19. Helping isolated friends enjoy a picnic together - July 2020


Our Vision Our Future (OVOF) is an independent, community based charity in Chesterfield.  They offer their 52 members a safe place to meet and make friends 3 times a week, providing valuable and meaningful activities both inside their work place and in the community.   Members are encouraged to get involved as much as is possible in the running of the office, allowing them to gain confidence and independence.  


Not surprisingly these unprecedented and unpredictable times have been very challenging and stressful for many of their members who find the changes to their daily routine and the loss of their friends particularly difficult, confusing and upsetting.  After being encouraged and supported for so long to get out and take part in their community it is extremely hard for them to understand why they must now stay home  - and with no idea how long this will go on for.

 

Staff at OVOF are doing their best to ensure their members stay in touch with each other and friendships continue.  Many members have been able to learn to use WhatsApp to stay in touch through messages and videos and have successfully used Zoom to have some weekly meet ups.


However, not all members have been able to use or access social media and have become disconnected from their friends. OVOF is planning to organise 2 picnics, taking 6 people at a time to get together once again. Our £200 donation will be spent providing appropriate picnic food and drinks and also a goody bag with treats, including toiletries and biscuits - items they know all their members will love.  An event like this will cheer everyone up immensely, not only on the day, but also giving them something to look forward to as it is planned and to talk about afterwards as well.


OVOF have promised to keep us posted about the event - and we look forward to hearing how it goes, hoping they find a lovely sunny day to enjoy.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

39 - Support for victims & survivors of Domestic Abuse - Rehouse to Rehome - February 2021

Image
For our latest donation we are sending £500 to Francine at  Rehouse to Rehome , a Sheffield based charity supporting and empowering victims and survivors of Domestic Abuse. Our £500 will go towards buying a cooker/fridge/ washing machine for a family that Francine is helping to rehome.  Francine tells us that she has seen a significant rise in requests for help since the beginning of the pandemic. Our donation has been very gratefully received and Francine has kindly sent us this powerful message explaining why: Not having essential household goods often becomes a real and practical barrier that prevents a survivor from leaving an abusive relationship. Even when individuals gather up the immense courage it takes to flee an abusive relationship and, if they are lucky enough to be re-housed by the authorities, there is a strong possibility that they will not get the financial support required to furnish that property with even the most basic of household goods which are a necessity in or
Read more

5. Goldigger Trust - helping young people develop positive self esteem - Jan 2020

Image
This week we are pleased to be able to give £250 to Golddigger Trust.   The nomination came from one of our members whose daughter & family have benefitted from Golddigger’s support. Golddigger is a small Sheffield based charity that offers support for young people in developing positive self esteem and well-being, to allow them to feel more secure and aspire to achieve more.  Their name comes from their aim of ‘digging out the gold’  - the worth and true value of the young people they work with, who may be struggling themselves to see their value due to poor self esteem & negative circumstances.   They offer drop in sessions as well as 1:1 counselling, peer mentorship and courses to support young people aged 11-18 years.  At a time when it is very hard to access the Children & Adolescent Mental Health Service due to such high demand, the availability of a service like Golddigger is invaluable and we are genuinely so pleased to be able to send them a donation.   Golddigger
Read more

118 - Helping SWWOP set up a 'flexi-pot' to allow them to support women in emergency situations.

We often say how lucky we are to have among our members people who work & volunteer in some of Sheffield’s extraordinary local organisations and charities.     We always welcome nominations from them - they see so much need on a daily basis, so when they ask for our help we know our contribution will make a difference. On this occasion SWWOP (Sheffield Working Women's Opportunities Project) , an organisation which provides intensive support to vulnerable women involved in street prostitution, asked if we could help them. SWWOP’s primary service is making contact with women involved in street prostitution and being a friendly face to offer non-judgmental and confidential support and information.  They provide street based outreach and drop in sessions, with an aim to improve the women’s health and safety.  https://www.swwop.org SWWOP told us that since the start of the cost-of-living crisis, they have seen the number of women they support involved in sex work almost triple.  Wom
Read more