Community Newsletter Jan24

50918

Fellow Rotarians and Friends

COMMUNITY SERVICE NEWS – JANUARY 2024

HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all and a very big “THANK YOU” for all your help and support over the past year, but especially the massive effort on the part of so many to make Christmas special for those less fortunate than ourselves.   This year we gave out 500+ sacks and in doing so helped 586 adults and 1447 children who would have had nothing or very little otherwise.  Many of them were preparing to have nothing for Christmas.   In fact,we heard of two small children that said to their Mum “don’t worry about presents, just see if you could get some food for Christmas dinner”. With your help we not only gave them presents but also vouchers from Tesco in order that they could go and buy food in addition to the donated biscuits and chocolates included in each sack.

We are so grateful to everyone who donates money and items all year round, but especially at Christmas time.   We rely heavily on all your goodwill to enable us to support those suffering hardship in our community.  Hopefully it enables us to bring a little joy into their world.  We wouldn’t be able to do this without your support.

This year the “elves” were very grateful to a local farmerwho gave us the use of a barn for six weeks in which to make up the Christmas sacks.   Our first large order of 85 sacks went out on 30th November and the last one on 22nd December.  Some of the comments and feedback we get follows.

With Christmas over we are now once again turning our attention to the everyday needs of those in our community who still need help, whether through poverty, illness or fleeing from domestic abuse.

FOODBANK

We are still attending the Foodbank in Chichester once a week with clothing, shoes, bedding, towels, etc. and have seen the need increase significantly over the winter months.

URGENT APPEAL – WE ARE TO LOSE OUR STORAGE FOR OUR CLOTHING BANK IN THE CHICHESTER AREA. OUR PRESENT SPACE IS 8M X 20M.  IF YOU OR ANYONE YOU KNOW COULD HELP, PLEASE CONTACT THERESE (07732 397201)

IF FAMILIES CAN’T AFFORD FOOD, THEY CAN’T AFFORD CLOTHING

LAPTOPS TABLETS and MOBILE PHONES

If you have any of these items that you no longer need,we will take them, clean them of all personal data and set them up ready for use by families, students and refugees.

Dates for your Diary:  Follow us on our Facebook page or website.

https//: www.facebook.com/RotaryClubChichesterHarbour/

https//: www.rotary-ribi.org/clubs/homepage.php?ClubID=1830

We are collecting Easter Eggs again this year.  Pleasecontact Therese to arrange pick up or drop off at the collection point at Tesco, Chichester.

WAYS TO SUPPORT US:

Online Shopping:  

We are registered with Give As You Livehttps://donate.giveasyoulive.com/ which is a free way to raise money for charity when you shop online.   There are over 6,000 participating stores. 

We are also registered with EasyFundraisinghttps://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/ which is the same principle.

Donations of gifts can be collected by Therese Brook. Contact: 07732 397201

Financial donations can be made by using our CAF Donate page.

Visit our CAF Donate page: https://cafdonate.cafonline.org/14733         OR

Cheques can be made payable to Rotary Club of Chichester Harbour and sent to:

The Treasurer, Rotary Club of Chichester Harbour,

Mrs H. Knight, 11 Dalloway Road, Arundel, West Sussex BN18 9HJ.

*******************

Gift Aid Declaration

To enable us to claim back the tax already paid on your donation and to add 25p to every £1 you donate, please tick, sign and date below and provide us with your name and address. 

Name………………………………………………………………………………………………..(please print)

Address………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Postcode………………………………………………………………………………………..………………………

Signature ………………………………………………………………………     Date ………………………

A sample of the feedback we have received from professionals and recipients about the Christmas sacks

From a Social Worker – I just did a visit with JS who is 7 and he was really excited to tell me about the Santa sack and so happy with all the presents he told me the following: “I got so many presents in a big sack from Santa!  It was this big!  I got a monster truck game and it came with 2 trucks. That was my best present ever. It’s pretty cool”.

One Mum who had all her Christmas money stolen, she had 5 children said:  “Thank you for all your support during this difficult time for us, without your support Christmas would’ve been very different”

From a Head Teacher in Chichester:  I just wanted to say thank you for all of your work and donations to our families over Christmas. The sacks of presents that you compiled transformed some families’ Christmas.  These are families where there is poverty and a range of complex issues. I would have loved to have seen the children’s faces when they saw the gifts. It made a huge difference and I am incredibly grateful for everything that you did.

From a Support Worker:  Thank you, not just for the donations you give for our families, but for the joy you put back into our work and lives by providing the means with which to give our families a Happy Christmas

From a Social Worker:  I just had to send you an email to express to you how incredibly grateful I personally am for your relentless hard work to help the vulnerable families I have been working with this past year.   You never fail to support with pretty much anything I need and without this some of my families would honestly be in an incredibly worse situation.

The Christmas sacks were very gratefully received especially the 3 you donated to one family with 4 boys, mum was overwhelmed when she opened the door to me standing there holding them and the eldest boy had a few tears when he opened his bag of clothes and new trainers!!

So from the bottom of my heart thank you again for everything you do!!

From Refuge Support Worker:  The ladies wanted to say a huge thank you to you all for the wonderful Christmas sacks you gave them. They were all overwhelmed by how generous you all are and so incredibly grateful. One lady said "I couldn't believe it, I haven't had a sack of Christmas presents since I was a child, this has absolutely made my Christmas". Another lady said: "I knew that I was going to be in refuge over Christmas and I felt so sad about it, but honestly, this has been the best Christmas I've had in years, thank you so much for making me feel special again".

Thank you so much Therese, we are all so grateful to you all for everything you do for us, not just at Christmas, but throughout the whole year.

Recipients: “Thank you again for the Santa Sack, I nearly cried!  Felt like their small piles that I got them wasn’t enough – it definitely is now.  Feel so much less stressed for Christmas now, honestly I can’t thank you enough”.

“It made such a difference to our family and made us so happy. The presents were lovely and we all loved them and so thoughtful to give a treat for mum!   The Tesco vouchers made such a difference as we get our money on the 23rd which doesn't give much time to buy food when the shelves are starting to empty.  Thank you so much again we are so grateful and pleased!”

“I did have a little cry when I received the sack. It meant so much to know that others are thinking of us and my son can wrap a present for me”.

“Thank you so much, we are so grateful to have this at Christmas and it’s a huge relief not to have to worry about Christmas dinner”.

“This has absolutely made our Christmas. We can’t thank the rotary club enough. Things are so hard at the moment and I am so, so grateful”.

“‘We can’t believe that people can be so kind. We were dreading Christmas after a really hard year and this has meant the world to us”.