for making this project possible.

Did you know? This is a separate project from the food parcels and is for everyone to share food. You do not need a referral for the Community Fridge. Enjoy!

We have more news than space! More online…

You can read more about these projects, supporters and volunteers here: https://ash-vale.org.uk/foodparcels-2/

Creating Community—Come and join in!

Did you know? We have community groups running almost every day. We would love to welcome you.

MONDAYS Chapel Café (SCC Warm Welcome Venue / HSBMC Warm Space) is on Mondays in term time at The Chapel on Wharf Rd GU12 5AY. We are open 9:30-12:30. includes hot drinks and simple lunch. (free / by donation)

TUESDAYS Little Lambs Library (baby & toddler group) at St Mary’s on Vale Road GU12 5JE. Tuesdays in term time 10:00-11:30 includes drink & biscuit, craft, bouncy castle, story & songs. All welcome. (free / by donation)

WEDNESDAYS: Chapel Kids (baby & toddler group / HSBMC Warm Space) is at The Chapel on Wharf Rd GU12 5AY. Wednesdays in term time 11:00-14:00 includes cuppa and singing, then craft and play. We have lunch together too— bring a picnic or enjoy the beans on toast (or similar) and then play until everyone needs a nap! In the summer we enjoy the Chapel Community Garden. (free / by donation)

FRIDAYS Community Café (SCC Warm Welcome Venue) is on Fridays in term time at St Mary’s on Vale Road. GU12 5JE. We are open 10:00-13:00 includes hot drinks and simple lunch. We also open in the summer holidays on the same weeks as Picnic and Play. (free / by donation)

SUNDAYS Church Services at St Mary’s (with Sunday School) 10:30am start. We also offer refreshments in the large hall after the service. All welcome!

Summer Holidays: PICNIC AND PLAY at The Chapel on Wednesdays in the holidays 11:30am-3pm on 31st July, 7th Aug, 14th Aug, 21st Aug. Free picnic, craft activities, games and outdoor play. Bookings 07730 609446.  

St Mary’s Summer Fair: Saturday 7th Sept 12-3pm If you woukd like a stall at this event please get in touch with Martin via the Parish Office parishoffice@ash-vale.org.uk

How you can help the Food Parcels Project

Donating Food: We use the app “Bank the Food” to let you know what we need most urgently. Or you can donate any store cupboard items like tins, pasta, teabags and rice and drop them off at the Ash Vale Co-Op, Ash Manor School, St Mary’s Church or The Chapel. If your school, business, club or church would like to help us with a collection at Harvest we would love to hear from you!  Thank you for your support.

Donating your plastic bags: If you have any spare plastic bags, we need them for the food parcels please. You can drop them off at The Chapel in the community shed next time you visit the Community Fridge. Thank you!

Donate Funds: Funds are a big help so we can buy in what is urgently needed (eg specific baby formula, bulk buys of tins etc) You can use our “Give A Little” online giving page here: https://givealittle.co/c/3ijYS6zC4gbOGqwer2tmdY.  Or pop a donation in an envelope, and deliver it to The Chapel or St Mary’s and mark the envelope “Foodbank” Thank you for your generous support.

Giving your time: We are always in need of volunteers. These superheroes make the magic happen! We need help with all sorts of tasks – collecting donations, sorting donations, packing parcels, delivering parcels, fundraising, cleaning and tidying, chatting to clients and making cups of tea, Contact Alex to find out more 07730 609446 Thank you for your time and talents!

What a wonderful community we live in!

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Care at home

(By Wendy at Catto Homecare)

The question we are most asked, is how to broach the subject of a parent or loved one needing care. This is obviously going to be different for everyone depending on their own experiences of parents and grandparents who needed additional help. For some older adults, they reach a crisis point eg a fall or a urine infection where the hospital will only discharge with a care package in place. However, what do you do when nothing significant has happened? Where do you even begin? Have you been struggling for a long time with supporting your loved one and you are coming close to no longer being able to sustain the increase in their needs? Maybe you are physically not in the greatest of health yourself? I often use this example to compare with an elastic band. Some people can stretch to an extraordinary level but we can only flex the band to a certain level until it snaps.

At Catto Homecare we find the most successful method is to adapt your approach eg ‘it’s more for me me, so that I don’t worry during the day / evening’ or ‘you are fine but I am constantly worried about you’. Most people associate the word ‘care’ as wiping bottoms so mentioning ‘support’ rather than care will be more favourably received. If this angle is still not successful, you may find a more honest approach could work. The person may not be aware that your life could be on hold as you undertake an increasing amount of day to day tasks for them eg carrying out the shopping, all laundry, making their bed, ironing, giving support with personal care, liaising with the pharmacies, GP practice, doing gardening and missing out with family events etc. It is recommended that you admit you are not able to cope, and need support. A good starting point is to hire a cleaner to come every fortnight.

Almost all our clients past and present had no idea we were able to take them for eg bra fittings or to go to a café to enjoy a once a week coffee and cake. We introduce this as modern care. Loneliness and lack of stimulation during the day has become an increasingly problematic issue as activity centres / day centres / organisations are no longer offering what they did pre lockdown.’


Wendy

Registered Manager,
Catto Homecare

Registered Address: 5 Hamesmoor Way, Mytchett GU16 6JG, UK
Opening Hours: Mondays to Thursdays 8am – 4:30pm, Fridays 8am – 4pmTel:  01276 500 522           
Email: wendy@catto.net  

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Food Parcels Update and The community Organisations Cost of Living Fund

By Alex Sanderson (Project Manager)

Did you know? Our Ash Villages Food Parcels Proejct received funding from the The Community Organisations Cost of Living Fund to help us keep the project going in 2023/2024. We are so grateful for this government funding, as it makes all the difference for local families. The funding ended in March and we have just finished writing up our end of grant report, so I thought you might like to see a few of the statistics.

I am so incredibly proud of this amazing volunteer team! In 23 weeks they have fed 1300 people. They have been very busy collecting donations, managing the stock, packing and delivering over 400 parcels. The funding we received stocked up the shelves to make sure we could deliver enough food, basic toiletries, and baby bank items to those in urgent need in our local villages of Ash, Ash Vale, Ash Green and Tongham.

Have a guess how many volunteer hours they have racked up between them? We had 32 different volunteers, who worked a total of 373 shifts, donating a staggering 648 hours of their time between them during these 23 weeks. What a huge thing to do for the community. Thank you all so much!

If you would like me to pass on a message to them for you, please email me projectmanager@Ash-Vale.org.uk and I will be sure to share it in our team chat!

Have a happy week!

Alex

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MCR Pathways – Mentoring for Young People in Surrey

by Keira Jennings

MCR Pathways was established in 2007 to support young people—including those who are care-experienced or who have been recommended by their school as being able to benefit from the programme—to help them realise their full potential through education. This is enacted through our school-based mentoring programme – matching young people with a fully trained volunteer mentor.

The award-winning MCR Pathways programme is in over 130 schools across Scotland and the South East of England. Our programme’s growth and impact serve as testament to the dedication and commitment of both our volunteer mentors and the organisation as a whole. As we continue to expand our reach and deepen our impact, MCR Pathways remains unwavering in its mission to empower and support young people on their journey to fulfilling their potential.

Mentors meet with their young person for one hour in school each week to provide a regular opportunity for the young person to focus on their future, talk through any concerns, or just share thoughts and experiences. A mentor is simply an added source of support; someone there to listen, encourage, and help young people get the best out of school, increase their confidence, boost their qualifications, gain meaningful experiences, and increase their career options after school.

Our volunteer mentors come from every walk of life, background and profession. As every young person is unique, we welcome a diverse range of people to meet this growing need for mentors. No prior experience is needed, just the ability to listen and consistently be there. All it takes is an hour each week to change a young person’s future.

Join us at MCR Pathways to make a lasting connection and inspire a brighter future for young people in your community. We are looking for mentors in Surrey and are active in: Ash Manor School, Thomas Knyvett College, Christ’s College, Sunbury Manor School, Carrington School, The Beacon School and Hinchley Wood School. Further information on the MCR Pathways programme and how to become a mentor is available at https://mcrpathways.org/become-a-mentor/

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Please vote for the Food Parcels Project!

Fund our local Food Parcels Project…by giving us your vote at Co-Op! Vote online or via their App. The voting link is here: https://membership.coop.co.uk/causes/76829

The Ash Villages Food Parcels Project serves local people in Ash, Ash Vale, Ash Green and Tongham. We deliver emergency food and toiletries to local people in crisis, and offer a listening ear. Your vote will mean we receive more funding. Thank you for your support.

How this cause brings people in the community together: Our Food Parcels project helps local people in crisis, providing emergency food and toiletries. Referrals come from CAB, Wellbeing Team, Social Services, DWP and local churches too. As well as food, we offer a listening ear, and help to connect people to other sources of help, including Chapel Cafe and local warm hubs. We are connecting with people to battle against the anxiety, isolation and mental strain that goes hand in hand with food poverty. We can all work together to make sure that none of our neighbours go hungry. Our donors and grant funders are wonderful and the lovely team of volunteers are amazing at what they do.

So please – Vote today, and spread the word to encourage others to help us too!

Thank you. https://membership.coop.co.uk/causes/76829

The Ash Villages Food Parcels Project is a joint project between St Mary’s Church in Ash Vale (Revd Neil Lambert) and the Ash Villages Support Circle (Carla Morson), kindly hosted at The Chapel Project on Wharf Rd. If you need to contact us you can contact our Project Manager Alex Sanderson on foodparcels@ash-vale.org.uk  Tel.: 07730 609446

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Pancake Day – Youre invited!

Join us on Tuesday 13th Feb 2024 from 10am-12:30 for some pancake day fun! Races, crafts and yummy pancakes for all ages. It’s all by donation, no set fee. Pop along and enjoy a family friendly get together at St Mary’s church, Ash Vale GU12 5JE All are welcome.

PS – We don’t have staff for this, just a lovely team of volunteers, and all help is much appreciated at tidy up time. Thank you for pitching in – many hands make light work!

pic credit https://pixabay.com/users/valshill-12389644/