500 together

  One of our members told us about B, a little girl who was diagnosed two years ago with Leukaemia, aged just 1. She has undergone intensive treatment for the leukaemia including chemotherapy.  During the course of this treatment, she also had to have an emergency tracheostomy which meant that she lost the ability to speak.   Her parents have had to spend weeks in hospital to be fully trained in caring for her and her tracheostomy. She has spent the majority of her life in and out of hospital. Her mum has had to leave work to become a full time carer and relies heavily on family support.  It is so tough for them all. Our member told us that their friends, who have been supporting them throughout, were secretly raising money to try to send the family to Lapland UK for a uniquely special experience.  They needed some help to reach their target so we sent them £500 and they were recently able to surprise the family with the tickets.  It was...

With this latest donation we have helped buy beds for a family, who had to flee their home in Afghanistan, with their children aged 9, 7 & 1,  and come to the UK, having worked with the British armed forces. They have been granted  permission to live and work in England and were recently given a permanent place in a rented, unfurnished housing association house.  They have been supported by Tracy, who operated  'The garage free stall for refugees and people in need ' - an extraordinary initiative set up by Tracy when a local hotel in her area of Sheffield was housing refugees.  Tracy asked for donations of clothing, toys and other useful items and opened her garage every week to the refugees - and others in her community who might be in need.  We supported them 2 years ago, when we bought some shoes and underwear for the refugees.  The hotel is now no longer used for refugees, so the garage stall no longer operates on a regular...

  One of our members asked if we could help a mum of four children (two teens and two under the age of six years).    She has been through a lot, including leaving an abusive partner.   Right now she is struggling to make ends meet.  She is being supported in budgeting and debt management, and while she is making progress, her financial situation remains extremely tight.    One of the biggest challenges she currently faces is her youngest child’s sleeping arrangement.  At 3.5 years old, he is still sleeping in a travel cot in his mother’s room.  This makes daily life even more difficult.   Ideally, mum would like him to have his own space, and for her two daughters to share a room instead. She would love him to have a more appropriately sized bed, but just cannot afford it. We were pleased to help and have sent £500 - enough for the bed and mattress, with a little extra for the family.   We have already heard what a difference ...

  Donation 202 goes to our member who is setting up a gardening and wellbeing session for people who've been forced to flee their home countries due to violence, war and abuse and live with huge amounts of trauma and are often very isolated from each other and the wider community. As many are not allowed to work, some also have a lot of time and want to be contributing something back. Many have spent time farming and growing things in their home countries but cannot access any space like this to grow things now. To positively address this, our member, who works with people of this background in their ‘day job’ wants to run sessions in July and August, where 10-12 participants will gather.  Our £500 will help fund seeds, plant pots, compost, some basic tools, travel costs and some food and drinks so that participants can also have time to relax and socialise.  We wish them the best of luck with this project.

Not all nominations we receive are for the full £500 and sometimes a much smaller donation can really help. One of our members asked if we could help M, a 22 year old asylum-seeker from Somalia who lives on his own in a room and has no friends or relatives in Sheffield.  Our member explained that M is used to being physically active and wondered if we might be able to help him access a local gym.  They felt access to the facilities of a gym would give him not only the opportunity for exercise, but also the chance of some social interaction, which he desperately needs for his mental wellbeing. We were pleased to help and have paid £90 for a 3 month period, which we will be very happy to extend if he finds it beneficial and he would like to continue his membership.

  A big day in the 500 together story as we tell you about our 200th donation!  Thank you all so much for your help in enabling us to have supported so many individuals, families and local organisations. One of our members asked if we could send £500 to support a mum who has developed an illness that has left her unable to physically look after her children. When she was rushed to hospital, a friend (who has her own children) looked after her children on a temporary basis. Despite being unable to walk, cook, dress or wash without help, she has been discharged from hospital.  Community support groups are trying to get proper care in place, but they are facing a 4 week wait. With our £500 they have been able to arrange for a trusted professional carer to go in to help in the meantime. Hopefully this will support the family in their time of need and the required services will come into place sooner than 4 weeks.  Another occasion when we were able to step in and provide...