First of all we would like to thank our amazing volunteers who are always there for us; whether it’s cooking meals, collecting surplus food from supermarkets, delivering food packs, or just being a friendly ear to someone’s worries. We have a team second to none who are on hand to help practically and emotionally and nothing is ever too much for them.
We’d also like to take this time to remember volunteer Sue Reeve who sadly passed away this year. Sue and her husband Mike were dedicated and committed to helping our community. She has been greatly missed by all who knew her/
We must also mention and thank the supporters who have continued to provide financial donations which help us to deliver these basic services.
Projects like PCA can be difficult without the goodwill of all of these people.
2023 has been a challenging year for many of us with the dramatic rise of fuel and food bills. Let us share with you some of the amazing ways PCA has responded to these challenges.
This year we have cooked and delivered 1018 meals. This takes us to well over 5000 altogether.
We have collected and distributed BURP packs to 77 households, helping feed 229 people – that’s around 6 boxes of food and household products a week and over 3000 individuals since we started the scheme.
We have stopped 699 trays of food going to waste with our very popular Foodshare scheme. This has more than doubled what we saved since last year. Without this, the local supermarkets would put this good food into landfill.
Our popular Saturday Cafe at the Wesley Hall provides a safe and happy meeting place for many of the older members of the community (although open to all), where they can enjoy free coffee and cake and a friendly chat in a safe environment.
We have had up to eight regular telephone befriending calls each week.
Our beloved bus is also still a priority and once some minor problems have been addressed and it is MOT’d it will provide a mobile home for PCA to deliver activities to surrounding villages.
Over the past couple of years we have invested a lot of time and energy on this project. Please understand that the volunteers working on it have limited time and lead busy lives. They too are eager to get the bus on the road.
Many people are supporting and encouraging us so it really is a case of watch this space and be patient. It’s a massive project which we want to get right.
Interested HGV drivers and bus mechanics would be most welcome to join us as volunteers so please do get in touch.
New volunteers in all aspects are always welcome. Please apply on the website.
If you are in need of help please visit our website ourpca.uk.
We wish you all a very Happy New Year and look forward to improving our services and expanding our volunteer base in 2024…
