NEWSLETTER #10

Summer 2023

17 July 2023

Come as you are, bring what you can and take what you need

2nd Birthday Edition!

On 19th July, we officially turn 2! So much has happened in the past year that we would like to celebrate as well as lots of lessons learned. Thank you all for being a part of this incredible journey thus far, and here's to many more birthdays for The Keepers.

1,000 Facebook likes

Thank you to all our social media 'likers' for helping us reach 1,000 Facebook likes. We also have over 1,100 followers. Although we know a lot of people aren't on social media, your online support helps us reach further into our communities than we would be able to on our own.

NEW: The Keepers' Impact Report

Our Outreach Coordinator Simone has been busy pulling together our very first Impact Report (alongside her day job helping to set up The Keepers in Kingswood). We are now very proud to be able to share it with you.

It includes lots of the facts and figures relating to our day-to-day services so you can better visualise exactly how we have helped our community between January 2022 to April 2023. This report will help us in future funding applications and is also a fantastic snapshot of the great work we do every day. Enjoy, and thank you Simone!

The Keepers' Impact Report

Coronation Town Hall Teas

Thank you to Janet and Jeff from the Wotton Heritage Centre and to all of our fantastic volunteers for making the community-spirited Coronation Town Hall Teas happen! It was a lovely atmosphere on the day.

Gail and David deliver at the Coronation Teas

We had a kind donation of Harrods teddy bears which we put up for auction and raffled at the Coronation Teas. All raising much needed funds for The Keepers. Didn't they look smart?

Teddies looking regal for the Coronation

The Big Help Out

On Bank Holiday Monday 8 May, it was the Big Help Out. In line with the King's wishes, we asked our volunteers to help us garden in community spaces around the town.

Clearing up some of the vegetation near The Chipping and Rope Walk

Thanks to all those who turned out in the rain and weeded beds around the town – even got as far as between the cracks in the pavement!

"Now where is this Wotton Youth Centre sign?"

New Team Members

Since April, we have welcomed two temporary new members of staff to the Keepers' team. This has helped ease the workload on our permanent staff and the team is hugely grateful to them both!

Adam is a new temporary Duty Manager:

Hello! I first came to Wotton 2 years ago. I loved it immediately and moved here not long after. Previously I have worked in children’s charities, Autism and play charities. I have a background in Child Protection and Safeguarding and I have spent much of my working life managing special educational units for children with social, emotional and mental health needs.

I currently work at The British School and I’m so excited to now also be part of the team here at the Keepers, a place doing so much for the local community. The staff, volunteers, trustees and visitors here all show me how many kind, caring, generous people live in the area. I am so pleased to be part of such an amazing community project.

Adam

Arlene has also been temporarily covering as Duty Manager: 

I've been working as temporary duty manager on Thursdays for nearly 2 months.

There was a lot to take in at first but it's been great finding out more of what goes on at the Keepers and meeting some of the lovely people who use it and the volunteers (who keep me right!).

Each Thursday has been different. I've enjoyed getting to know the weekly Art Shape and Welcome Space folks as well as other groups who meet less frequently. And also having a cuppa and chat with regulars who just drop in. 

I think it's amazing how the Keepers has evolved into a thriving community hub since WAMA days and it's been a privilege to help out just a little bit. 

Arlene

CEO in progress...

Our recruitment campaign for The Keepers' first ever CEO is still in progress, so watch this space!

Keepers in Kingswood (KiK) update

Now officially open!

We are excited to announce that the first phase of The Keepers in Kingswood, the first satellite hub of The Keepers - Wotton Area Community Hub, launched in mid-June!

We are now offering a Community Pantry and Information Point at Kingswood, St Mary's that aims to provide basic foodstuffs, toiletries and sanitary products for anyone in the village who would find it helpful to use this provision on a Pay-As-You-Feel basis. 

The KiK Community Pantry and Information Point will be open every Monday - Saturday 10am - 4pm.

In addition to this, we will also be displaying information from various groups, services and support to help connect you to what is on offer in and around your local area.

KiK Community Pantry and Information Point

Could you be part of Keepers in Kingswood?

Would you like to be part of The Keepers in Kingswood but not sure how?

Here are all the ways you can get involved:

• Become a volunteer - We have a variety of roles available as part of our new drop in café (starting 18th July) from sitting and chatting to those who pop in to serving drinks and cakes.
• Donations of food items and toiletries to our community pantry - We will continue to collect donations in the Keepers in Kingswood’s collection box that can be found in the porch of St Mary’s.
• Be part of the management committee - The committee meets once a month and each person involved has a specific role that helps to shape the direction of KiK.

To find out more information, please email keepersinkingswood@gmail.com

Get involved in KiK!

Keepers in Kingswood Drop-in café

We are very excited to announce that the KiK Drop-in café will now run every Tuesday (2pm - 5pm) and Friday (10am - 1pm). These will start on Tuesday 18th July when we will be running a new starters' parent session for Kingswood Primary School as well.

UPDATES

Charfield Fête

We had a stand again at this year's Charfield Fête. It was a gloriously sunny, but windy, day, and there was lots of interest in us and our games courtesy of the Men's Shed. Thank you to the Charfield Women's Circle group for advertising and raising funds for us on the day and to our volunteers who represented us!

Our stall at the Fête with volunteers

Garden Update

The garden is growing in produce and volunteers; we have between 5-10 volunteers attending each session (it varies depending on weather and holiday season). We are producing lots of greens for the kitchen: salads, we had a bumper crop of broad beans and lots more to come over the next few months. Everyone is looking forward to the open garden and showing off their hard work to the wider community.

One garden volunteer pleased to finally be harvesting red onions

It's the perfect time for picking broad beans!

Those who have been in the garden recently will have seen a new addition at the entrance - our new 'scarecrow' courtesy of the Art Shape artists! Definitely not what you would think of when you hear the word "scarecrow", ours is artistic, attractive and creative! More of a Scare Sculpture!

Our wonderful new arty Scare Sculpture

Our Art Shape creators with their Scare Sculpture in the garden

Listening Volunteers

To coincide with Volunteers' Week this year (5 - 9 June), we launched a new voluntary role at The Keepers - a "listener".

Could you spare an hour or 2 every week/fortnight/month to come and sit, have a cuppa with, and chat with our visitors? For more information about the role, and the training we will offer - email thekeeperscommunityhub@gmail.com

Car Club Volunteers

We are launching The Keepers' Car Club and looking for volunteer car drivers. The role is flexible, to suit you.

Initially we will only be using car drivers on Tuesdays to enable people to be collected from their homes and brought to lunch at The Keepers, which runs from 12.30 - 1.40p.m.

The role will make such a difference to those with limited mobility, no transport or who don't feel confident coming into The Keepers by themselves.

Demystifying Menopause SOLD OUT!

• Based on our FB survey, 90.8% of responders said there was a need to support women when experiencing perimenopause or menopause symptoms.
• 74.6% said it would be best to include a face-to-face support group.
• 'Let's demystify menopause' was brought to The Keepers by Fiona from The Menopause School and took place on 10 July - it was sold out!
• Due to popular demand, there is a second session running on Monday 17 July and there are still spaces left...

Congratulations Matthew!

Matthew - Innovator of the Quarter at Civica

• We would like to congratulate one of our fantastic volunteers, Matthew, who has recently been awarded Innovator of the Quarter at Civica.
• This is because Matthew recently devised a system with a new scanning device which allows us to efficiently and safely manage the stock levels of meals in our community freezer.
• We are extremely grateful to Matthew for volunteering his time to help us establish this system and we are incredibly pleased that he has been recognised for his efforts.

Trustee Corner

Paul Rumley - The Keepers' Trustee

This quarter, our update comes from one of our newest Trustees, Paul Rumley:

The most recent meeting of the Trustees, was largely taken up with moving The Keepers on its journey now that it is very much an established organisation which has grown quickly in a fairly short time.

So we are looking at our development plans, taking into account feedback from our users and volunteers, which also includes where we need to consolidate what we already do (and well per the feedback). 

One of the major consequences of this is the decision, and now recruitment process for a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to manage our wide-ranging offering. This will also allow us to begin  to look at how we might move the Trustee board itself to being more of a strategic group, and less about day-to-day management issues.

Outreach is also starting to bear fruit, with the Keepers in Kingswood having opened their community dry food store called the Community Pantry and plans to start a café offering drinks and cake twice per week as from July.  Exploring how we can help other local communities to develop their own community offerings, possibly as part of The Keepers and equally possibly independent of that, continues.

What’s New at The Keepers?

Neurodivergent support during the day

The Neurodivergent support group hosted by The Keepers now runs in the daytime every second Thursday of the month between 9.30 - 11.00, as well as our evening group.

Ukulele club

• On the first and third Tuesdays of the month - 2.15 - 3.15pm.
• The club is open to complete beginners as well as those who already play the ukulele. Come and try it out!

Keepers' Drop-in Quiet Café

We now run an additional Keepers’ drop-in Café. These run every Friday 11:30am - 12:30pm. We will be offering a space for anyone wanting a quieter café experience.

• More space between tables
• An accessible ramp, disabled toilet and blue badge parking space
• A quieter experience than our usual Wednesday drop-in café
• Board games available

Dementia Connections

Dementia Connections IS BACK! Every 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month between 10.30am - 12.30pm. Their free group meets fortnightly for a conversation over a cuppa and to build local friendships.

These alternate with Mindsong sessions (11am - 12pm) where music and singing are used to reach out to people with dementia but the group is open to everyone who would like to come along and sing. Singing is not only enjoyable, but it is also good for health, helping to improve posture and breathing and it can also significantly improve quality of life.

To see what's on at The Keepers each week, just click below:

Get Involved...

There are lots of ways to get involved and/or to support The Keepers:

* Volunteer - there are a number of different roles/jobs. If you would like to volunteer in any capacity, please sign up using the following link: https://bit.ly/VolunteerwithKeepers

* Fundraise - running a small event, or making a regular or one-off donation on our website. We are also looking for volunteers to join our fundraising committee. You can also take part in the Lucky Severn Lottery that takes place each week. Click here for more info. If you decide to join in, remember to choose The Keepers as your charity to support!

* Share info with neighbours, friends and colleagues who may not receive our newsletter.

* Follow us and like our posts on Social Media to ensure the information gets to as many people as possible.

* Easyfundraising - We’re now registered with Easyfundraising, which means you can help us for FREE. Over 7,000 shops will donate to us when you use Easyfundraising to shop with them online – at no extra cost to you. All you need to do is sign up and remember to use Easyfundraising whenever you shop online. These donations really mount up, so please sign up to support us by clicking the button below. By signing up, you aren't agreeing to do anything - just that you'll try to go through Easyfundraising when you shop online.

We have produced some easy-to-follow instructions which you can find here

If you would like to made a donation to us directly, you can do so by clicking the button below or through our website. Many thanks for your support!