June’22 Newsletter
Ahoy there me HEARTies,
It’s finally looking like summer and now we can complain about the heat instead - phew! It’s always busy at HEART, so here’s some great things you’ve been doing…
We received an excellent response to our call out for volunteers for the chatty bench as part of Refugee Week. Lovely to see people popping by, getting involved and indeed – having a chat. It was a buzzing hive of activity and shows what a welcoming community Hastings can be. Volunteering for just a couple of hours can really make a difference.
Thank you to Rebecca Sinker and the Refugee Buddy Project for a great event, our super energetic team leader Andy Pope and all our excellent volunteers that took part.
To keep in tune with the sobering “Cost of Living Crisis” and the rising cost of fuel, HEART has added an extra 5p for petrol/diesel per mile that volunteers claim back when they do trips. This is for our tireless team of drivers – The HEART Road Runners. Your time is precious to us - we don’t want it to cost you money as you’re motoring around, helping people to get to important NHS appointments.
If you’d like to be a HEART driver click on this link: https://hastingsheart.com/volunteer-form
HEART visited the Conquest Hospital again this month to prepare for our launch of the Discharge Lounge Courtyard 21 Project. We were honored to chat to the wardmanager and get some proper insight into what a lush new garden would mean to the patients about to leave and their sense of well-being as they make their journey home to recover and heal.
We also had the luck of bumping into the gardening volunteers that keep all the courtyards tended to and the wonderful ward team in the Critical Care Unit that have raised lots of money to revamp their courtyard and make it into a vital (and beautiful) space for patients and staff alike. The stories we’re going to tell you are very moving, so watch this space and get a hanky. (The gnomes will become clear).
We’re really looking forward to the launch of St.Michael’s Hospice’s “Follow that Duck” trail on the 24thof June. It’s a collection of 30 large duck sculptures, decorated with designs from a collection of local different artists (some of whom you might know) that take you around Hastings and Bexhill.
On the 8thof July they’ll have a mobile duck unit (officially the MDU!) which is exactly as it sounds, where you’ll be able to pin your ideas about what makes a ‘Compassionate Community’ to the duck. We’ll tell you where they’re going to be each day via social media, if you’d like to take part.
Get silly, Get involved and Get exploring.
Which brings us seamlessly on to a little plug for the Hastings Befriending Network where we work with partners like St. Michael’s Hospice to tackle loneliness and isolation in Hastings. Some of this work includes our our fortnightly social event “Get Chatting” at The Nest cafe in the Old Town.
If you know anyone that might like to feel a bit of community connection, please do encourage them to come along. And if transport is tricky, we can organise a lift. Just get in contact on: 01424 235290 and leave us a message.
The next “Get Chatting” is on June 29th from 2-4pm.
We’re going to leave you with another of our Volunteer Stories, from Katy Kiteley - Volunteer Extraordinaire.
I’m 48 and I run my own chimney sweeping business. I’m originally from Bedford. I studied jewellery at Central St Martins art college in London where I lived for 25 years and where I met my husband. I’m a keen gardener and grow lots of my own veg. My other passion is my motorcycle which I have ridden all over Europe including the Alps and the Pyrenees.
I heard about HEART through a friend and Facebook then signed up to be a volunteer during the pandemic back in April 2020 during the first lockdown. I couldn’t work and my little sweep van sat outside, not moving so I thought I could put it to use and help in some way.
I wanted to help, to give back. I love this town and its sense of community, it has made me feel welcome and very much at home, more than I’ve ever felt living anywhere else.
As I’m always whizzing about town sweeping chimneys fitting in collecting prescriptions or shopping for people is something I can fit into my day. I’m also working with a lady helping her to get her confidence back to go out on her own again after losing her partner. This has been a rewarding experience for us both (I hope)… Walking into town and taking her shopping for the first time even though she was a bit shaky and nervous, she still did it. I felt very proud of her.
Feeling like I’m helping and doing something positive has given me a real sense of achievement and purpose.
When I first met one of my clients I had come straight from work, so I hadn’t time to go home and change. In my profession I get pretty dirty and I had soot all over my face. She was hiding behind her door and looking at me like; “ Who on earth is this at my door?!”, I laughed and smiled and explained who I was…. and now we are friends and she laughs at me and my sooty van.
Just remember that what you may think is the smallest of helping hands can make a big difference to someone… a little of your time can go a long way to making someone’s life a little better.
