Posts Tagged ‘elderly’

Great volunteers rewarded

Monday, September 28th, 2009

On Friday 25th September ’09 Crawley Happy Times went along to The Maidenbower Day Centre to meet some wonderful people.

All the employees at Maidenbower Day Centre

All the employees at Maidenbower Day Centre

Volunteers donate their time to help with various range of things including serving drinks and lunches, assisting with various activities from art to bingo, and helping with groups out in the community.

(L-R) Peter Catchpole, Liz Bassett, Sam Korpal & Angie Whittle

(L-R) Peter Catchpole, Liz Bassett, Sam Korpal & Angie Whittle

The Day Centre offers flexible services to adults of all ages who have a wide range of needs. These include people with physical and sensory disabilities, mental health problems, progressive long term chronic illness, older people, and those with dementia. The Day Centre is a great relief for those who care for others, giving them a well deserved break for a couple of hours. The work the volunteers do, along side the paid employees, is truly amazing. We found them all to be enthusiastic, happy and very caring.

Who are these wonderful volunteers?

Zara Edwards
Melanie Burford
Karen Dixon
Doug Moyse
Eddie Roberts
Andrea Coomer
Jo Roche
Brian Mullett
Kevin Dalton
Sue Kenrick
Rob Montgomery
Paul Baker
Mary Robbins
Bonnie McAloom
Jeff Hill

The volunteers with their certificates

The volunteers with their certificates

Volunteers who could not attend -

Paul Mansell
Tim McAtamney
Edna Avery
Sue Evesleigh
Bob Ure
Martin Fortnum
Paul and Christine Landragin
Kassy Spires
Rachel Bird

The Leader of West Sussex County Council Henry Smith came along to present the certificates to the 22 volunteers. Henry said:”We are truly fortunate to have dedicated individuals in our community who give up their time to help others. This event to say thanks may be small, but it is sincere in gratitude.”

Colourful tree with paper messages as leaves. Beautiful

Colourful tree with paper messages as leaves. Beautiful

Also present was Peter Catchpole, West Sussex County Council Cabinet Member for Adult Services who said “the Day Centre is a valuable part of the community and without the help from the volunteers, would not be able to look after as many indivduals. They all do such great work here. It’s been a wonderful afternoon.”

We would like to thank Liz Bassett, Manager of The Maidenbower Day Centre for inviting us down to experience such a heart warming afternoon. The food was delicious including a great cup of tea!

VIDEO

‘The Connoisseurs’ mixing it up for local charity

Monday, August 10th, 2009

Logo for 15th Aug #2

Read the review on this fantastic event here..

On the 15th August, Dan Gillingham and friends are holding a charity dance night in aid of St Catherine’s Hospice. 

Dan ‘Gee’ Gillingham, a local DJ, is using his talents to raise money for the local St Catherine’s Hospice, who care for those who are very ill.  Dan said “This is our charity launch event being held at The White Knight. Hopefully this is the first of many more charity events in Crawley over the next few months and years.  Myself & Marcus Lee, along with our close friend Ronson (all DJs) wanted to start an event in Crawley for all the people that enjoy hearing us play.  So we thought the ideal way would be to combine this with raising money for charity.”

We asked Dan why he’d chosen St Catherine’s Hospice;  “We chose St Catherine’s Hospice because it is a charity very close to my heart due to a family member spending time there before they passed away.  This is an amazing place with amazing staff and it is dependent on the public raising funds to stay operational.  So we got together with some of our DJ friends, who are all local to Crawley, and arranged to throw a wicked day/night event, with some serious music and, of course, to raise as much money as possible!   The White Knight Public House and all the DJs (inclusive of all equipment) have all donated their time and services free of charge, so it makes it easier to donate all proceeds to the charity”.

We spoke to Bridget Brant of the White Knight, who said “We completely support this event.  St Catherine’s Hospice is very close to our hearts as we also lost a member of our family three years ago and could not have coped without their support and assistance.”

Debbie Plentie, PR & Communications Executive at St Catherine’s Hospice, said: “”We have heard about this event and it’s fantastic that Dan and his friends are using their musical skills to support us in this way.  We need to raise £4.7 million through voluntary income each year and we’re really grateful to our community for supporting us through activities like this, because every penny counts.”

Crawley Happy Times Online think this is a wonderful and inventive way to raise money for such a fantastic local charity.   We look forward to seeing you at the event, where we will be interviewing the DJs and, of course, those who support the event by attending. 

See you there!

Enjoy a full range of food with Meals on Wheels

Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009

crawleyboroughcouncilsmall

Enjoy a range of nutritional hot meals and desserts with the West Sussex Meals on Wheels service.

The service helps thousands of older or housebound people to remain independent in their own home.

West Sussex County Council provides Meals on Wheels with WRVS, one of the UK’s largest voluntary organisations.

The service is available all across West Sussex. Customers can choose from two main courses everyday and two desserts, with the meals delivered direct to their door.

A week’s worth of food can also be delivered frozen so the meals can be heated up and eaten as and when.

West Sussex County Council Catering Advisor Hilary Waitt said: “As well as providing hot and nutritional meals, the Meals on Wheels service also carries out a vital ‘safe and well’ check to make sure customers are okay.

“All volunteers are trained to spot problems and will pass any concerns to the local meals organiser or, if necessary, contact the emergency services.”

There are a number of reasons why someone might want to sign up to the Meals on Wheels Service. They may have just come out of hospital, might not always be able to get to the shops, or if they think it would be a good idea to have someone keep an eye out for them.

An assessment from a GP or hospital isn’t needed to apply for Meals on Wheels – people can contact the service direct.

For further information contact 01903 231341 or visit the County Council website at www.westsussex.gov.uk.