NEWSLETTER #16

Winter 2024-25

18th January 2025

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

What do you want to read?

• Section 1: Top stories
• Section 2: CEO Update
• Section 3: Volunteering Opportunities
• Section 4: Outreach Update / Keepers in Kingswood
• Section 5: Vacancies
• Section 6: Garden Corner
• Section 7: News
• Section 8: Trustee Corner
• Section 9: What's New at The Keepers?
• Section 10: Get Involved!

Top Stories

We won a Community Hero Award! 

It was a real surprise to have been named as 'Local Heroes' by Stroud District Council's Housing Officer and the Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) for our work in helping to mitigate Anti-Social Behaviour in the community. We were awarded a Galaxy Tablet as a prize which we will look to deploy as part of our Outreach programme.

We are officially 'Local Heroes'!

The biggest Keepers' Christmas yet!

It takes a community to host a Keepers' Christmas Lunch!

A massive THANK YOU to every single organisation, business and individual who made our Christmas lunch possible this year.

Here’s just a glimpse of some of what made it all come together for Christmas:

• A donation from The Julia Rausing Trust towards Christmas lunch
• Our amazing volunteers and cook who shopped, peeled and cooked in preparation. The volunteers who cooked, drove, served, washed up and hosted.
• Donations of gravy, bread sauce, chocolate gifts and pudding.
• Crackers for every table.
• Turkeys donated by @wottonlions
• Decorations from No 4 Market Street
• @hobbshousebakery delicious mince pies
• Cranberry sauce from Cathy CommDevelopment Worker
• and Christmas hats from Blue Coat School!
• In addition, we ran 3 Christmas cafés over the festive period.

This lunch was a true community effort, and we’re so grateful for all your support.

Christmas Day volunteers busy in the kitchen

Santa's Grotto (and elves) diverted to The Keepers!

Christmas Under The Edge cancelled due to stormy weather? Never fear! Our fantastic 'Christmas Coordinator' Gail made sure that Santa and his elves could still set up their grotto for all the children who had signed up - just at The Keepers instead. The rearrangement was done in record time - a fantastic achievement and thank you to Santa, his elves and all others involved.

At the Children's Christmas afternoon tea, our visitors got creative as they decorated their own shortbread snowman - adding icing and sprinkles! They also enjoyed turning their cupcakes into delicious reindeer masterpieces with edible decorations and other delicious Christmas treats!

Pictures of Santa's Grotto and Children's Christmas afternoon tea

Wreath Making Workshop - a first at The Keepers

For the first time this year, The Keepers hosted a Christmas wreath making workshop. Satisfyingly, we were able to use holly from the Keepers' garden to form the hoops for the wreaths. Participants got festively creative and created some beautiful wreaths! Thanks to Beth, Guideposts and Sally for generously giving their time for free.

Wreath-making workshop

CEO Update

Chris, The Keepers' CEO

The final quarter of the year is almost always guaranteed to be one of the busiest for us here at The Keepers. There are many reasons for this, some of which are truly lovely, happy ones but it's also a tough time of year for many of us in the community. 

Our new Befriending scheme that we are piloting really got into full swing throughout this period and we are very pleased with our initial results - what it highlights so well is just how big an issue social isolation really is. The Befriending scheme is aimed at those people that are otherwise on their own and unable to get out of the house, however we know that loneliness is often at its most acute in the winter months for lots of other people too.  Shorter days, worsening weather and less opportunity to get out and meet people really can put a strain on our mental health and of course this goes alongside bigger bills to pay at this time of year. We hope The Keepers can help overcome some of these issues by being a place that is always welcoming and able to provide both practical advice and support. 

Christmas is obviously a focal point throughout December and we were busy with lots of different activities - Santa's Grotto for the Kids, our fundraising Christmas meal at Tortworth Court, Wreath Making Classes, Carol Singing to name but a few. The Stroud Foodbank was very busy throughout December and thanks to many of you we were able to supplement their Christmas hampers with lots of nice goodies alongside essential grocery items. In fact as always the community was so generous in trying to support each other - lots of money raised, gifts for families and so many people offering to volunteer and give their time. We were open for several days over the festive period and we are so grateful to everyone that offered their help - as with the rest of the year we simply couldn't do what we do without your help. Thank You!!

Jenny and Gail feeling festive in the kitchen on Christmas Day

Volunteering Opportunities

Sara - our Volunteer Coordinator

There are a few new volunteering opportunities that have come up for the start of 2025. 

1. Keepers Tots volunteer - Friday mornings

We are looking for a volunteer to help us lead our enjoyable Keepers Tots sessions held on a Friday morning from 9.15 until 10.30am. If you are interested in this role, which involves storytelling and rhyme with a small group of preschool children and their parents, please get in touch. It's a fun way to spend a Friday morning - refreshments will be provided during the session. Immediate start!

2. Driving volunteer - Tuesdays/Wednesdays 

Do you like driving? Do you have any spare time during the day to make a difference to our small rural community? Then why not become a volunteer driver for our Tuesday lunches or Wednesday café at The Keepers.

3. Volunteer for Spanish class - Thursday evening, 7.30pm start

Do you already come along to our Spanish Class on a Thursday evening or have you thought about giving it a go? This role involves supporting our volunteer Spanish teacher, opening up the Hub at 7.30pm and closing up at 8.30pm as well as preparing refreshments during the evening/clearing away. You would be sharing this role with another volunteer who already attends the classes - so if you don't wish to participate in Spanish or are only available on an ad hoc basis then you are still welcome to enquire about this role. 

For more information and to express your interest in any of the above volunteering opportunities, please contact me either in person, by phone (07585 466418) or email or visit our website: https://www.thekeepers.org.uk/

Sara Musty

Volunteer Coordinator: thekeepersvc@gmail.com  

Outreach Update

Simone - our Community Outreach Manager at Bristol Beacon

We had a very exciting opportunity to be part of the Creative Health in Action event at the Bristol Beacon.

The event brought together a number of individuals, groups and organisations from the South West to celebrate, discuss and explore the impact of creativity in health.

Through our outreach work and Creative Wellbeing sessions in Charfield Village Hall & Playing Fields with creativeShift we were able to play our part by providing a number of decoupaged mirrors created by the participants from our group. The theme was 'Things that make you happy'.

It was a really moving event, with a number of personal experiences being shared on stage, and we are really proud of our Creative Wellbeing group for allowing us to share a piece of their story too.

To find out more about the Creative Wellbeing programme, please email thekeepersoutreach@gmail.com

Charfield Community Pantry

We are very pleased to have been able to support the opening of the Charfield Community Pantry as part of The Keepers in the Communities project.

A huge thank you to St. John's Church, Charfield and Charfield Parish Council for supporting this initiative and helping to bring this provision to Charfield.

The pantry will provide basic food items, toiletries and sanitary products for anyone in the village who may find it helpful.

• Where: Inside St John's Church
• Open: Monday - Saturday, 10am - 4pm

We are looking for 1 or 2 volunteers who would like to help us check stock and refill shelves during the week. Please message if you are interested in helping with these tasks.

Alternatively, if you would like to donate any non-perishable items to the pantry, please leave items in the labelled box within the church. Spread the word, thank you!

The Charfield Community Pantry is now open!!

Keepers in Kingswood (KiK)

We are thrilled to have earned a 5 star Food Hygiene rating from Stroud District Council after their inspection at the end of October.

We are so proud of all the hard work that has gone into achieving this status. Thank you!

Community Outreach worker Nikki was very pleased with the result!

Kingswood Pantry @Spar

Donated items will be collected regularly and added to the community pantry in St Mary's Church. The pantry is available to anyone in and around the village - Monday - Saturday, 10am-4pm.

Vacancies

Duty Manager - deadline Thurs 23rd January

We are looking for a Duty Manager on a Wednesday and a Friday - note the 8:50am start if you need to fit in with School Drop-Off etc.

Communications Administrator - deadline 23rd Jan

A brand new role at The Keepers!

Interested?

To find out more e-mail thekeeperscommunityhub@gmail.com for an application pack or to arrange an informal discussion.

Garden Corner

Jen - our Wellbeing Gardener

Hunkering down over winter

Winter in the Keepers' Garden sees many of our plants slow down and hibernate to rest and recover over the harsher winter season. The garden team, however, have continued to meet whatever the weather…come rain, shine or snow!

We have been nurturing the soil and preparing beds by digging in rich organic matter and sowing green manure to add vital nutrients for the growing season.

Preparing the garden beds

Coppicing

We’ve been having great fun coppicing our Hazel tree and finding perfect uses for the branches such as our newly constructed trellises.

Our 'coppicers' hard at work!

Holly and Jen show off their trellis

From the garden to wreaths

We also used the hazel twigs to form the hoop for our beautiful foraged foliage winter wreaths.

Our gardeners come wreath-makers!

Sowing seeds for the year ahead

Sowing season may have slowed, but we have still managed to sow onions, garlic, broad beans and a few sweet peas that will give them a head start when the days start becoming longer. We are also being mindful of the wildlife the Keepers' Garden supports… leaving places to hibernate, food to forage and even a few nuts and worms for our resident robin.

Join us!

We are always happy to welcome new volunteers to our team. If you want to meet new people, get outside, get moving and get your hands dirty come along and join us. Beginners and experienced gardeners equally welcome. 

You’ll find us at the Keepers' Garden every Tuesday and Friday 10-12, often having a cuppa and cake!

News

Tortworth Court 3-course dinner - 4 December

Gorgeous food in a gorgeous setting, and at an incredibly reasonable price! De Vere Tortworth Court yet again offered their services for free as a way of generating funds for The Keepers. We are extremely grateful for this opportunity to raise vital funds for our community and hope to continue this partnership in the future.

Fundraising Quiz - 9 November 

A fantastic repeat of our fundraising quiz night generated vital funds for The Keepers. As always, a lot of effort was put in both before and during this event. We would like to say a big thank you to @cotswoldletterpress who very kindly helped us with printing material once again.

In 2024 the Fundraising Team has really upped the level of activity and money raised across a variety of events - 2 Quizzes, Tortworth Lake, 2 Tortworth Court Meals, Town Hall Teas, Donation Boxes etc. Whilst community fundraising will only contribute a relatively small amount of our overall revenue it certainly makes a difference.

Good Food Kitchen & Bar @The Keepers

Our local award-winning restaurant Wotton Good Food Kitchen and Bar let us sample their lovely food here at The Keepers on Wednesday December 4th over lunch.

This is the lads at Good Food giving back like many of our local businesses do and we are ever so grateful for their help. Thank you!

Trustee Corner

This quarter, our Chair of Trustees, Shaenna, gives her reflections of the past 5 years:

As we approach March, it is incredible to realise that it marks five years since the world as we knew it changed forever. It was in March 2020 that the pandemic began to reshape our lives, our communities, and our understanding of what it means to connect and support one another. For us at The Keepers, it also marks five years since the formation of Wotton Area Mutual Aid (WAMA)  - a small group of like-minded people coming together - that would become this thriving community hub.

The early days were, in many ways, a trial by fire. Born out of necessity, WAMA was a response to the immediate needs of our community. People were isolated, vulnerable, and unsure of where to turn for support. As lockdowns stretched on, our focus became clear: to provide connection, signposting, support, and a safe place (even if virtual) for people to feel seen, heard, and cared for. From delivering groceries and medications to creating online spaces for connection, we were constantly adapting to the challenges at hand.

In hindsight, those early efforts were more than just a stopgap—they were a seed. That seed grew into The Keepers, a vibrant and multifaceted hub that is here for the long term, and here for all of us. It is a testament to the resilience, generosity, and creativity of our community that we have not only sustained but also thrived over these five years.

Today, The Keepers is a space for everyone. From workshops and social gatherings to signposting and vital support services, we have evolved to meet the ever-changing needs of our community. But our core values remain the same: connection, inclusion, and empowerment. None of this would have been possible without the dedication of our volunteers, the support of our partners, and the trust of the communities of Wotton and surrounding areas.

Reflecting on these past five years, I am overwhelmed with gratitude. The pandemic brought challenges we never anticipated, but it also revealed the extraordinary strength and compassion of the people around us. We have shown what can be achieved when we come together with a shared purpose, and for that, I am endlessly proud.

As we move forward, our mission remains clear: to continue serving as a beacon of support and connection, no matter what challenges the future may hold. Thank you to everyone who has been part of this journey. Here’s to the next five years of growth, resilience, and community.

What’s New at The Keepers?

The Hygiene Bank - Stroud

We are so pleased to have become a partner of The Hygiene Bank Stroud .

Thanks to their generous donations, we’re able to provide essential hygiene products to those in our community who need them most. Together, we're working so no one has to go without the basics.

Spanish Conversation Evenings

Spanish classes will start again Thursday Jan 16th 7:30-8:30pm. In 2025 it will be more emphasis on informal conversational practice and less learning of nouns and verbs - pop along if you are at all interested!

First Aid Course

Would you know what to do if someone needed first aid? In this 2-week First Aid course, you will learn how to deal with wounds/bleeding, burns/scalds, choking, managing incidents, minor injuries, CPR/unconscious casualty. Wednesday 5th and 12th February, 1-3:30pm at The Keepers.

Keepers in Kingswood - Reading Den

We are pleased to have teamed up with Read With Me to bring a new activity to Keepers in Kingswood - ‘The Reading Den’!

• Monthly, on Tuesdays, 3:15pm - 4:30pm, in the Lower Schoolroom, The Walk.
• Open to all children and their parents who want to enjoy reading together!
• Squash, biscuits, hot drinks and cake available too.

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 are 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!