Thanet community news: A tenth birthday, donations and club news

Minster Surgery celebrating 10 years of fundraising

Minster Surgery 10th birthday

During the financial year ending March 2019 we are able to purchase nearly £3000 of new equipment for the surgery, equipment that would not normally be available within a GP Practice.

Our very first fundraising event was our Spring fair in May 2009 which raised just over £400!

Since then – over the past ten years – we have raised some £35,000 and been able to present several items of specialist equipment  and provide additional facilities to Minster Surgery.

This would not be possible without the support of all our patients and friends, so would like to thank you all for your support and encouragement.

A full list of the equipment we have purchased this year can be seen on our notice board in the surgery.

So please, if there are any suggestions that you may have for further facilities or equipment you might like to see, do not hesitate to let us know.

Tec Warriors American Car Club

Tec Warriors American Car Club were pleased to present a cheque for £1710 to Thanet Disabled Riding Centre. We would like to thank everyone who helped us raise this amazing amount throughout last year and our thanks to all the companies that donated to our charity auction.

These include Bradgate Social Club, SC Motor Factors, East Kent Components, Cat Automotive, AJays, Teng Tools, Ideas Unlimited, Edwards Embroidery, Nandos, Grosvenor Casino, Mecca Bingo, Volvo Trucks UK, Autosmart , Eyecatchers, Car SOS and the Rose and Crown Stelling Minnis.

We will be raising money for them again this year and any donations for our auction would be greatly appreciated. You can contact the club on [email protected]

Past Rotarians Club of Thanet

Our Club recently had the great pleasure of hosting the Annual Conference of the National Association of Past Rotarians at the Yarrow Hotel in Broadstairs.

Pictured at the Banquet which formed part of the Conference are the Mayor & Mayoress of Broadstairs (Cllrs. Paul & Wendy Moore) with (from left to right) our speaker for the evening Sir Alastair Hunter, our National President Harish Vekaria and his wife Dhani and our Club President Brian Whitehead.

QEQM Hospital

A refurbishment project has transformed QEQM Hospital’s maternity counselling room into a more appropriate space for mothers and families who have received bad news.

Donations from Wendy Bowden and Linda Telfer – who started the Thanet Baby Bereavement Group 28 years ago after the deaths of their own babies – mean the room is now a bright, airy space with tea and coffee making facilities and homely comforts to make delivering  difficult news less impersonal. It also provides a space for families to stay a little longer to process their news in private.

Previously the room had a dark, cupboard-like feel that provided little comfort, so staff were keen to refresh the space.

Wendy said: “Having experienced the worst possible news that your baby has died, I can totally understand the need for a quiet, private place to be told this. The support Linda and I gained from each other and from the group was phenomenal, and I hope that someone else might be able to continue offering support to newly bereaved parents and their families.”

On average there are 7,000 babies born  in east Kent each year. Although the majority of women presenting at the Antenatal Clinic have a positive outcome, sadly there are women who experience fetal loss or fetal abnormalities.

The counselling room is a quiet room for compassionate care where parents can receive difficult news in privacy.

Birchington Neighbourhood Plan

The village faces new challenges and opportunities as the emerging but not yet adopted Thanet Local Plan is produced so over the past months the Parish Council’s Neighbourhood Planning Team, which includes local residents, have been developing draft objectives and a vision for a Neighbourhood Plan for Birchington. Now work on the policies and projects for Birchington needs to start and we want everyone in the village, whether resident or business owner, to give feedback on our work so far and contribute to the next phase of the plan for Birchington.

For this purpose, we’re holding a Community Design Day on 6 June at the All Saints Church Hall in Kent Gardens from 12 noon to 8pm. During the event participants will work on the characteristics of the village today, what facilities exist and how we will adapt and respond to new developments and their impact on the village. We will illustrate the work to date and hold three topical sessions where everyone attending can get involved in mapping Birchington today and contribute ideas on the emerging vision for the future including development proposals on land to the west of the village.

The promoter of this large site will be giving a presentation and taking part as well. We’d like lots of feedback for the Neighbourhood Planning Team to take away and consider for the next step in the process. We’re also involving our local schools and will give a prize for the best Young Planner and Architect contributions to our vision for Birchington 2025. There will be plenty of opportunities to be creative throughout the afternoon, ending with a questions and answers session at the end of the day.

Neville Hudson, Chair of the Parish Council said: “We encourage everyone with an interest in the future of our village to drop in or stay all afternoon and help us to create a dynamic Neighbourhood Plan to go forward to the next stage. We’re really looking forward to plenty of discussion and input to the emerging plan. Look out for leaflets and posters which will be distributed shortly”.

Further information can be found on our website: www.birchington-pc.gov.uk

Thanet Iceberg Project

A community organisation tackling food poverty by providing meals to those in need is able to help more local people thanks to donations from the supermarket chain.

The Thanet Iceberg Project, which helps hundreds of people across the county, is an independent charity aiming to create a family feel in the community by providing a homely environment where those in need can come together and enjoy nutritional food.

It operates a community cafe called The Kitchen CT9 in Cliftonville, where volunteers use predominantly surplus food to create affordable, nutritious food. They also offer an advocacy service to help people access various agencies and organisations as they seek to take control of their lives again and work their way out of poverty.

Ann Newstead and the team receive the food through Tesco’s Community Food Connection scheme, which is run in conjunction with food charity FareShare.

Ann, who is project manager and head chef, said: “Tesco is one of our key suppliers. We rely heavily on the surplus donations that we receive from them.

“A simple example of our relationship with them occurred a few weeks ago during the very bad weather, when the local Tesco store had to temporarily close because of damage to the roof. The store called us daily and passed on food and drinks that could have otherwise gone to waste. Because of this we were able to give more than 100 pints of milk to local residents through our community fridge.”

The Thanet Iceberg Project celebrated its first anniversary in March, and the Kitchen CT9 opened its doors in the same month.

Alec Brown, Tesco’s Head of Community, said: “We are proud to work with the Thanet Iceberg Project, whose dedication to the community is amazing. They have already helped so many people, and we are so pleased to be working with them to assist even more people in need.”

Since launching in February 2016, Tesco’s Community Food Connection has donated surplus food to more than 7,000 local charities and community groups. The scheme pairs Tesco stores with local charities and community groups by alerting them to available unsold surplus food items via a mobile app. This food can then be collected by charities and supplied to people in need, ensuring that no good food goes to waste.

Tesco is keen to hear from any charities that could benefit from this programme. Interested groups can get in touch with their local store or visit www.fareshare.org.uk/fareshare-foodcloud to register.

League of Friends of the QEQM Hospital

The Annual General Meeting was held on May 16. Chairman Jeremy Voizey gave an illustrated review of fundraising activities over the last year along with examples of how the money raised had been spent. Overall the charity spent well over £89,000 on the purchase of medical equipment together with facilities and amenities to benefit the patients, visitors and staff at our local hospital.

Guest Peyma Hajilou, Matron of the Maternity Ward at the Hospital gave a talk on the work of her department and outlined the benefits of equipment funded by the League of Friends – which had included a phototherapy system to help manage jaundice in new-borns, monitors to check oxygen saturation levels to detect respiratory distress syndrome & an air-assisted device to help reposition patients – was providing for patients.

For more information about the League of Friends check out their page on Facebook or www.leagueoffriendsqeqm.nhs.uk

Fegans

Kent Community Foundation the Ashford based grant maker, supports several children’s mental health charities within Kent and Medway and is keen to hear from new or existing charities, helping with these issues, who need support.

Fegans is just one of Kent mental health charities that has successfully applied for support from Kent Community Foundation (KCF).

Over the last three years, KCF has awarded Fegans, grants totalling £54,000 to support its work with children’s mental health. The most recent grant of £4,950 was awarded for their work to offer professional counselling to support vulnerable young people in crisis.

In their application to KCF, Fegans said, “Recent statistics reveal that in the UK three children in every classroom have a mental health problem. (The figure has since increased to 4 in every classroom.) We know that young people are struggling with issues including, bullying, anxiety, abuse, domestic violence and self-harm and we want to support them with counselling.”

With the funds from the most recent KCF grant, Fegans has been able to offer access to mental health support, with a programme including counselling that re-orientates children’s perspectives of themselves to enable positive self-image and greatly increase emotional resilience. Troubled families are given one to one support to help them understand their actions and behaviours. The families have parent support workers working alongside them to identify family difficulties and give them information and practical help to make positive choices.

Children’s mental health charities  interested in applying for funding, should visit the KCF  website, www.kentcf.org.uk/apply call, 01303 814 500 or email, [email protected]