Could you help The Link Foundation, which is dedicated to supporting children affected by domestic violence, bereavement, disability and poverty?
This amazing volunteer-powered local charity is currently experiencing an unprecedented demands for beds, cots and mattresses. The team are looking to partner with businesses and individuals who want to make a difference in our community.
Is there a challenge you have always fancied taking? Are you a business which could hold a team building fundraiser? Perhaps you fancy joining The Link Foundation as they raise awareness and funds at the Maidenhead Boundary Walk?
The team, who help families in Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, are always excited to brainstorm ideas on how they could work together to provide all the beds needed to give local kids a good night’s sleep.
A concert in Wantage on July 28th is helping a cause close to members’ hearts and easing the heartache for many more people with funds for Missing People
Didcot Divas will perform a concert at St John Vianney & Sacred Heart Church with heartfelt meaning for members and none more so than one its number, Gill Koch.
Each year the group of ladies ‘of a certain age’ who have been singing together for 14 years chooses a charity to support, this year it is Missing People.
Gill is just one of those who is only too aware of the charity’s work and support. After 20 years she has no idea where her beloved son Gareth is. In 2004, the 24-year-old flew to Kathmandu in Nepal for a four-week trekking holiday with the aim of reaching the base camp of Mount Everest. Travelling with an older work colleague who had been previously and equipped with maps and a strict itinerary, they set off. That was the last time Gill and husband David saw Gareth. They tell their story:
“Gareth was due back in the country on 20th March 2004 but when he failed to contact us to let us know he had arrived safely we initially assumed that he had taken a later flight.
“We were somewhat bemused to discover that his work colleague had returned a week earlier than planned and had left Gareth in Nepal. Both the Embassy in Nepal and Thames Valley Police were contacted and Gareth was now officially a missing person. A search was organised by the Embassy in the hope of tracing him or at the very least where he was last seen. Unfortunately, the Embassy failed to organise a proper search and used a local guide who could not speak or read English, had no photograph of Gareth or even a copy of his handwriting.
“After a local fundraising event in September 2004 we flew out to Nepal in the hope of finding Gareth or at the very least, some trace of him. We spent four weeks trekking in the foothills of the Himalayas, reaching Chhukung, just below Base Camp. Although we did not find Gareth we did discover where he had stayed as he had signed into one of the tea lodges.
“Since then there have not been any other sightings or information as to what may have happened to him.
“We are very grateful to Missing People, a national charity which has been, and continues to be extremely supportive to us and other families who have family members who have gone missing both here in the UK and abroad.”
Tickets will be £10, no concessions. Cash only. Children and students free. Contact Judith for ticket enquiries on 07557 940801 and via email at [email protected]
There will also be donation buckets at the concert.
Fleet & District Carnival Chairman Leanne Walmsley invites us all to a fun-filled day with fantastic events and all for a wonderful community cause
On Saturday 6th July, we will be celebrating the 67th Fleet and District Carnival! We have an awesome line up of events for you this year and look forward to you helping us raise money for this year’s charity.
Chosen by our Facebook supporters the 2024 charity is Parity for Disability, a local association which enables adults with multiple disabilities to continue to be a part of the wider community, supported by trained and caring staff.
The theme for this year is ‘safari’, and we can’t wait to see all those fantastic procession entries roam through the streets of Fleet.
The procession is just the start of this fantastic day, and once they lead onto Calthorpe Park, we have a whole host of entertainment lined up for you including the main stage featuring six amazing acts; traditional fete games are back after proving so popular in 2023; Searle’s fun fair and we have an awesome petting zoo which will be next to the ever-popular dog show. The Park will be filled with plenty of refreshment options and the other local charity and community stalls.
We also welcome our 2024 headline sponsor – Untold Reality. Located on Fleet high street, Untold Reality is the premier destination for futuristic experiences.
They will be in Calthorpe Park for the carnival, and with top-of-the-line modern VR systems and a wide range of games, they will be the place to be to try out a VR game, escape room, and many other VR experiences.
Come down and join us for what will be an absolutely fun packed day which you don’t want to miss out on!
Life-changing charity Sparkles helps children with Down’s syndrome & urgently needs your donations to keep going. Mum Emily Reay tells us more…
“Down’s syndrome”… What do you think of when you hear these words? Probably some sort of stereotype. Sadly, people with Down’s syndrome (DS) face this all the time and assumptions can become reality, a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Since having Teddy – and knowing other families who have a child with DS – I’ve heard all sorts of negative things… “He may never talk.” “He may never walk, run, jump climb.” “He might not ride a bike, read or write, get a job.” Teddy can do all these things and more; he’s incredible! Yes some things take him a little longer, but he never stops trying and we’ll never stop helping him. However, if a child can’t do these yet, then that’s OK too. But let’s assume that they can, so that maybe they will.
The biggest challenge faced by families and people with DS is the barriers we face, because of expectations or the fact that equality doesn’t exist. Let’s take the UK abortion law. A baby with DS can be aborted up to the point of birth, 40 weeks. But for all other babies there is a 24-week limit. That’s inequality right there.
Lots of healthcare professionals ask “What do you want for your child?” and initially when I used to say, “I just want him to be happy” (which is another stereotype by the way, people with DS are not always happy; come over when he’s tired and hungry!) However, this is a cop-out answer. What I want for Teddy is exactly the same as what I want for his sisters. I want him to thrive and be the best he can be.
“What I want for Teddy is exactly the same as what I want for his sisters. I want him to thrive and be the best he can be.”
If you meet someone with DS, treat them as you would anyone else, because they are. They have a right to be included, fully and equally, respected and accepted. In our house we say “everyone’s different, and different is good”. When I tell people I have a child with DS I’m often greeted with a sad face or “I’m so sorry”. Don’t be! There’s nothing to be sorry about. He’s Teddy first, who’s cheeky, funny, loves school, football and the Rolling Stones. He also happens to have Down’s syndrome.
Teddy has received wonderful support from Sparkles. The team support pre-school children with DS with weekly speech and language therapy, OT and physio. This is an invaluable supplement to the NHS therapy which is not as frequent. The charity is entirely parent-led and relies solely on fundraising. With the cost-of-living crisis and Covid, the charity is struggling so Teddy and his friends have just completed a sponsored litter pick around the local village. Anything you can do will really help Sparkles.
Overstroud Cottage will open its gates again this month as part of the National Garden Scheme (NGS) local fundraisers
Overstroud Cottage, HP16 9Q, sits halfway up Frith Hill above Great Missenden. In the 17th century this cottage was used as Missenden Abbey’s fever house.
Thanks to The National Open Gardens Scheme, you can visit the gardens of this local treasure, owned by Mr & Mrs Jonathan Brooke on Sunday, 9th June, 2-5pm. Entry is £4 for adults (children free) and cream teas will be served at the nearby parish church.
The chalky soil has been tended on two levels to showcase a collection of 17th & 18th century plants including auriculas, hellebores, bulbs, pulmonarias, peonies, germaniums, dahlias, herbs and succulents. With its blue and white ribbon border, this garden, reminiscent of the late Margery Fish’s garden at East Lambrook Manor, is carved out of an old chalk quarry so the soil is alkaline.
The potager, edged with ‘step-over’ apples is featured is Joy Larkcom’s book, Creative Vegetable Gardening. Traffic noise has been lessened by a layered hedge, row of hornbeams and an ivy ‘fedge’ which forms the backdrop to a mini wildflower meadow. Visit National Garden Scheme (ngs.org.uk) for more info & open gardens.
Petersfield based charity Hounds for Heroes needs your support. Could you be a full-time volunteer and look after puppies in training?
Volunteering to be a puppy parent is a rewarding opportunity to become part of the Hounds for Heroes team and provide puppies with the training and care crucial for their development to become a life enhancing assistance dog.
Don’t want to read the full article? Jump to our FAQs here or enter this month’s competitions FOR FREE!
Prior experience or qualifications aren’t required, but a willingness to learn and meet certain criteria is necessary. The ongoing support and training provided by Hounds for Heroes ensures that volunteers are equipped to care for the puppies effectively.
The commitment involved, from opening up your home to a puppy for over a year to attending training sessions and classes, highlights the dedication required for this role. However, knowing that you’re contributing to the journey of these assistance dogs makes it a worthwhile endeavour.
Hounds for Heroes covers the costs of food, training equipment, and veterinary bills for the puppies.
Volunteering with Hounds for Heroes is not only beneficial for the assistance dogs but also for the individuals who will eventually benefit from their support.
Hounds for Heroes works to provide specially trained assistance dogs to injured and disabled personnel of both HM Armed Forces and emergency services. We aim to provide help and practical support leading to an enhanced quality of life.
Hounds for Heroes assistance dogs can help overcome some of the physical barriers and obstacles caused by a disability; promoting an increased sense of freedom, providing a loyal comrade and just maybe the beginning of a new lease of life.
Hounds for Heroes believe that everyone who fits out criteria, and requires the services of one of our dogs, should be able to experience the positive and life enhancing impact they will bring. The cost of the assistance dog’s food, equipment, insurance and veterinary costs are all met by Hounds for Heroes’ therefore you can safely apply knowing that in having one of our dogs, there will not be a negative impact on your existing income.
As of 2021, there are over 900,000 injured servicemen and women in the country and that number continues to grow on a daily basis. The unique mental attitude of service personnel means that only a handful so far have chosen to have an assistance dog provided by the civilian offerings, many will battle on in silence.
Find out more about their work and to register your interest in becoming a Puppy Parent visit Homepage | Hounds for Heroes
FAQs
1. How do I get in touch with Hounds for Heroes? – You can email [email protected] or call 01730 823118 Mon – Fri 8.30am – 4pm
2. How do I apply for a dog? – For enquires regarding applying for one a dog please contact: [email protected]
3. How do I volunteer? – If you are interested in becoming a Puppy Parent or Foster Puppy Parent please contact: [email protected]m or if you are interested in general volunteering opportunities please contact: [email protected]
4. How do I find Hounds for Heroes? – Hounds for Heroes, Unit 2B Rookery Farm Buildings, Ramsdean, Petersfield, Hampshire GU32 1RU
Peter Henry tells us about his rewarding role as a volunteer with Schoolreaders… Perhaps you could sign up to change lives, too?
Schoolreaders is a national children’s literacy charity which helps children to catch up on their reading by recruiting, training and placing volunteers into primary schools in their local area.
I am happily retired after a successful career however; I can truthfully say that nothing I did in my professional life seems as worthwhile and satisfying as watching the children I read with improve their literacy.
Why is this so important? One in four children leave primary school unable to read to the expected standard.
This means they cannot fully access secondary education and only one in 10 of these children will get a GCSE in English and Maths. This can severely diminish their life chances. One in seven adults in England (7.1 million) are functionally illiterate so cannot read instructions on a medicine label, sit a driving theory test or fill in a job application form. That is why helping children to improve their literacy at primary level, has never been so important.
“Nothing I did in my professional life seems as worthwhile and satisfying as watching the children I read with improve their literacy.”
I volunteer in a local infants’ school and my role is to focus on those children, especially those from more disadvantaged backgrounds, who need a little extra help learning to read. Fortunately, one thing of which you can be sure is that all children aged between five and seven are eager to learn and great fun to be with!
I, like many other Schoolreaders volunteers, could share a great many heart-warming stories. These include the boy who, for over a year, had really struggled, then one day was comprehending sentences and asking questions about the book, to the girl who not only reads the stories, but gives each character a different voice. I always return home from school with a spring in my step!
We are always in need of readers especially as more and more schools are asking for our help, which is provided absolutely free. So, if what you have read here has inspired you to think about joining us, and you can commit to an hour a week during term-time for a year, the next step is easy – please just visit School Readers to learn more.
Guy Deacon CBE will be appearing at Oxford Literary Festival this Friday (22nd March) to talk about his forthcoming book and Channel 4 Documentary – Running on Empty.
Guy’s story is truly inspiring; the former British Army officer he drove from his home in the UK to Cape Town in South Africa ten years after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
The journey fulfilled a childhood dream to drive across Africa, whilst also raising awareness of Parkinson’s Disease which is heavily stigmatised in Africa where it is often linked to witchcraft and black magic, leaving sufferers ostracised by their communities.
Parkinson’s Disease is the fastest-growing neurodegenerative illness worldwide and has no known cause and no cure. By 2040, more than 13 million people will be living with PD – a quarter of them in Africa where the disease is little understood. On his journey Guy met with Parkinson’s sufferers in almost all the countries he travelled through and learnt what daily life was like for those sufferers that he met, but first he had to get there.
There are never more than a handful of vehicles a year attempting to drive from the North African coast to Cape Town in South Africa. Some never complete the journey. Conflict in Libya, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Ethiopia and Cameroon, make any journey exceptionally dangerous. In central Africa, road conditions, particularly in the rainy season make the going difficult and often treacherous. Add illegal checkpoints, extortion, contaminated fuel and lack of services and this was to be a huge undertaking.
Guy first set off in November 2019 making it as far as Sierra Leone in March 2020 when the COVID 19 epidemic struck. The borders were closed and after being stuck in Sierra Leone with no way out, Guy was evacuated by the British Government on an emergency relief flight leaving his trusty van behind. Many adventurers have setbacks on their journeys but for Guy, with each passing month that he waited in the UK for travel restrictions to lift, his Parkinson’s would advance and his mobility would deteriorate. By the time he restarted the journey two years later in March 2022 his condition had deteriorated significantly.
Parkinson’s disease affects mobility so the simplest tasks from emptying pockets, to tying up shoelaces became herculean for Guy. The day to day challenges of living in Africa, the condition of the roads and living in a relatively small space would be challenging to anyone let alone a Parkinson’s sufferer who struggles to move limbs and has to take every task incredibly slowly.
Several times throughout the 12 month journey Guy came close to giving up. The challenge left him both physically and mentally exhausted and as the days wore on, he found it more and more difficult to communicate and began feeling increasingly isolated and alone. He had a phone to keep in touch with friends and family, but with his limited dexterity it was often easier not to. In the end it was the kindness of strangers that restored his faith and spurred him on in his darkest hours.
There are countless examples of things going wrong and strangers stepping in to help and offering him a bed for the night. But each time Guy thought that the latest setback would be the end of the road and he would have to give up, there was always someone who would step in to help, a stranger reaching out to help him in his hour of need.
Throughout the 18,000 mile journey Guy kept a video diary and was joined on four occasions by a documentary maker. This has resulted in 85 hours of footage and several thousand photographs of this incredible adventure through the heart of Africa which will be made into a 1 hour documentary for Channel 4 to be released in Spring 2024.
Guy was supported throughout his journey by The Cure Parkinson’s Trusta charity set up to find a cure for Parkinson’s as well asParkinson’s Africa, whose mission is to raise awareness and empower those with Parkinson’s to make informed decisions about their own health.
At the festival, guy will be speaking with Matthew Stadlen to recount his incredible journey, crossing Europe and the full length of Africa, which took the former army officer and 60 year old father of two over 3 years to complete, see him drive 18,000 miles, across 25 countries, with 5 breakdowns, as well as one emergency evacuation from Sierra Leone during Covid, whilst taking 3650 prescription pills to help manage his Parkinson’s.
Further information on Guy’s event at Oxford Literature Festival can be found here.
Help to raise the necessary funds to continue their work and maybe win some great prizes
“Making music for everyone” is at the heart of what Berkshire Music Trust do as a registered music charity with the aim of providing musical opportunities for all. They run various activities across Berkshire including lessons, ensembles, early years classes and adult opportunities including singing cafes for people with Dementia and Parkinson’s across Berkshire community. They also have music centres in Reading, Newbury, Windsor, Bracknell, Wokingham and Caversham, and they also teach in Berkshire schools.
The Music Trust are running an online fundraising raffle and the money raised from this raffle will help to raise the necessary funds to continue their work.
There are over 45 prizes currently all from organisations across Berkshire, and tickets are only £2! (Winners drawn on 19th March) Follow this link to join the raffle, you’ll also find displays of the prizes.
Oxford charity provides mental health support for young adults
Last year 65 people in Oxon took their own life – most of them young adults with suicide now the biggest cause of death for people under 35. Each death is heart-breaking – a tragedy, a terrible loss and a dreadful waste of potential. A death that changes the family they leave behind forever.
There is a fantastic charity Nai’s House. Set up in 2019 by Nai’s Mum – Gem after Nai sadly took her own life in 2017 aged just 22 , Nai’s House is a place of sanctuary, safety and support. It is a place that gives young people in crisis the safe space of a ‘home from home, a place where they can get the specialist help, they need, an environment that can help them hopefully turn a corner and move through crisis to more stability.
Since 2019 they have helped over 600 young people, but they are at a crossroads. The truth is they can’t meet the demand they are now facing. More and more young people are getting in touch asking for help with over 200 young people on their waiting list, many of them who can’t get the support they need through the NHS given the pressures there.
It’s an emergency for sure but it is an emergency we can help address and help tackle together. If Nai’s House can grow and expand its services it can offer help to the 200 plus people on the waiting lists.
Your support could make a massive difference and offer a genuine lifeline. Just £20 could help give a young person in need a fighting chance. It costs £800 a year to help one young person with professional therapy to. £520 over 13 weeks to train a volunteer. But the reality is that every penny counts.
Nai’s House didn’t exist when Nai needed it. Please help us make sure it can be there for other young people who do now so, together, we can help prevent this tragic loss of young life.
