Broadstairs Town Team
A total of 6 of the 8 sites that Broadstairs Town Team volunteers maintain are being judged by a representative of the Royal Horticultural Society for their ‘It’s Your Neighbourhood’ scheme on Thursday, July 8.
‘It’s Your Neighbourhood’ is about strengthening communities by promoting and actively engaging local people to volunteer to ’green up’ their spaces, particularly long-neglected ones, by working together.
Sue Wainwright a Town Team Gardens volunteer and leading the bid, said: “We have a great team of volunteers that work together and are looking forward to showing the judge from the RHS just what a difference that donation of time and skills makes to the local area.
“We’d love anyone that is out and about on Thursday to look out for us all-we’ll be wearing our Town Team hi-vis vests, and perhaps you can wave, beep, say hi, say thank you and let them all know how much their work to make our local environment nicer is appreciated by everyone locally.”
Pip Hardy, Broadstairs Town Team Trustee, added : “The impact that Covid 19 has had on levels of social isolation is of great concern to everyone. We know from experience that volunteering to help with community projects, particularly gardening makes our town look nicer and is a great, tangible, and positive way of helping to tackle that.
“We’re very excited about the visit from the RHS judge so we can show what has happened historically across all the sites thanks to fantastic levels of community engagement, and let them know more about our plans for the future.”
Contact : [email protected] to get involved
Walk for Crisis
Margate Tesco mobile area manager Wes Hammond and three colleagues have completed a journey across rough terrain, climbing to a total height of 35,031 metres – to raise money for charity.
Wes, who is well-known in Thanet as one of the team behind the Luke’s Legacy trust set up in memory of former Hartsdown teacher Luke Williams, walked from Weymouth to Studland, along the Jurassic Coastal Path in Dorset to raise money for national homelessness charity Crisis.
Wes and his three Tesco Mobile colleagues chose the 33-mile route for its challenging nature, in the hope it would drive donations in support of Crisis and their members.
Wes, 36, and his colleagues in the South Coast and South-East regions, were also prompted to participate in the challenge following the life-changing experience of their colleague, Julian Belsom, who was diagnosed with SUNCT (Short Lasting Unilateral Neuralgiform Headaches with Conjunctival and Tearing).
Julian also took part in the walk on June 30, with the team starting out at 6am and finishing at 9pm.
Wes said: “Due to the MoD practicing at the firing range we had to detour around the path, meaning we ended up covering more ground than expected at 35.4 miles. It was a really tough day but all worth it.”
The colleagues have raised £1,125 so far which has exceeded their target.
To help support Wes and his team in raising money for Crisis, donate at www.facebook.com/donate/4117137168346305
Thanet Army Reserve
The Princess of Wales’ Royal Regiment, also known as “the Tigers”, have enlisted the support of South Thanet’s Member of Parliament, Craig Mackinlay, as they seek to raise awareness of the exciting opportunities the Army Reserve are providing to people in Thanet.
The numbers involved across Thanet need to increase else there is a longer-term risk of losing the local Army Reserve presence and opportunities.
Based at MoD Manston in Thanet, the Tigers are a flexible, local, fighting Regiment. As an infantry unit, the Regiment’s soldiers are trained in dismounted close combat. They meet on Wednesday evenings, weekends and a two-week annual training period.
Men and women between the age of 18 and 43 can apply to join. You are paid for the time you serve, but the amount of time you commit is up to you.
Craig Mackinlay MP said: “Joining the Army Reserve in Thanet means you can get involved with everything that the Regular Army does: from combat to peacekeeping and humanitarian work. You will have opportunities to learn new skills, travel the world and take advantage of adventurous training. The difference is that Reservists are not full-time soldiers.
“This is an excellent opportunity for local people between 18 and 43 years of age and I would encourage anyone who is interested or would like further information to drop into Denmark Barracks at Manston on Wednesdays at 8pm to meet and speak with the Tigers’ recruiters in person.”
Further information can be found online at www.army.mod.uk.
Pilgrims Hospices
To celebrate its 25 year anniversary, Ramsgate-based company Business Computer Solutions Ltd. (BCS) is encouraging staff to volunteer for local causes in a ‘25 acts of giving’ initiative. Helen Bradley, Sales Administrator, from Broadstairs and Khan Tomlinson, Systems Administrator, from Ramsgate chose to volunteer for Pilgrims Hospices. They each wanted to give back to the hospice charity that serves their local community.
On June 24, Helen and Khan gave up their time to volunteer at Pilgrims’ Broadstairs shop. In addition, they donated several items to sell in the shop including jigsaws, photo frames, a desk tidy, books, an armchair rest organiser and a room diffuser. Helen also contributed decorative bottles that she made using new, empty wine bottles with lights inside.
Helen said: “I love a good charity shop, and this one is my favourite in Broadstairs; the staff and volunteers are so friendly. I wanted to get involved and interact with the local public.”
Khan added: “It’s been really fun meeting customers and so interesting to see exactly what goes into managing a charity shop. The volunteers work so hard, and I was surprised how much stock gets donated and processed behind the scenes.”
Mandy Hawkett, Retail Area Manager at Pilgrims, said: “I’d like to thank Helen and Khan for supporting Pilgrims as their chosen charity. I am really proud of Pilgrims’ retail stores and our dedicated shop teams, so I was delighted when Helen approached us regarding the ‘25 acts of giving’ project and her wish to spend the day in our lovely Broadstairs store. The team take pride in their store, creating a fabulous atmosphere to shop and volunteer in.
“It was such a lovely day. Khan worked on the till delivering excellent customer service, and Helen put out new items of stock, ensuring the displays were looking their best throughout the day; both were supported by the experts, our wonderful volunteers.”
Tim Stewart, Retail Business Development Manager at Pilgrims, added: “It’s so important to us that local businesses like BCS support us in what we do. It’s great that their staff came to our Broadstairs shop to see first-hand just how hard our staff and volunteers work to get the most out of the donations we receive. There is a perception that charity shops are simple and straightforward to operate, but I’m sure Helen and Khan can now confirm that there is so much work that goes into getting donated stock ready for sale!
“BCS staff donated so much lovely stock to us on the day, and they were able to Gift Aid it which made the donations 25% more valuable. We’re really pleased that Helen and Khan chose us as their preferred charity, and even better that they took the time out of their busy schedules to come into the shop and help run it for the day; I’m sure they went home exhausted but feeling very fulfilled.”
Other BCS employees are volunteering across Thanet in several capacities, getting involved with beach cleaning, community gardening projects and girl guiding.
Martin Hynes, Managing Director at BCS, said: “At BCS we have always felt businesses should play a role in helping their local communities. We have embraced this philosophy over the last 25 years, which has seen us support various local charities and good causes, including with our most recent ‘25 acts of giving’ where the entire BCS team participated in helping local causes, to celebrate our 25 years in business. We would like to thank Pilgrims for helping make this possible; our team have gained a great deal out of the experience, and we hope to have inspired other local businesses and residents to do the same.”
Inspired to become a Pilgrims’ volunteer?
Visit pilgrimshospices.org/volunteer to find out more and check out the latest opportunities, including at Pilgrims’ shops.
Each year Pilgrims Hospices give care and comfort to over 2,500 people in east Kent who are coming to terms with an illness that sadly cannot be cured. The charity support patients to live life as well as possible until the very end, free from pain and distress.
The Mason Mile
Remember Derrick Evans, AKA Mr Motivator, when he blasted into the health and wellness scene in the 1990s, bringing his lycra-clad workouts to our TV screens? During lockdown he and his wife Palmer ran free online classes and these classes continue today.
These weekly workouts have become extremely popular over the past year and even contributed to Mr Motivator being awarded an MBE.
Every Wednesday at 6.30pm he teams up with a partner and we are delighted to announce that The Mason Mile will be sponsoring this free class on Wednesday, July 7!
His trademark “Fizzical” workout is designed for people of all ages and fitness levels and no matter who you are you’re guaranteed to leave with a smile on your face.
If people would like to register for the free class, they can click on https://mrmotivatorsclub.com/wednesday-class/
Martha Trust
Back after being cancelled last year due to covid, Music on the Farm 2021, a fabulous one day festival in aid of Martha Trust took place in the fields of Solley’s Ice Cream Parlour in Ripple on Sunday June 27.
The festival was run under Step 3 restrictions on the Government roadmap out of lockdown which included 50% capacity and one way systems in place plus groups of no more than 30.
A host of local acts performed a variety of musical styles from modern hits to bluesy beats, Rock to Funky House.
The line up included Sarah Banks, Your Shout, Gypskazz, Andy Lawrence and brand new for this year, Fnkhaus, PLAY and The Martellos.
Entertainer and singer Sarah Banks took to the stage compere the day and the auction was undertaken by Richard Sirot from Deal Radio who were also broadcasting live from the event. There were also dance sets from Dean Academy of Performing Arts. Sharon Powell was the official photographer for the day.
Director of Solley’s Keith Morrison said, “Solley’s are long term supporters of Martha Trust and we are delighted to have worked with Martha on Music on the Farm. It was a huge success and raised lots of valuable income for an incredibly worthy cause. It was a cracking day out.”
Guests enjoyed picnics whilst also sampling the treats on offer from the various onsite vendors.
There was plenty to keep the kids busy too with six hours of children’s entertainment organised by events planner Lizzie Willis. There was also face painting by Summer Faces and main sponsor Superior Healthcare.
New for this year, Mobiloo attended which made the event totally accessible for all thanks to a grant from Deal Town Council.
All vendors gave 20% of their sales back to Martha.
The event raised over £24,500 which will go directly to the care of the young people and adults with profound disabilities at Martha Trust.
The next festival date has been set for Sunday June 26 2022 so if your business would like to support it , please get in touch with Kerry on 01304 610448 or email [email protected]
