500 together

With this latest donation we have joined forces with our friends at SHASBAH (Sheffield Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus). One of their members had asked them for help in buying a laptop as well as a cosy wheelchair fleece and electric blanket for their son, who is a full-time wheelchair user and has spina bifida. The son’s old laptop had broken and the loss of it was having quite a significant impact on him, as watching cartoons and playing games on the laptop is his primary form of entertainment. The mum is on a student visa and experiencing financial constraints due to part-time work and lower resources, and is unable to afford a new laptop. She was also asking for some help to get an electric blanket and a cosy fleece for her son’s wheelchair to keep him warm during the winter months. SHASBAH were able to award the family a £300 grant, and we were pleased to add £394 to enable them to buy the laptop, blanket and fleece. As always we are pleased to help and thank Nina a...

  One of our members asked if we could help F. F is a mum of 4 children - 3 of whom have a diagnosis of ASD, with the fourth currently going through the referral pathway. She has been a victim of domestic violence, and was subsequently rehoused by the Council to an unsuitable property that she has tried to make the most of. Our member told us that their garden was little more than a pile of mud, and due to rubbish left lying about by neighbours and previous tenants, rats have used it as a home. The issue was so bad that the vermin recently ate through her car wiring. She has attempted to tidy it and make a clean space for her children to use but with four children with high levels of need this has proved impossible. She is unable to work currently, so she cannot pay for someone to do the work that is needed. We were pleased to send £500 to allow her to get the appropriate supplies, to supplement some donated paving slabs she had, and pay for the job to be finished off professionall...

With this donation - made almost exactly 5 years after our very first donation - we have now given away an incredible £80,000.     We cannot thank you enough for being a fabulous part of this group.     It is amazing how your weekly £1 has allowed us to do so much. It is a lovely coincidence that the nominator for this week’s donation news was someone who was with us 5 years ago at the very beginning, and we are grateful for her thoughtful nomination - and also for taking the time to write about how the money has been spent and its wonderful impact. Can I please say a huge THANK YOU to 500T.  I work as a Teaching Assistant for Bents Green School on Ringinglow Road. We are a specialist school for Autistic students aged 11 to 16 (and Post 16). Our library has lots of very well used books and are becoming a little tired looking. Also the curriculum has moved on and we need to reflect the new learning topics. We needed new books to suit the topics - ‘Down on the Far...

  Back in the summer, we were approached by one of our members who is involved with homeless charity Shelter. They explained that Shelter was working in collaboration with the charities Framework, SWWOP and Chocolate Box for their services to be involved in this year’s Women’s rough sleeping census being run by Solace Women’s Aid. The census is designed to collect information about women who experience very hidden and high risk forms of homelessness such as rough sleeping. It is an important survey to give these extremely marginalised and vulnerable women a voice and the more participants they get involved, the more the organisers can understand about the issue within Sheffield. Findings relating to Sheffield are shared with local commissioners within Sheffield City Council with the intention of highlighting the extent of the issue and for this data to inform future commissioning of services/accommodation for these women. One of the challenges in organising this kind of census is...

One of our members told us about H and her son.  H survived the most horrific attack at the hands of her partner.  After a lengthy recovery period, she and her son are starting to settle into a new home.  They have some things from their old home, but need so much more.  For example, she needs new bedding and towels - explaining how she had to get rid of so much that smelt of her former partner. We spoke to her to arrange how we could help.  What an extraordinary woman she is - brave and determined to move forward with her son.  We agree with her nominator that she will put our £500 donation to very good use in building a new home and life for them both.   We wish them the very best. As always, thank you all for the support you continue to give this group and the trust you put in us to get your kind contributions out to where they can make a difference.  We know from speaking to this recipient just how much our donation means - not just ...