Thanet community news: Emergency grant, Ramsgate Stargazers, QEQM Friends, Thanet Roadrunners and EK360

John Finnegan, Ian Priston and Darryn De La Soul at MiCommunity shop

Emergency grant for Margate Independent Foodbank

Kent Community Foundation and the Albert Burns Children’s Trust Fund has sent £2,000 to the Margate Independent Foodbank CIC after precious stock was taken during a break in.

Grant-maker Kent Community Foundation acted quickly when they heard the devastating news that the Margate Independent Foodbank CIC’s MiCommunity shop had been broken into for the third time and was considering its future.

John Finnegan, Co-Founder of the Margate Independent Foodbank CIC, said: “After discovering the latest  break in, the third we have had, my  initial reaction was to consider closing the foodbank, but this setback was not going to defeat us. The community we serve needs us and we are determined to stay open.”

When they heard news, the Kent Community Foundation team, which administers grants from the Albert Burns Children’s Trust Fund on behalf of Boys & Maughan Solicitors, asked the fund to step in and make a one-off emergency payment. The response from the fund trustees came back immediately with an offer of a £2,000 donation to cover the costs of improved security measures for this vital community asset.

When the foodbank was notified that funding to pay for additional security for their premises would be allocated within days,  Darryn De La Soul, Co-Founder of the Margate Independent Foodbank CIC said, “I’m sitting here in tears of gratitude. Thank you for taking such quick action and a huge thank you to the Albert Burns Children’s Trust Fund!”

Ian Priston, Boys & Maughan Solicitors Trust Manager for the  Albert Burns Children’s Trust Fund, said: “Our trustees agreed to an emergency grant without hesitation. Margate Independent Foodbank is an excellent fit for the aims of the Albert Burns Children’s Fund. Children clearly benefit from the food bank and many local families are dependent on the support it provides.

“Our trustees want to make doubly sure this year that their donations to children’s’ charities are distributed appropriately and effectively in anticipation of the financial challenges families are due to face this winter and beyond.”

To contact Kent Community Foundation about funding for charities and community groups call 01303 814500, email [email protected] or visit www.kentcf.org.uk/funding

The Ramsgate Stargazers

The Ramsgate Stargazers had a wonderful evening of planet gazing on the Ramsgate Promenade near the Boating Pool.

The International Space Station passed over at the start of the session. Jupiter and Saturn were amazing through our telescopes. We could see the coloured bands of gases on Jupiter but not the Great Red Spot unfortunately.

The Galilean moons, Ganymede, Io, Callisto and Europa, were all in a line. Saturn’s rings were clearly visible even in John’s modest refractor telescope. Paul and Tommy’s telescopes are incredible so they were able to fix on the Ring Nebula, the gases that exploded from the remaining white dwarf star. They were also able to observe Neptune with its slight blue tinge. The Ramsgate Stargazers have set themselves an observing points challenge, available on their facebook page, so lots of points were gained!

The next event is on Saturday 1st October for International Observe the Moon night from 6pm.

Some good news about the telescope that was at Monkton. It is now in safe hands at Dane Court School inside a purpose built observatory. The Head of Physics, Liam Joseph, is keen for the Ramsgate Stargazers to enjoy it too. Meanwhile 80 youngsters in year 10 have embarked on their GCSE Astronomy course.

QEQM Hospital League of Friends

Vascular patients at the hospital are now benefitting from three items financed by our charity: – a portable Ultrasound scanner and two Doppler scanners. Vascular Nurse Practitioner Chris Gipson said: “The Vascular Unit are very grateful to the QEQM Hospital League of Friends for kindly funding this equipment for use at the Hospital, which will help us ensure patients receive appropriate care locally.”

The handheld scanners are already in use in both Vascular Clinics at the QEQM and when inpatients are reviewed on the Wards. These help to ensure patients with suspected peripheral arterial disease are seen and diagnosed promptly to ensure appropriate treatments can be recommended and initiated.

The Vascular Nurse Team have recently undergone training with the new Ultrasound scanner – shown with Vascular Nurse Practitioner Sarah Fatharly – and are in the process of setting up clinics at the QEQM to scan patients with Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms (AAA) locally. The scanner will enable the Team to scan patients at their local hospital rather than them having to travel elsewhere. By scanning and reviewing patients with AAA the Team can help to reduce one of the common causes of sudden death in mature gentlemen.

The League of Friends can only carry on making a difference to our local hospital in ways like this if we continue to receive public support. So please visit our webpage – www.ekhuft.nhs.uk/lof-qeqm – for details of the ways (some of which are FREE) in which you can help us.

Thanet Roadrunners

Thanet running club Thanet Roadrunners has been mapping the location of AEDs (automated external defibrillators) on popular running routes around Thanet.  There are over 40 publicly accessible AEDs in Thanet, but would you know where they are in an emergency?

They are running a competition on their Facebook page, testing local knowledge and observation skills.  They will publish a number of photographs of publicly accessible AEDs in Thanet and asking you where they are located.  All you need to do is LIKE their page then name the locations. There is no limit on the number of guesses!

The no 1 rated on TripAdvisor Albion House Hotel, Ramsgate has generously donated a prize of breakfast for two.

More importantly, YOU COULD SAVE A LIFE THROUGH YOUR LOCAL KNOWLEDGE.

Last year, an average of 460 people A DAY died due to heart and circulatory problems – that’s 170,000 people a year.  The survival rate for someone suffering a sudden cardiac arrest decreases by 10% every minute. Using a defibrillator whilst you wait for the emergency services to arrive will more than likely save a life.

Research also shows that those who suffered an out of hospital cardiac arrest had a survival rate of 56%. Using a defibrillator and delivering CPR straight away could help increase this figure even more.

National statistics show that the average response time for ambulance services in England were 7 minutes and 19 seconds in February 2020. Data also shows that the average call answer time was 5 seconds meaning you can get through to the emergency services almost

instantaneously. You should still always remember to always call an ambulance in the first instance however as seven minutes without care could mean a life is lost.

EK360

The Margate Caves Photo Carole Adams

Technology has already crept into our daily lives and we want to find how people feel about using technology to support their care in the future.

In partnership with Kent County Council, EK360 are bringing people together to explore how technology can help people to remain independent in their own homes and support carers.

Do you use technology already? Perhaps Alexa reminds you when you need to take your tablets, or you have a voice activated system to turn things on and off? Are you an unpaid carer for a loved one and use video calling to keep in touch and see how they are?

If you would like to find out more about the possibilities for technology and KCC’s vision for the future of technology Enabled Care, you can join them for a presentation and discussion session on September 21st at Margate Caves, from 10:30 – 1pm.

As a thank you for giving up your time to attend, you’ll get a free visit to the caves as well if you fancy!

To book a place please email [email protected] or call 01233 555983

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