Church and Oswaldtwistle Rotary have just been awarded The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. This is the highest award a local voluntary group can receive in the UK and is equivalent to an MBE.

Church and Oswaldtwistle Rotary is active in all aspects of life in the town. They have taken on the upkeep of the local railway station, the library gardens, and 2 flower beds in Rhyddings Park. One of their more ambitious projects is the regeneration of Tinker Brook Woodland, where they have enlisted the help of the Prospects Foundation, Hyndburn Borough Council, Ribble Rivers Trust, Hyndburn Police Cadets and many local volunteers in an effort to make the area into an accessible and beautiful green space for the whole community to use. Their next equally ambitious project is to transform an area of land at Green Haworth Golf Course into a new woodland. In this they will be joined by other Hyndburn Rotary Clubs. The Club works with young children in local schools via the Rotakids programme, encouraging children to become good citizens who care about the community and the environment. They run a Friendship Group which has weekly lunch meetings for socially isolated people, and also help with the Talking Newspaper and Magazine for the blind.

Church and Oswaldtwistle Rotary is one of a small number of local charities, social enterprises, and voluntary groups to receive the prestigious award this year. Their work, along with others from across the UK, reminds us of all the ways in which fantastic volunteers are contributing to their local communities and working to make life better for those around them.

The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service aims to recognise outstanding work by local volunteer groups to benefit their communities. It was created in 2002 to celebrate The Queen’s Golden Jubilee. Recipients are announced each year on 2nd June, the anniversary of The Queen’s Coronation. The Club is particularly delighted to have been awarded the QAVS in the year of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee year.

Over the next few months we will be looking at the work of local charities. Our first one is Maundy Relief, which was founded by Sister Dorothy Macgregor in 1998.

Lucy Hardwick, who took over its running when Dorothy sadly died in 2013, was kind enough to tell me a little about the charity and its aims.

“Maundy Relief is a grassroots charity, serving the people of Hyndburn. We have been called both a ‘first port of call’ and a ‘last resort’ and we offer services to anyone who needs them. We have a drop-in centre on Abbey Street and anyone can come to us for help with an issue or a crisis or just for a chat (in normal times, this has been restricted during the pandemic). We serve a community lunch every day at noon.

“We also have a range of structured services that take referrals from the drop-in or from any other services; these include a large counselling service, advice with welfare benefits and other issues, a housing service, a nurse-led health advice and advocacy service and a foodbank. All these services work closely together and make sure that the service user (we call them ‘guests’) is at the centre of everything we do.”

Lucy told me she had been involved with the charity for the past 16 years, starting as a volunteer welfare benefit advisor, but wanting to become more involved. She was able to help Dorothy by taking on some roles she was too busy to do, such as attending meetings and writing fund bids. She told me:

“Dorothy was a qualified nurse, a social worker and probation officer – she had also been a model and a sweetshop owner! In later years she said that she didn’t know quite where her life was leading until she retired and put her skills, experience and formidable amounts of energy into Maundy Relief. Even eight years after her death, we are still hearing new stories from people whose lives she touched; many of whom found their encounter with Dorothy to be a turning point in their lives.

She was dedicated, kind, and insightful and dealt with each person equally and as one friend to another.  She cheered people’s days with her smile and warmth and she handwrote letters and cards to all who crossed her path - many people treasure those letters still.”

The charity’s drop in is still based at ‘The Grange,’ which was largely financed by Dorothy through the sale of her own house. Maundy Relief are always looking for public support and volunteers, without which they simply could not survive. Lucy explained:

“We couldn’t stay open a single day without the support of our community: we have a large team of volunteers who do everything from providing therapy (trained counsellors) to driving our van, helping in the shop, preparing lunches and providing advice. We are currently looking for volunteers for our shop which has just been refurbished and is an important source of income for us.

“We also welcome donations of food for distribution, goods for our shop or to be donated to people setting up home and financial contributions.”

Counselling

I put it to Lucy that although Maundy Relief is essentially a charity, it must also be run as a business to help it survive and asked if finding the correct balance between the two could cause problems. She replied:

“Yes, this is the trickiest part of my role probably. We have to generate enough income to keep going whilst remaining true to the founding values of the organisation and sometimes there can be tension between these two things.

“Fortunately, the Board and staff are in agreement that all decisions must ultimately benefit our guests and that we must be guided by strong ethical principals in all our dealings. We have had to make some tough decisions as a result, including turning down funding where the demands of the funder didn’t align with our values or could interfere with our relationships with our guests.”

I also mentioned a very famous patron of Maundy Relief, Accrington lass and well-known star of stage and screen, Julie Hesmondhalgh. I remembered her going onto two TV Gameshows: The Cube and Mr and Mrs, with husband Ian Kershaw, a writer and actor in his own right and winning £20,000 for the charity each time and asked Lucy about Julie’s involvement.

“We are very fortunate in our Patron, Julie Hesmondhalgh who is a loyal and generous friend to Maundy. Julie and Dorothy McGregor were quite a double act! (‘The Nun and the Soap Star’ as they liked to say.)  They were so different in many ways but they shared the same deep generosity of spirit and optimism and a love of Hyndburn and its people. Julie has done so much for us in terms of fundraising and putting on events but even more importantly, we know she will always be a staunch ally and our wonderful ambassador.”

I then asked Lucy if she could give me any examples of how Maundy Relief has helped to change someone’s life, without mentioning names of course. She gave me this reply:

“A very recent one that springs to mind is when we worked with a young man who had been in care throughout his childhood. He was rough sleeping as he had been working for a builder who refused to pay him and had lost his home as a consequence. The young man had a history of being exploited by employers but had a strong work ethic.

“We were able to put him up for the night in our Nightshelter and we found him a room to rent with a good landlord by the end of the same week. Our benefits adviser helped him claim for Universal Credit and he was referred in to our counselling service to help him talk through some of the difficult things he had encountered as a child and young adult.

“As soon as he’d moved in, he came back to ask if he could volunteer with us until he got a new job. He is an excellent tradesman and made himself very useful for a week or so after which time he succeeded in finding paid work with a decent employer. He is really happy in his new home and the future looks a bit brighter now.”

I would like to thank Lucy for answering all my questions so thoroughly and wish her every success in the future.

To find out more, or if you want to get involved in some way, please visit their website at https://www.maundyrelief.org.uk/ or you can contact them by phone at 01254 232328 by emailing them at info@maundy relief@org.uk

© Peter Jones 2021

Rotarians from Church and Oswaldtwisle, together with some friends, spent three days litter picking around the town recently. Stonebridge Lane and Melbourne St, together with Tinker Brook, Harvey St and the West End playground were some of the areas covered. The members collected a total of fifty-one bags of rubbish and other items which included a bike, a scooter, wire fencing, a tree stump and a cricket bat.

President, Cath Heap said:

“Because of the lockdown restrictions, we are tending to concentrate on our community programme.  Whilst adhering to the guidelines, we had to come up with something that would benefit our surroundings. So, we decide to do a litter pick. Whilst out picking up the rubbish, we were approached by some people who urged us to try and convey the message about disposing of their rubbish correctly.

Many thanks go to Hyndburn Council for the loan of some equipment, and the prompt collection of the bags, and thanks to the Friends of Rotary who turned up to help”

Church & Oswaldtwistle Rotarians turned their attention recently from maintaining the local railway station, which they have been working on for the past 6 years, to the old stocks outside the library. The stocks were refurbished by the club in 2018 to coincide with the reopening of the town’s library.

But since the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent lockdown, the area around the stocks had deteriorated. The Rotary Club members turned out to do some essential work, such as cutting privet hedges, removing overgrown weeds and moss from the pavement, and then taking away the resulting waste which amounted to 22 bags!

Work has started on repairing the vandalised stocks, which included resetting the wooden beams and starting the re-painting of both stocks and nearby benches.

President Elect, Cath Heap, said “This indeed was an example of Rotary in Action. We wish to thank Judith Addison for her co-operation with the project, and Friends of Rotary who turned up to help”.

TEN years ago M3 Project set up its unique Teenage Family Service and this year the 100th mother and baby were provided with supported accommodation.

Over the years the project, based in Rawtenstall but operating across East Lancashire, has had many success stories, including Anna who was just 16 and pregnant when she contacted M3.

She said: “I am very proud and I didn’t want to ask for help, I didn’t want charity because I have always earned my way, but I needed help.

“I couldn’t stay living with my dad because there was no room for me, contacting M3 was the best thing I could have done for me and for my children.”

Senior Project Worker Joanne Aspin leads the project and Anna said: “Joanne is not just a support worker she is a friend.”

M3 arranged for Anna and her partner Josh to move into a two-bedoom flat, which was ideal for the couple, Theresa, now three, and Athena, two, but when she was expecting their brother Cain, now 20 months, she needed a larger property.

Anna said being on the project gave her the confidence to then source her own accommodation, initially in the town centre and now the family have settled in a three bedroom end terrace in Church.

She said: “Without M3’s help when I was 16 and pregnant, I wouldn’t have known what I was doing. I don’t know where I would be have ended up, but it would have been a bad place.

“I am now living across from my sister-in-law and we have been able to help each other through the lockdown and be there for each other.

“M3 has made me more confident and able to sort things for myself.”

Josh, 23, is hoping to start a woodworking course in September, and Anna, will be 21 next month.
They are planning to get married in the next three years.

Her advice for teenage families who find themselves in a difficult situation is to contact M3 Project. She said: “Don’t think too much into it, help is out there.”

The service provides accommodation and an intensive support package for young women who are pregnant or have a baby and are living in temporary, unsuitable or overcrowded accommodation.

Senior Project Worker, Joanne Aspin, has seen many changes over the years and this has led to an additional Support Worker being employed.

Cutbacks have meant that the role of Health Visitors has changed. It is no longer a statutory service with one visit when baby comes home and they have restricted contact thereafter.

Changes involving Universal Credit have mean often there are issues around budgeting as payments are made once monthly so money management becomes problematic.

There has also been a rise in young mothers experiencing mental health problems and post natal depression and Joanne feels they now have far more complex needs than when the project was set up.

When the time is right, the project also encourages young women to get back into education or in to work.
To find out more about the charity visit www.rossendalem3.org/

£100K: Lions Clubs supporting communities during COVID-19 crisis

The Hyndburn Centennial Lions Club has received a share of £100,000 from the Lions Clubs Foundation of the British Isles. Lions Clubs across the British Isles have benefited from a special fund launched to support local communities during the COVID-19 crisis.

Hyndburn Centennial Lions club will utilise the grant to support the purchase of baby products for provision to needy parents as well as through food banks at this critical time.

 Lion President Jane Flegg said: “This is a significant sum of money that we are putting to good use straightaway. This Coronavirus pandemic is hurting lots of local people in lots of different ways - just because we are all social distancing doesn’t stop us from caring - we are doing what we can, and this cash injection will help us do more by providing those at most need with baby products they would otherwise not be able to obtain. Through the Hyndburn Baby Bank distribution will be directly to single parent families and through the local food banks to families with young babies”.

When a humanitarian crisis strikes, the Lions Clubs Foundation of the British Isles works with and are guided by their own Lions members who are ordinary people actively working at the heart of their communities.

To watch our short film please click the link below.

Baby Bank Video Clip.mp4

Your local Lions Club supports a range of good causes and local projects where you can get involved, please contact us on 0345 833 8203 or hyndburnlions@gmail.com

* * * * *

The Foundation supports local Lions Clubs to provide humanitarian aid, disaster relief, and support a range of youth programmes.

About Lions Clubs

Lions Clubs of the British Isles are part of Lions Clubs International which has 1.45 million members in over 210 countries, making it the largest service club organisation in the world.

Wherever you live, work or travel, you are likely to come across members of Lions clubs and the projects we support.

Lions are ordinary people who do extraordinary things to help others and support good causes.  Globally we have more volunteers in more places than any other service club organisation.  We love to help others and make things happen.

Every day Lions are having fun by organising remarkable and memorable fundraising activities.

Every year, in Europe alone, Lions Clubs members volunteer almost 6 million hours of service and raise £88 million annually to support the needs of local communities.

Lions Clubs International: British Isles

257 Alcester Road South

Kings Heath

Birmingham

B14 6DT

Tel: 0345 833 9502

To find out more about Lions Clubs, visit www.lionsclubs.co
Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/LionsClubsBritishIsles

or Tweet #LionsGetInvolved on https://twitter.com/LionsClubsBI

Advocacy Focus achieves Senior Leader and Workplace Wellbeing Awards from national mental health charity Mind

Advocacy Focus’ CEO and the organisation’s commitment to wellbeing within the workplace, has been recognised by the national mental health charity Mind.

Advocacy Focus was one of 106 organisations to take part in Mind’s second annual Workplace Wellbeing Index and was recognised with a Gold Award.  The award showcases the charity’s commitment to achieving real and sustainable change within their workplace.

Mind’s Workplace Wellbeing Index is a benchmark of best policy and practice, celebrating the good work employers are doing to promote and support positive mental health, and provides key recommendations on where there is room to improve.

In further celebrations for the charity, Justine Hodgkinson, its Chief Executive Officer, won the Senior Leader Award, for her commitment and contribution to fostering an equitable and supportive workplace. Other members of the team were also shortlisted for their efforts in this area; Becci Jackson-Maher in the Line Manager category for her work as the Time to Change lead and Jasmine Bell in the Wellbeing Champion category, for her work as Suicide Champion and helping to drive forward the Time to Change programme.

Every employer depends on having healthy and productive employees – valued and supported staff are far more likely to perform better and achieve peak performance. Mental health problems are common among employees. Mind surveyed more than 44,000 employees across the 106 employers participating in the Awards and found that 7 in 10 had experienced a mental health problem in their lives, with over one in two (53 per cent) affected by poor mental health in their current workplace.

Advocacy Focus has developed a collaborative and supportive environment for its team, through initiatives such as an "All Fine Hotline" for staff to speak and offload to a manager out of hours if they are feeling stressed or upset, private healthcare and counselling for all staff.  The team also have access to Suicide and Cancer champions, a mental health plan which raises awareness of female health issues and a Time to Change team which reduces the stigma of mental ill health. Many of the team are also qualified mental health first aiders, which is delivered by their in-house training team. In Mind’s independent and anonymous survey, which formed part of the process, staff reported how they are empowered to take control of their own wellbeing and that of their peers, colleagues, family and friends.

Justine said: “Our cultural approach to mental health, alongside our policies and training programmes, demonstrates how we place our team’s physical and mental health and wellbeing at the heart of our organisation. How we look after our team has a ripple effect across the whole of the North West and the people we serve.”

“As a registered charity, we have been supporting people with mental ill health for over 20 years. These awards are a significant achievement, which recognise how we live and uphold the values of advocacy within our workplace and are proud to do so. Winning Gold shows that we provide a trusted and safe place to work from, which enables our team to focus on our communities and help them live the lives they want to live.”

After receiving the Senior Leader Award, Justine said: “I have learnt over the years that the only way to bring about positive cultural change, is to treat every member of your team with kindness and respect.  You never know what challenges a person may have faced to even make it into work that day, life can be so pressurised.  Particularly now with the current situation and many people’s lives being turned upside down.  If we can provide a friendly and supportive, values based workplace, that normalises the conversation around mental health and tackles any form of discrimination, then our team will show up as the very best version of themselves.  That is a workplace I am proud to be the leader of.”

Emma Mamo, Head of Workplace Wellbeing at Mind, said:

“Every employer depends on having a healthy and productive workforce – valued and supported employees are far more likely to deliver the best outcomes for your organisation.

That’s why we’re delighted to recognise and celebrate employers making mental health a priority for their organisation through our Workplace Wellbeing Awards.

“This year, we’ve been overwhelmed to see so much good practice right across the board, from each and every one of the 106 diverse employers to take part. The Awards event provided an opportunity to recognise those forward-thinking employers who are at the cutting edge when it comes to investing in their staff wellbeing, and in turn getting the best outcomes for their business.”

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