It’s time for the latest update from FAiR – Friends Altogether in Rother – and we are thrilled to share the success of our latest Rye community event, which brought together 38 enthusiastic attendees. Among them, 28 were familiar faces, while we warmly welcomed 10 new members to our growing community.
Visitors from services in our community included:
Dawn, from the Sarah Lee Trust, who spoke for a few minutes about the work of the Trust and opportunities for support they offer to community members impacted by serious illness.
A return visit from Emma Ashworth, our local social prescriber, who shared how to access support from a social prescriber and how this can help.
Jo, from the Growing Network, who also brought along free plants for our community members to take home.
And of course, one of the highlights of the event was the soothing hand massages provided to nine lucky participants, courtesy of Jo and Marian from A Touch of Gentleness. This regular, free activity is proving extremely popular and is perfect for adding a touch of relaxation to our gathering.
We were honoured to have a pop-in from MP Helena Dollimore, who kept her promise from six weeks ago to attend. Of course, it’s been a busy and eventful six weeks for her, so we were delighted she was able to make the time. Helena shared insights about her new role as an MP, recounting her experiences of emailing from a shared cubby hole in Parliament until official offices are up and running! She praised the work that FAiR has been doing to help reduce isolation and loneliness in the community, then took the time to listen to attendees’ concerns, emphasising her commitment to supporting us in future funding applications.
Local councillors Cheryl Creaser, Sue Learoyd-Smith, and Simon McGurk also joined us, showing their support and engaging with the community.
Kathy, our community volunteer training coordinator, provided an update on our befriending service, including the remarkable achievement of raising £1150 through our recent crowdfunding efforts. This total was achieved with a match-funding boost from the East Sussex Community Wellbeing Fund and will help meet the costs of a dedicated online platform for telephone befriending service.
Chris Pollard also spoke, thanking Helena Dollimore for her presence, expressing heartfelt gratitude to services supporting the events and of course to our volunteers, referring to them as the “sprinkle of gold dust” every charity needs.
Our event was made even sweeter by the generosity of the Cornish Bakery, who provided an array of delicious cakes and savouries. We are immensely grateful for their support.
Thank you to everyone who attended and contributed to making this event a memorable one. Your support and involvement are the foundation which is really helping our organisation to grow and our community members to thrive.
Our next Tilling, Tea and Cake will be held on Saturday August 17, 10am – 12noon at the Tilling Green Community Centre.
Image Credits: Chris Pollard .