500 together

Back in November we supported Darnall Wellbeing by providing a laptop for one of their volunteers. This has been so beneficial to the charity, they asked if we might consider offering similar help to another volunteer from their community. We know what amazing work DWB and their team are doing in their local area and are happy to help again - particularly as the two donations combined come to around £500 😃  Darnall Wellbeing is a local, not-for-profit, community health organisation working to help the people of Darnall, Tinsley and neighbouring areas stay healthy. This area is one of the most deprived in Sheffield. DWB work with local people to help them achieve their goals and build resilience by focusing on what matters to them.  They offer a combination of services including group activity, 1 to 1 and peer support, volunteering opportunities, Social Prescribing as well as local health campaigns, events and talks. Through their integrated programme, they help people to...

One of our members recently told us about a project in Sheffield called ‘The Greens’, which is an accommodation and drug and alcohol-free support service that helps people to re-build their independence and move on.  They support 21 people at any one time.  The Greens’ ethos is that feeling part of the community can be a large part of sustaining a recovery. Residents in recovery also perhaps have more need than most to boost their mood, reduce feelings of stress, and find ways to feel more relaxed.  However, The Greens currently has a very unkempt garden which can be very overwhelming and puts residents off spending time out there. Two of the residents have come up with a plan to create a garden which encourages mindfulness and activity. Through this project The Greens hope to encourage residents firstly to be involved in the project volunteering their time and hopefully learn new skills.  Most residents are involved in the project in one way or another. For those no...

This week we have donated £500 to buy a new cooker (including installation & removal of the old one)  for a single mum and her child.  They have been managing for a while with just one functioning ring and an oven that would switch itself off during cooking.  They were feeling increasingly desperate when they reached out to our nominator.  The challenging personal circumstances of the family, which we will keep confidential, flagged this up as something we really wanted to help out with.  We hope having a reliable cooking appliance helps ease their struggles a little bit. The mum messaged to thank us: I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for my new cooker, i absolutely love it and can't stop looking at it lol. I have been trying to save for the past 10 years for one but something always cropped up so was unable to get one. It is fantastic the work what you are doing and have made one very happy lady :) 

This week we have given £500 to a Sheffield couple with young children who have been re-housed but can't take much of their furniture or any carpets with them due to the terrible damage caused by extreme mould and damp conditions in their current accommodation which has made much of their furniture /carpets unusable. They have a lot on their plate at the moment and felt overwhelmed with the task of moving home, buying replacement things and providing for young children during lockdown. They have struggled financially and one of the things they really need is carpets for their new home. Thank you to our member who nominated them - we are very happy to provide £500 towards carpeting the house and we hope this goes a little way to get the family off to a good start in their new home.

  Donation 34 goes to OSMIS (One Stop Mentoring Inclusion Service), to help fund a sensory room for young people that they work with. OSMIS  is a Sheffield based not-for-profit service, which was set up 3 years ago to provide social and emotional help for vulnerable young people, specifically providing a 1-2-1 mentoring service for children who are struggling with school for various reasons. Young people are referred to  OSMIS  via schools and the Local Authority and their main focus is to work with young people, giving them space, time and support to build them back up so that ultimately they are able to go back to school.  With our donation, OSMIS are going to convert an office space into a sensory room, not only for those that have sensory issues or similar conditions, but also as a calming space for young people who are feeling generally stressed, anxious and overwhelmed.  Demand for help from OSMIS has doubled since the last big loc...

This week our recipients, a mum and her young children, lost their husband/father to COVID. Family Voice, who do truly invaluable work supporting families in the Sharrow/ Nether Edge area, have been working with the family since the mum came to them in February 2020 for English classes.  The organisation has helped the family with food, essentials and furniture over the past few months, as they were struggling financially. Family Voice is going to use the £500 to help relieve some of the financial stress the family is going to have over the coming month and is also planning to use some of it to pay someone to support mum in her first language, as she grieves on her own, isolated at home with her children.

Our member Eve, nominated her friend Neil, who was diagnosed with Bladder cancer stage CIS T1 in August. He has had two operations to remove the tumour and is currently waiting on Biopsy results to decide on the next course of treatment   Upon diagnosis Neil he lost his job, and as he was self employed he cannot receive any Government assistance with income or benefit.  Normally, he would be able to gain employment but due to the current Covid 19 situation he has been unable to secure any work or help for funds just when they are needed the most.  Moreover, the ongoing situation with Covid 19 since March 2020 has meant Neil has not had the benefit of regular work to accrue funds.     In addition to the NHS treatment Neil has been advised to take supplemental holistic treatment, and there is a cost that he has struggled to meet - which alongside the diagnosis itself has put a huge strain on his mental wellbeing. As a result his frien...