Community: WUSC, QEQM Friends, Line Rangers, NDFT, Thanet Big Sing and Chartwell House

Westgate United Services Club

This year’s fundraising at the club has resulted in donations of £1,500 to the QEQM Hospital League of Friends and £1,000 towards the Westgate Skate Park refurb.

The year included  a big raffle, a poker champ and  some lucky winners having afternoon tea at Taddy’s Barn with Thanet legend Brenda Blethyn.

QEQM Hospital League of Friends

Our Chairman Sylvia with some of our team who gave up their afternoon on Christmas Eve to help Santa to deliver over 400 gifts to patients in the Hospital over the festive period. Our grateful thanks to Boots at Westwood Cross, especially lovely Sarah, for helping us buy so many presents at the most advantageous price. Also, to the Hospital’s staff for their kind support including the very helpful linen ladies and the wonderful nursing personnel on the Wards.

We very much hope the gifts brought some cheer especially to those patients who do not receive visitors.

Our charity can only make a difference in ways like this if continue to receive support. Please visit www.qeqmfriends.com for details of how you can help us.

Line Rangers Line Dancing

Each year our line dancers have a communal Christmas Card instead of writing lots of cards to each other.   Last year they raised £88 for Hearing Dogs for The Deaf.   This year it is an incredible £145

Mondays – Birchington

Tuesdays – Westgate

Wednesdays -Monkton

Fridays – Birchington

Members of Everything Linedance Association ELD

www.facebook.com/TheLineRangers

Neurodivergent Friends in Thanet

We are hosting 3 events this January.

Our events are facilitated by Neurodivergent adults for Neurodivergent adults; they are all free to attend and can be booked online via https://ndft.org.uk/events/

• Neurodivergent Social Meetup – Monday 5th January – 7-9pm – CAMP, 125 Northdown Road, Cliftonville, Margate, CT9 2QY

https://tinyurl.com/JanMeetUp2026

Our social meetup for Neurodivergent adults to meet in safe spaces with their peers. Casual, social event, with games, activities and chatting.

• Neurodivergent Coffee Morning – Friday 23rd January – 10am – 12pm – Albion House Hotel, Albion Pl, Ramsgate CT11 8HQ

https://tinyurl.com/JanCM2026

A coffee morning for Neurodivergent adults to meet in safe spaces. Casual, social event, for a friendly chat and a cuppa.

• Creative Connection Club – Painting with Nature with Carole Kendrick – Thursday 15th January – 7-9pm – Arts In Ramsgate 46 High St, Ramsgate CT11 9AG

https://tinyurl.com/CCCJan2026

A monthly creative workshop for Neurodivergent adults, led by professional artists, offering a calm space to explore different materials and ideas.

Thanet Big Sing

The Thanet Big Sing Choir will hold their winter concert on Saturday 31st January at Birchington Village Centre from 2.30pm.

They will be joined by the Big Sing Band and conductor Tony Castro.

Tickets are £10, under 14s £3

Prebooking advised, Call Lorna on 01843 290513 or email [email protected]

Chartwell House

We were incredibly proud to recently support the next generation of health and social care professionals when Jude, our Admissions Manager at Chartwell House, was invited to EKC Broadstairs College, to act as s judge for their Health & Social Care student competition.

Jude is always delighted to champion the fantastic work EKC Broadstairs College does, so she was more than happy to accept the invitation. Chartwell House and EKC Broadstairs College has a long-standing, mutually beneficial relationship, one that has seen students gain hands-on experience and, in some cases, go on to build their careers with us. That makes opportunities like this feel especially meaningful.

The competition itself was truly inspiring. Students were challenged to plan and design empowerment resources, choosing from a range of thoughtful topics that reflect real-life needs within health and social care settings.

These included: Supporting independence in older adults, Empowering young carers, Mental health empowerment, Supporting people with learning disabilities, Cultural empowerment in care, and Education around care plans, consent, and patient rights.

Each student was required to research their chosen topic using trusted sources, write detailed notes, and complete a structured plan before presenting their ideas. The creativity, empathy, and understanding on display was impressive, with students clearly thinking about how their resources could make a genuine difference to people’s lives.

From this stage, the top four students progressed to Round Two, where they will be required to produce a resource supporting the cognitive development of an adult service user (18+) within a health and social care setting of their choice.

The journey doesn’t stop there. The winner of Round Two will represent Broadstairs Campus across the wider EKC Group, with the opportunity to go on and represent East Kent Group at Kent Further Education (KFE4 Skills) at county level, an exciting and well-deserved opportunity.

It was a privilege for Jude to be part of a competition that so clearly demonstrated the passion, insight, and commitment of students entering the world of care. Supporting learning, opportunity, and real-world experience is something we truly value, and we’re proud to play a small part in encouraging future talent.

Elaine Bottle from EKC Broadstairs College said: “Thank you so much Jude for being our judge and giving advice and feedback to our students, we are very grateful for your time and sharing your knowledge.”

Admissions Manager, Jude Coveney, said: “Being invited to judge the Health and Social Care competition at EKC Broadstairs College was a real honour. The standard of work and the students’ understanding of empowerment in care was impressive, and it’s wonderful to see such strong links between education and the care sector continuing to grow.”

Moments like this highlight just how important strong partnerships between education and social providers are in shaping a brighter, more compassionate future for social care.