NEWSLETTER #11
Autumn 2023
8 October 2023
Come as you are, bring what you can and take what you need
The Keepers' Film is out!
We were so proud to present the full-length Keepers' Film last month encapsulating in 8 minutes the essence of what goes on at The Keepers' every day. Many thanks to our fantastic film stars, and Christina Wheeler for working so hard to film and produce it. Thank you very much to the Wotton Electric Picture House Cinema for showing our film before screenings there.
The Keepers' Film by Christina Wheeler
Celebrating the Keepers' Garden Quiche
We celebrated the wonderful produce from our own Keepers’ garden with a special home-made 'Plant to Plate' quiche served at a Keepers’ Tuesday lunch using freshly-picked:
- yellow courgette, carrots, oregano, green beans, garnished with:
- lettuce, chard, kale, cornflower leaves, nasturtium and fennel leaves, served with: herby potatoes
... all from garden to table within 3 hours!
Thanks to all who work in the garden and the kitchen and thanks to The National Lottery Community Fund for funding this Plant to Plate Project!
New Team Members
In September, we welcomed Chris Gordon, our very first CEO, to the team:
As a family we fell in love with Wotton and the surrounding areas and have now lived here for 20 years. Some of you may know me through my past involvement with Nibley Music Festival which I had the honour of chairing as an organisation for several years. The festival is an example of how people here pull together and build things for the common good. The Keepers is another brilliant example and it is why I am so excited to be joining the team.
I have had various different roles in my career. I worked in the beer industry as a marketer and looked after brands like John Smiths and Fosters. I was in charge of Global Marketing Strategy for Sara Lee on their Toiletries Division – lots of different products around the world but ones you may be familiar with in the UK would be Radox and Sanex. After leaving Corporate life I have worked as a Management Consultant and for the past few years I have been involved in the Software Industry.
I am really looking forward to getting started with my new role at The Keepers – please do come and say hello when you pop in!
A huge welcome to Chris!
Chris - The Keepers' CEO
Vacancies
Community Outreach Worker
Volunteering Opportunities
Car Drivers on Tuesdays
Do you work from home? Do you wish you could volunteer but haven't found the opportunity to fit the time you have available?
Do you want to make the difference between someone being able to come to The Keepers or not?
You can join The Keepers’ Car Club! It runs on Tuesdays to enable guests to come for a delicious, home-cooked meal and meet other people.
One trip could be just 30 minutes - it could fit into your lunch break and you would still have time for a sandwich! It could be once a month!
You need to use your own car and complete some paperwork about you and your car.
We need your views!
In our recent(ish) survey, a number of you said that you would like to visit The Keepers, but as we are only open during the day you can't come and see us.
If, in an ideal world (resource and funding dependent) you would like to see our opening hours extending into the evening/weekend, please could you tell us what your response is to the below, either by e-mail or Facebook message, or in person:
1. I haven't visited The Keepers yet, but I would if you were open:
a - in the evening (after 4pm)
b - at the weekend
2. What groups/services would you like to see on offer in any extended hours?
This could just be the chance to come and say hi and meet our lovely team over a cuppa and piece of cake.
Many thanks for your help!
Updates
Summer Food Bags
Thank you to everyone who contributed towards the success of our Summer Food Bags campaign. It definitely takes a community to fill a food bag:
- the local businesses and individuals who donated food, bags and toiletry items
- donors who gave money
- volunteers who packed, shopped, wrote and tied labels, paid expenses, made phone calls and distributed (including evenings and weekends)
- Izzy (the work experience student who wrote the recipes)
- volunteers who made, cut and sorted items for the craft bags
- Sara, Volunteer Coordinator for organising volunteers
- ………and our Outreach worker, Simone, who orchestrated the whole thing!
KLB Careers Conference
Our new CEO Chris and our Volunteer Coordinator Sara attended the Katharine Lady Berkeley's (KLB) School Careers Convention last month. They talked to students about volunteering, Duke of Edinburgh award opportunities, what happens at The Keepers and what it is like to work in the charity sector.
Great job Chris and Sara!
The Keepers in Kingswood (KiK)
The Keepers in Kingswood had a fantastic number of people dropping into the café during July and August - so thank you if you are one of them!
Our Outreach Coordinator Simone and KiK Trustee Paul attended the Kingswood Show Day (see photo below) along with other Keepers' volunteers and team members.
In September and October, organisations offering drop-in sessions at KiK include Longfield, Men's Shed and the Gloucestershire Carers Hub.
Simone and Paul in the Keepers in Kingswood green polo shirts!
Coming Up
Professionals and visitors in October
We have many visitors dropping into The Keepers' Café (Wotton Hub) through October.
4th October
* Health Visiting Team – drop in and weigh your baby.
* Gloucestershire Carers Hub – information, guidance and support for anyone who cares for someone else. https://gloucestershirecarershub.co.uk/
11th October
* Men’s Shed – find out about the projects they are working on or ask about yours. https://cotswold-community-mens-shed.business.site/
* Gloucestershire Older Person’s Association – aims to provide a voice for all those over 50. https://gopa.org.uk/
18th October
* Wotton Heritage Centre – look through a range of old photographs and learn about the information and resources they have there. https://www.wottonheritage.com/
24th October
* The Policy Community Support Officer (PCSO) is visiting us between 11.30 - 12.30pm.
25th October
* Ask Us – Gloucestershire Library service - from quick questions to in-depth research, you can ask any question – come and learn about the service. https://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/.../ask-us-free-fast.../
Along with our professionals who are here every week:
* Job Club, P3 and Stroud District Council Housing Officer
Toy Swap in October
The Keepers will be holding a Toy Swap event on Saturday 21st October between 10am and 1pm. Jointly run by the Wotton Area Parent Support Group and our Outreach Coordinator.
Clothing collection for GARAS in November
During August, we hosted a clothing collection for GARAS (Gloucestershire Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers). We are going to be running another one in November, collecting clothing for young men and teens only.
If you have any of the following, please consider donating to this worthy cause:
- jeans & joggers (s/m/l)
- socks and boxer short (s/m/l)
- T-shirts & sweatshirts (m/l)
- trainers and flip flops/sliders (7-10)
- shorts
- waterproof coats/jackets
- backpacks/holdalls
- unlocked smart phones/laptops
Garden Update
From Amy, our Wellbeing Gardener:
We have been battling the slugs this summer with the warm weather. Our tactic is mulch, mulch, mulch to try and improve the soil ecosystem but this is a long game.
We've had great success with beans and runner beans.
- We are now preparing for the winter season by planting lots of spinach, chicory and Florence fennel. We have been moving our fruit bushes to create more space for veg and we are planning on moving our herbs ready for an exciting building project... watch this space!
How satisfying to pick a fresh yellow courgette from the garden
Fancy joining our Gardening Club?
Our gardening club has some spaces for new members
- Help grow veg, fruit and flowers for the community while making new friends. No experience necessary!
- Open to all every Tuesday and Friday, 10am - 12pm. Just pop in for a cuppa with Amy and the other Gardening Club volunteers.
You don't need to know anything about gardening to join!
Cutest Gardener Alert
And the Cutest Gardener Award goes to... Hope the Dog!
Hope the Dog provided distraction and motivation in equal measure!
Trustee Corner
This quarter, our Trustee update comes from Kath Curtis-Hayward:
As one of the original Keepers' Trustees it’s amazing to see how far The Keepers has come in just over 2 years!
We welcomed Chris, our new CEO this month and Sara and Simone continue to do amazing work, both at The Keepers itself and now in the surrounding communities.
The Keepers in Kingswood is now up and running with the café opening on Tuesdays and Fridays.
One of our jobs is to keep an eye on the funds needed to run all this. Our fundraisers are working tirelessly in the background, it was wonderful to hear that several grants have come in and we are waiting to hear about another. We are looking for someone to support our Outreach Coordinator - see above for our advert for a Community Outreach Worker. If this is something you might feel able to do, or know someone who might be interested, please let us know.
As well as being a Trustee I enjoy my stints as a reception volunteer (generally on a Thursday morning) and can also often be found at The Keepers in my other role as a Trustee of Rory’s Well, a charity working in Sierra Leone.
If anyone would be interested in finding out more about what we do, you’d be welcome at our free event at Matara on October 24th: https://mailchi.mp/267d44a23206/fun-food-and-films
What’s New at The Keepers?
Citizens Advice
Citizens Advice has some drop-ins scheduled at The Keepers between 10am - 2pm on:
- October 30th
- November 13th and 27th
- December 11th
To book an appointment, please call them on 0808 800 0510 or 0808 800 0511. Lines are open: Monday – Thursday 10am to 4pm and Friday 10am to 1pm.
Small Circles
Small Circles is a music and movement group for for children aged 3 and above and their accompanying adult, and any younger siblings. It's an opportunity to make new friendships and connections with one another.
It ran through the Summer holidays and has just started up again, on Fridays between 9.30 – 10.30am. Refreshments will be available and no booking required.
Lloyds Bank - trial for 18 weeks
The Lloyds Community Bankers do not provide cash services but can perform basic transactions such as account balance, direct debit, standing order and bill payment enquiries for both personal and business account customers. They are also there to help customers understand what alternative banking channels are available to them, to provide financial education and provide support, including helping customers to stay safe online.
Open every Thursday, 9.30am – 3pm.
Wotton Area Menopause Support (WAMS)
Following the successful 'Let's demystify menopause' talks and due to popular demand, WAMS now runs from The Keepers. WAMS is a peer support group for those affected by menopause and is a safe space to talk and share experiences.
WAMS will run at The Keepers every 1st Monday and 3rd Thursday of the month, between 7 - 8.30pm.
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.
* 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!
