Morning all! Sometimes it feels that an immediate response is necessary to right social inequality or at least help an individual or group that are ready to stand up and be counted when they can see obvious suffering. Children being fed, irrespective of all, and above all other things has to always be an absolute priority of any civilised person. Thank goodness for goodness and for the legions of people that have sought to reach out to the most vulnerable among us and make sure at the very least they’ll have a meal this half term. We’ve seen the very worst and the very best of humanity in 2020 and to witness the inherent goodness of people, so many people personally makes my heart soar and shows the future is bright for a kinder, fairer world.
This week’s recipients are a charity in South Bristol called BS3 Community Development and they do loads but we are giving our £500 to support their Food Bank and Food Club, a new initiative to make sure every family gets access to enough nutritious food and helps those families gain the skills to cook these ingredients and turn them into gorgeous family friendly meals. They also run a youth club that gives these young people somewhere to turn this half term.
You’re putting food on the tables of families that so desperately need your help and the love and support of their communities. You’re ace. Thanks to each and every single one of you.
A few of you mentioned these guys so here’s a bit more about this gorgeous lot:
BS3 Community Development is a 30 year old charity based in South Bristol.
Pre Covid, the centres saw around 2000 people a week using the centres – whether dropping off children to nursery, attending older peoples clubs, baby massage classes, gentle exercise for over 55’s, people enjoying the café or a variety of evening drama/activity classes each evening. We set up Bedminster Youth Club that ran each week from URC hall on West Street in Nov-19 too plus are involved in the delivery of lots of groups in community settings – with a particular focus on reducing social isolation and loneliness in older people – groups included cooking in community rooms in tower blocks plus social and tech sessions in community cafes.
Since Covid we have been working hard to ensure that we stay as connected to our community as possible, particularly those that have been shielding / our older friends. I have been heavily involved in the BS3 Covid response mutual aid group and we have set up a food bank (the larder in St Pauls Church on Coronation Road), plus Bedminster Food Club plus we have leafleted every family with a local number for people to call if they need support with shopping / prescription collections etc.
We are in the process of setting up our latest initiative ‘BS3 COMPANIONS’ which is effectively a befriending service – it will include ‘check in and chat’ – phone calls each week to people to reduce loneliness plus ‘buddying’ – supporting people that haven’t been out for months to gently reintroduce them to the community maybe with a walk to the park or a coffee somewhere.