A huge thank you to everyone who bought in a donation for Foodbank Friday, whether it was food, toiletries or plastic bags all are really needed at the moment. A special thank you to the family who continue to collect in their local village to add to our collection - you can see from the photos below just what a difference this makes.
I thought you would like to know that before Christmas we had a discussion at a governing body meeting about warm hubs. One of our governors raised it, after hearing in the news that many schools, libraries and other community areas were opening up as warm hubs to give people who are struggling to heat their homes somewhere warm they could go. We contacted Rosie from the West Berks Foodbank as we knew the charity was involved in warm hubs in this area and asked how we could help.
Rosie explained that they are setting up cost of living hubs in West Berks. The idea is that these will be a single point of contact for people to go to when they need help. They should be able to get help with food, advice re finances, heated blankets and other necessary support. They have a plan for a framework of hubs in Newbury and Thatcham based on need and did not feel the school would be suitable, which given our location, makes perfect sense.
We then talked about money to help. Rosie explained that they have received a donation of £30,00 from Amazon which they are using to buy 500 heated blankets (this reflects the number they feel are needed in this area), which will be distributed to vulnerable people. The remaining money will be spent on air friers and cookers.
Rosie said if she was being honest the most helpful thing we could do is keep doing Foodbank Friday - what they need most is regular donations of food as there is such a need for it at the current time.
It is good to know that our Foodbank Fridays are exactly what is need to support the West Berks Foodbank and vulnerable people in our community. Thank you for all your help and support with it.