GOOD NEWS EDITION! These Past Few Months Have Been a Difficult and Stressful Time for Almost Everyone
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Your FREE MAGAZINE for Kirkheaton, Upper Heaton, Gawthorpe, Bog Green, Briggate, Houses Hill, Wellhouse ISSUE 27 & Lascelles Hall NEWS AUTUMN 2020 GOOD NEWS EDITION! These past few months have been a difficult and stressful time for almost everyone. So we have decided to devote much of this edition of the magazine to the good things that have been happening in our community during this period. Individuals and groups have all stepped up to support their fellow residents and inside are some of the good news stories which have made a difference to many people’s lives in our area during this pandemic. They include small acts of kindness, mass production of face masks and large scale fund raising as well as organised help delivered to people self isolating. All done by volunteers who have shown by their actions that they care for their fellow residents and the wider community. Benefitting from these acts of kindness have been individuals and organisations such as Kirkwood Hospice, Forget me Not Trust and the Community Centre through Yetton Together. A BIG thank you goes to them all from us all. ...and there’s more inside! FIRST AID, FOOD SAFETY, Kirkheaton comes together HEALTH AND SAFETY COURSES during the pandemic When lockdown was announced in March this year Clare Walters [Parish Councillor] got together with Yetton Together and Joanne Bedingfield, the local All fully accredited volunteer coordinator working with Kirklees Council, Meet statutory to deliver aid quickly to vulnerable members of our requirements community. Suitable for paid staff and volunteers Joanne writes: Running at local venues Together we set up a Kirkheaton Mutual Support Contact Jill 07808277525 or Group. Working with a number of local residents, we Steve 07740704164 for further rallied round, providing assistance to vulnerable people information in the area. Leaflets were distributed and volunteers started to offer help. We soon had around 20 people delivering food, collecting prescriptions, posting letters, walking dogs and even offering a befriending service to residents who were lonely and isolated. During the peak of the lockdown it was only due to the determination and commitment of these volunteers that we were able to respond to the requests and tackle the challenges the group were presented with. We had to overcome queues at the supermarkets, ensure volunteers were safe whilst delivering and manage payments - when we were advised not to handle cash. The mutual aid group has had the support of our local Councillors and anchor charities who were there to provide guidance on health and safety and answer any questions to ensure we could deliver the right service. Over the last five months, we have responded to hundreds of requests and are still providing that support with some volunteers continuing to do the weekly shopping for the elderly or isolated during the restrictions. Kirkheaton has seen so many neighbours and 2 friends come together, showing how much we care and support each other in our community. The group was personally thanked by the Lord- Lieutenant of West Yorkshire and the Mayor of Kirklees who wrote ‘It is often the case that difficult times bring out the best in people and I have met incredible people doing incredible things’ Each and every one of our Kirkheaton volunteers is incredible and we thank you from the whole community. Supported by Are you or someone you know Self-isola�ng? Kirkheaton has a team of volunteers who are s�ll working together to provide one to one personal support to residents affected by Covid-19 If you're self-isola�ng due to a posi�ve test or as part of Track & Trace we can help with: Shopping & prescrip�ons Pos�ng mail A friendly phone call Just call or text, and we’ll do our best to help. This is a FREE SERVICE - you only pay for the shopping, prescrip�on or stamp. Tel: 07725 425 727 Cllr Clare Walters Tel: 07780 662 540 Joanne Bedingfield Tel: 01484 537 617 Sue Bowyer (Ye�on Trustee) 3 Are you looking for a venue to hold Kirkheaton’s Meetings? Functions? Classes? Parties? Sonia and Steve Singh, the owners of Kirkheaton Kirkheaton Scouts & Guides Costcutter shop, have been working in the heart of our community for 19 years. Recently the couple HQ is an i deal venue with their daughter Jasmine, have been at the centre Great rates, flexible options & secure parking of some amazing fundraising in the village. Tel: 07780 662540 “Since the lockdown and social distancing guidelines contact@ kirkheatonscoutsandguides.org.uk came into place, we knew people were feeling deflated and unsettled, so we started thinking about what we could do to bring the community together and to help those isolated. We started by creating care packages to be sent out BEAUMONT ARMS to vulnerable people, and Jasmine baked cupcakes for the NHS teams,” said Steve. They were then approached by a local man asking for their support with a unique fundraising idea. Steve and Sonia said: “The fundraising for Kirkwood Hospice and Forget Me Not started when Mark Watkinson and his family had the idea to start collecting copper change to help local charities who were going to be impacted during the coronavirus pandemic. Mark came into the shop and asked if Costcutters could be a drop off point for the local village to donate their copper change. We were Cover 4pp_Gala Programme 14/04/2012 09:40thrilled Page 4 and more than happy to help!” When Mark had arranged the drop off points, he posted a message on the ‘Kirkheaton Matters’ Facebook Sunbed page to encourage Chilled Beers & Wines people to dig out Cash Machine their copper coins. (free-to-use ATM) Dry Cleaning It wasn’t long before Lottery the donations Confectionery started coming in Greetings Cards thick and fast. The Huddersfield Examiner Watkinson family Pay Point Agent counted all of the 4 Super Fund Raisers pennies and couldn’t believe how much it was all adding up to. Over a few weeks, they hit the £1,000 mark, and then an incredible £2,000! During the coin collection, a lady popped into Costcutter with a generous gift for Sonia and Steve. Sonia said: “We both then made the decision to start a raffle to raise even more funds for Kirkwood and Forget Me Not to add to the community’s fundraising. So the next day we promoted it on the Kirkheaton Matters group and officially started the raffle.” From then it snowballed and ended up with over 100 prizes! “We’ve had every donation you could think of, from chocolate, vouchers and alcohol, to a Ferrari day experience. With all the amazing prizes being donated, we decided to contribute a boys and girls BMX bike too.” The enormous raffle came to an end on Friday 7th May, and after totting up their final total they had raised an unbelievable £6,000! Adding this to Mark’s copper change collection, the community has raised £8,000 which will be split between the two causes. Sonia said: “We were so overwhelmed by the generosity of everyone.” Steve added: “It has created a real good buzz in the community. We are so proud to be supporting Kirkwood; It is so close to us here in Kirkheaton. A big thank you also goes to Mark and his family for kick starting these events and all their hard work. For stress, anxiety and poor sleep Walker’s GARAGE SERVICING DIAGNOSTICS REPAIRS • TYRES EXHAUSTS A short course in The Focussed Mindfulness Call Gordon Walker on 01484 512 432 Method brings lasting peace of mind. New Road Garage, New Road, Kirkheaton HD5 OJB www.clarewalters.co.uk www.walkersgarage.net Call/text Clare on 07984115927 5 Beckie Fowler’s Contribution Beckie Fowler, a Kirkheaton resident, has been very packages throughout Kirklees. busy during lockdown helping others. She set up HD Beckie says: I could not have done it without them. Care Packages in April after collecting toiletries to They have all been absolutely fantastic. I want to say a distribute to NHS staff in local hospitals. She quickly special thank you to Ruth, Dudley, Jan, Aimee and Claire noticed that while the hospitals were receiving lots of who are regular helpers. Together we have managed to donations there were people in the wider community feed hundreds of residents in who had slipped through the Kirklees.” government’s safety net and were financially struggling. When donations ran out, So she spread her own net local residents Bob and and appealed for donations Kath Walkington, managed to support this group. At to secure £1000 of food and first all the items were toiletries through Foresters donated by the community, Financial UK. An additional mainly from Kirkheaton. She £500 was raised from was overwhelmed by the individuals and organisations generosity of people who in the area including local on a daily basis, dropped churches and YT. off hundreds of items at Thanks to some of the her door or in the trolley at donations of gifts she was Costcutter (thanks to Steve able to provide gift boxes and Sonia) and the Bear’s house (thanks to Kyrstie). to reward the hardworking key workers at Kirkwood After contacting lots of supermarkets and shops she Hospice, Calderdale Hospital and Kirkheaton Primary managed to get some donations from Fareshare via School. Tesco. Demand was so great that she was struggling to deliver them so Joanne Bedingfield, who jointly She adds ‘These past 5 months have shown what an organises the Kirkheaton Mutual Aid volunteers, offered amazing community we live in and how everyone is their help - the volunteers had already been helping willing to come together to help those in need.’ local residents since March collect prescriptions, doing And we also add ‘Well Done Beckie! A big thank you their shopping, taking them to appointments etc.