Newington Pharmacy
Winners of the eighth annual Recognition of Excellence (RoE) Awards have been presented to key healthcare workers for outstanding achievements in the world of community pharmacy and this year’s finalists included a pharmacy technician from Ramsgate.
Danielle Anderson, a pharmacy technician and deputy manager at Newington Pharmacy in Ramsgate, took home the hotly-contested Team Leader Award. Hardworking, committed, passionate and driven are just some of the words used by the judges to describe Danielle. Keen to set a good example for completing ongoing learning, she passed her pharmacy technician qualification with distinction and has enrolled onto the NHS South East Leadership Academy training through the Local Pharmaceutical Committee (LPC), as well as mentoring her staff to achieve their own training goals.
She said: “You’re only as good as the team around you and I feel so lucky to have a great team with me”. In response, one judge commented that “Like all good leaders she is humble and there for others.”
Finalists were treated to an all-expenses-paid trip to central London for the awards ceremony that took place over lunchtime at the glamorous 8 Northumberland Avenue. The event involved a champagne drinks reception with the top brass of the pharmacy industry, an inspirational speech from special guest Jonny Benjamin MBE and a glittering awards ceremony where the finalists in attendance collected their prizes.
Isle of Thanet Photographic Society
A great start to the 2021/22 season with new members bringing their expertise and different styles to the first quarter’s digital image competition.
A bumper number of 93 entries provided a wide choice for local judge Molly Hollman to critique. Returning member Terry Scales scooped first place in group 1 with his lovely image called “Here we go round the merry go round” (pictured above). New member Chris West came top in group 2 with his grungy image called “Ascend” (pictured below).
We are now looking forward with great anticipation to see what images are entered for the first print competition of the season on 11 October, whilst our very own James Foad LRPS and John Draper will host an evening on “nature” later this month.
We meet at Ramsgate Football Club on Mondays at 7.30pm. For further information please visit our website: www.isleofthanetphotographicsociety.co.uk or visit us on Facebook.
Broadstairs College
Our Macmillan coffee morning was a roaring success with staff getting involved to bake (or buy) tasty treats to sell.
Broadstairs College raised a total of £408.76 for Macmillan Cancer Support.
Competitive staff were rewarded for their efforts with prizes for the following:
- Most represented – Winner – Gina Dawes
- Most allergy friendly – Winner – June Thompson
- You can’t just have one (So yummy its illegal) – Winner – Sam Perkins
- Fake it till you make it, best effort to pass off as your own (shop bought) – Winner – Emma Barham
- Good try award (looks rubbish, tastes great) – Winner – Stephen Mitchell
- Get in my Belly – Winner – Lynda Hutley
- Best Bake – Winner – Keeley Handley
- Kurt Salter handshake award – Winner – Leo (student entry)
The Montefiore Scrolls – a talk
Every year, in his latter years, much respected Ramsgate resident and benefactor, Sir Moses Montefiore, commissioned a scribe to write a Torah Scroll, an integral element of synagogue services.
Each Torah scroll contains the first five books of the Old Testament, is handwritten on parchment by specialised calligraphers and takes at least one year to complete.
For its next talk Ramsgate Montefiore Heritage has invited master scribe, Rabbi Bernard Benarroch, to give a talk in the historic Montefiore Synagogue about the scrolls.
Rabbi Benarroch has many years experience, including maintaining some of the Montefiore scrolls, where he has made some very interesting and surprising discoveries.
The talk is on Sunday, October 10 at the Montefiore Synagogue, Honeysuckle Road, Ramsgate. Doors open at 2.30pm, talk starts at 3pm. Tickets are £5 per person at the door, free to RMH members. (You may become a member at the door if you wish). Alternative parking may be found on Dumpton Park Drive, where the path to the synagogue is opposite Winterstoke Gardens.
Writing a Torah scroll is a religious act written by a specially trained, devout and knowledgeable scribe, using special ink and a quill.
Oasis Domestic Abuse Service
The fourth annual Oasis Golf Day at North Foreland Golf Club has raised £7,500 for local charity Oasis Domestic Abuse Service.
The sun shone all day for this sell-out event held on Friday, September 24 with 22 teams taking to the fairways for a shotgun start.
There was a full programme for the day beginning with coffee and bacon rolls in the Lighthouse Brasserie, sponsored by Wahl (UK) Limited, followed by 18 holes on North Foreland’s beautiful main course. In the evening, guests were treated to a 2-course meal which was followed by an entertaining charity auction expertly run by former Chairman Keith Rumblo.
Taking first place in the charity tournament was Tracey Myer’s team with a score of 89 points with the Team captained by Kirk Wager coming very close behind in 2nd with 88 points. Stephen Murphy hit Nearest the Pin on the 7th hole and Richard Gardner was Nearest the Line on the 10th. All winners received golfing prizes generously arranged by club professional Darren Parris and sponsored by Lanes Printers of Broadstairs.
The event was well-supported by local businesses 17 of which sponsored tees on the course.
Principle Supporter, The Rotary Club of Thanet, were delighted once again to support the Oasis Golf Day.
Rotary member Neal Elliott reinforced commitment to the charity, saying: “Over the last 8 years The Rotary Club of Thanet have donated in excess of £40,000 to Oasis and are fully aware of the effort and commitment that the employees, support staff and volunteers put in to all the activities and needs of the women, men and children who are in desperate need of their professional services. With yet another sell-out tournament, the success of the golf day is guaranteed, and requests for entrance to next year’s event are already flooding in. Congratulations to the committee on another superbly organised event.”
Oasis Fundraising Manager, Loukia Michael, said, ‘We are so pleased with the success of our annual golf day and we owe our gratitude to the local golfing and business communities as well as to North Foreland Golf Club for their hospitality. The past 18 months have been very difficult for those affected by domestic abuse and the funds raised by this event have never been more needed.’
Westgate meeting
Westgate councillor Bertie Braidwood has asked the town’s PCSO to meet residents following an assault that resulted in a teenager suffering serious injuries.
Cllr Braidwood said: “As most of us will be well aware, there was a very serious assault at Westgate Station.
“Since then, I’ve been receiving a lot of messages and emails from concerned residents explaining how they no longer feel safe in our beautiful town.
“As much as I’d like to reassure residents, I’m no expert so I’m pleased to announce that I’ve invited Westgate Police Community Support Officer Mark Vogle to meet residents on Saturday, October 9, 11.30am at Westgate Library.
“The point of this meeting is for residents to voice their concerns however big or small. Mark’s time is extremely precious so I’m thrilled he’s agreed to take time out of his day to meet us. This is an open meeting. It’ll start by introducing myself and introducing Mark, let Mark explain his job role then it’s over to you to ask whatever you want.
“The meeting will be downstairs in Westgate library with seating provided A big thank you to Westgate library for accommodating this event at such short notice.”
Pilgrims Hospices
Pilgrims nurse Amy Stevens with her partner Heather, is taking on the Loch Ness Marathon today (October 3), and fundraising for Pilgrims hospice care. Along with hundreds of others, they are taking on Scottish weather along with the gruelling Nessie challenge.
Amy said: “My partner Heather and I both wanted to run our first official marathon together, and so we researched marathons in the UK. The Loch Ness Marathon appealed to us as it was in a beautiful location, we both had always wanted to visit Scotland and we were excited at the chance to see Nessie! We went to Scotland last year for the Loch Ness Marathon, but it was cancelled due to COVID.”
Amy has been a qualified nurse for 2 years. She said: “I began my nursing career as a community nurse before becoming a hospice nurse. About 10 years ago, my nan became ill with cancer and spent her last couple of weeks in Pilgrims Hospice Thanet. After seeing the care the nurses gave her, it made me want to become a nurse and I think I knew then I’d want to specialise in palliative care nursing.
“I’ve been nursing at Pilgrims Hospice Thanet for 5 months. As a student nurse I had a placement there which I enjoyed, and found a passion for palliative care, so I knew I wanted to go back to working there.”
Amy, 32, from Ashford, is a regular runner. She said: “I did a lot of running when at school and then got back into running 4 years ago. I have improved on speed and distance over the years and I’m now focusing on ultra-running.
“During lockdown when all races were stopped, I trained myself and completed marathon distances in the countryside between Canterbury and Wye and along the coast from Whitstable to Pegwell. The Loch Ness Marathon will be my first official marathon.
“Heather is my partner, my best friend and my running buddy. When we are not working, we enjoy going running together or for a solo run.
“On our runs, our favourite energy snacks are Skittles and for our longer runs, I like a peanut butter and banana wrap and Heather likes a cashew nut butter wrap. We are great at motivating each other.”
If you would like to support their fundraising for Pilgrims Hospices, please visit their JustGiving page www.justgiving.com/fundraising/amyandheathermarathon2020.
After the marathon the couple have two weeks in Scotland to relax, explore the highlands, eat and drink at new places and soak in the culture. Amy said: “I am extremely proud of being a Pilgrims nurse, I am passionate about palliative nursing and to work alongside like-minded people is such a privilege. It is a wonderful multi-disciplinary team at Thanet; everyone is fantastic at what they do, and it makes such a difference to patient care when we all work together, to give the best patient centred care possible.
“Most of my career as a nurse has been spent working through COVID. It has been tough and stressful at times, but I think this has helped me to become the best nurse I possibly can and help those who need my care. I love being a nurse and couldn’t imagine doing any other career now.”
Find more information on a career in nursing at Pilgrims Hospices please contact Pilgrims HR team on 01227 812612 or email [email protected]
Kent Fire and Rescue Service
Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) has been awarded ServiceMark accreditation by the Institute of Customer Service (ICS), following record feedback from customers and colleagues.
It’s the first time a fire and rescue service has achieved this recognition, and it’s a national standard, independently recognising an organisation’s customer service excellence.
The ServiceMark assessment report noted that, KFRS has ‘turned customer culture completely on its head in the most positive way’, and that ‘all teams, from first responders to volunteers to education specialists, look at the whole customer journey and identify where support can be offered beyond an incident, or how an incident can be prevented.’
The report also highlighted that KFRS has a ‘commitment to delivering great service’ with passion and determination to ‘build a world that is safer, more inclusive and more involved’.
Following the assessment, which included interviews with employees, the ICS assessor reported: “All those I met were friendly, professional and very open in their approach. The passion for helping people and looking after each other came through in every conversation.
“Caring about customers is at the heart of what draws people to join Kent Fire and Rescue Service. Employees really do put themselves in their customers’ shoes and go above and beyond to ensure a positive outcome and a good experience – they genuinely care.”
KFRS has earned the ServiceMark as a result of colleague feedback, blended with customer survey results from earlier this year, in which KFRS achieved an exceptionally positive outcome.
Kent Community Foundation
Following the success of Kent County Council’s first Strategic Recovery Fund which Kent Community Foundation administered, an additional £300,000 is now available to support charities and community groups. In the summer, Kent Community Foundation awarded grants totalling £431,000 from the first Strategic Recovery Fund to help future proof seventy-three organisations and they are thrilled to launch Strategic Recovery Fund #2 to offer more financial help to organisations adapting to the ‘new normal’.
Kent Community Foundation is inviting applications from charities and community groups for grants from the Strategic Recovery Fund #2, to purchase one off support to help recover from the adverse effects of the pandemic and sustain their services.
The Strategic Recovery Fund #2 will support charities and community groups to develop their business plans and strategies to put them in a stronger position for the future.
Grants of between £5,000 and £10,000 will be available to purchase one-off support across a range of topics to help strategy planning including: leadership and training programmes, business planning, operational, income or financial review, website and digital skills upgrades or marketing costs.
Josephine McCartney, Chief Executive, Kent Community Foundation said: “We know how important the initial £431,000 funding from the Strategic Recovery Fund was to organisations across Kent and we are delighted to be able to administer this second round of funding from Kent Community Foundation – Connecting People Who Care with Causes That Matter Kent County Council. The focus of the new £300,000 funding will be on building sustainability and encouraging innovation and we will award grants of up to £10,000 for groups to diversify their business models and adapt to the current challenges and increase their sustainability.”
The Strategic Recovery Fund #2, is open for applications and more information is available by visiting www.kentcf.org.uk/funding/KCC-strategic-recovery-fund
Organisations should have been in operation for 12 months. Grants should be spent within six months. Applications close on 20 October.
Marie Curie
End of life charity, Marie Curie, is encouraging people in Kent to start preparing for the National Day of Reflection 2022 by planting spring bulbs and seeds this autumn.
Individuals, schools and organisations up and down the country are taking part in the spring planting to show their support for Marie Curie and the National Day of Reflection. The flowers will bloom in time for the day on 23 March 2022 in a sign of hope for a brighter future.
The National Day of Reflection is a day to support the millions of people who’ve been bereaved during the pandemic, and to reflect on the lives of family, friends, neighbours and colleagues who have died from Covid or other causes. The day is a time to pause, reflect and support each other whether of any belief or none.
Florin Diaconu, Community Fundraiser for Kent (pictured above), said: “For many, the deep trauma of losing loved ones during Covid is still very real. I hope the community will be inspired to plant a spring bulb or sow seeds ready to bloom for the National Day of Reflection and show their support for Marie Curie.
“The National Day of Reflection on 23 March 2022 will be an opportunity to come together to support the millions of people bereaved during the pandemic and remember the people we’ve lost.”
For further information and to pledge to take part in the National Day of Reflection 2022 visit mariecurie.org.uk/daytoreflect
Martha Trust
The Martha Trust Golf Day in association with John Shepherd held at Walmer & Kingsdown Golf Club was a fantastic success raising over £5600 for the charity. The day was due to happen in 2020 however because of COVID19, it was postponed until September 17 this year. The sun shone all day for the golfers who came from far and wide including Surrey and London to support the charity.
Taking first place was ‘Tip Top Toppers’, which scored an impressive 113 points. In close second place was ‘Team Clandonites ’ scoring 112 points and in third place with 106 points was ‘Team Clubs & Roses’ .
Nearest the Pin, played from the 4th, 11th, 14th and 17th tees were won by Robbie Herbert, Mark Broadhurst, Kate Dunham and Dr Giles Beach.
The auction was hosted by Kerry Banks and included prizes like 4 balls at Sene Valley, Walmer & Kingsdown, Broome Park and Chestfield plus a Bespoke Celebration Meal for 4 in the comfort of your own home by Saintly Suppers and a Michelin Chef meal for 10 too.
Martha Trust Fundraising & Events Officer Kerry Banks BEM said: “We are delighted that the day was such an enormous success and are so grateful to the golfing community for rallying around to help us stage such a special day after such a challenging 18 months . “Thank you so much to Golf Pro Richard Perkins for providing all our winners prizes, to the Manager Jonathan Webb at Walmer & Kingsdown Golf Club for all his support, to West Indies cricketer John Shepherd for his ongoing support of Martha and to all the players, sponsors, auction and raffle donators.”
Photographer Sharon Powell photographed the event and eight local businesses sponsored holes.
Kerry said: “We would like to say a huge thank you to all of the following sponsors: Walmer & Kingsdown Golf Club, Walmer & Kingsdown Golf Pro shop, Castle Removals, Hutchings Timber yard, Bloody Mary’s of Deal, J&R Carpets, Positive Solutions, Chris & Jeanette Goulding, The Kings Head, Bumper2Bumper and Dunkerley’s Restaurant and Hotel.”
Next year marks the 35th Anniversary for Martha Trust and the Walmer & Kingsdown Golf Day has been set for Friday, April 22. To register to play, please call 01304 610448 or email [email protected]
Margate Early Learning
Margate Early Learning Community, a partnership between local services, organisations and families which works to improve early learning outcomes for children growing up in Margate.
The Margate Early Learning Community is supported by Save the Children UK and we’re currently trying to spread the word about a partnership we have established with LEGO to give all families in Thanet free access to the EasyPeasy app, which contains early years parenting tips and activities from a wide community of parents and experts, until the end of 2021 using the code: lego2021. The app can be downloaded via the App Store and Google Play.
Football with McDonald’s franchisee backing
Thanet McDonald’s franchisee Paul Crocker is once again providing 240 hours of free, safe, Fun Football sessions for local children from Margate in October.
There are four new fun-filled dates taking place at Margate Football Club (Cages), Hartsdown Road, Margate designed to help girls and boys between the ages of five and 11 get active and play football.
What: Free McDonald’s Fun Football sessions
Where: Margate Football Club (Cages), Hartsdown Rd, Margate
When: 3, 10, 17, 24 October
How to get involved: Sign up today at www.mcdonalds.co.uk/funfootball
In partnership with all four Football Associations across the UK, McDonald’s and franchisees are providing hundreds of free sessions, all delivered by a team of fully qualified coaches in over 600 locations across the UK during 2021.
After eight successful sessions were held in the spring and summer, McDonald’s is offering another four more sessions for families to sign their children up for, meaning 240 under elevens will have the opportunity to learn from top FA coaches.
.McDonald’s franchisee, Paul Crocker, said: “Being active has a benefit for children – and I’m delighted to be able to help facilitate 240 hours of free Fun Football sessions for children in the area. With coaching provided by FA qualified coaches, it is a great opportunity to experience football for the first time or to work on developing skills and technique.
“The Fun Football sessions held this spring and summer were well attended and a success for everyone involved. Following the inspirational performances of the Three Lions on the European Stage this summer, we hope as many boys and girls as possible are encouraged to become involved football.”
