Rebecca was at Thundersley Methodist Church Café, to present certificates to their volunteers as part of Volunteers Appreciation Week. Castle Point Volunteer Befrienders visit people experiencing loneliness and isolation for company and conversation. Thundersley Methodist Church Café hosted a coffee and cake morning to say thank you to the most committed and active volunteers in Castle Point.
The Age Well East Befriending Scheme matches up volunteers who have some spare time to give back to the community, with local older people in our community who otherwise would have no regular face-to-face contact with others.
Rebecca Harris MP commented:
“It was a pleasure to join Anna Wilson United in Kind - Castle Point and Age Well East to give out awards to their hardworking volunteers. A massive well done to all those who won awards for taking part in the scheme. To hear how you are making such a big difference to local people was truly wonderful to hear. AND thank you to those who won awards for supporting the local activities and projects of United in Kind who do a fanatic job raising money and awareness for lots of good causes.”
United in Kind have been working on some amazing kindness projects over the past year including the highly popular ‘Hug in a Shrug’ initiative. The Hug in a Shrug Project was born from a 2020 Christmas Giving project, one of the gifters made a shawl and sent it on to the recipient as a 'hug in a shrug' to wrap around them when they are feeling low and feel the love for them in every stitch.
The lockdowns of 2020 & 2021 highlighted the needs of Essex residents who are alone, and likely struggling with isolation and that one thoughtful gift sparked the idea that we can still reach out to friends and neighbours, even when we can’t be with them physically to show them they are loved and cared for.
Since then, the idea has spread across Essex and we want to make as many 'shrugs' and give out as many 'hugs' as we can to those who need them, to remind them that they are not alone, that someone is thinking of them. If you’d like to get involved you can join their Facebook group here: (https://www.facebook.com/groups/1767046260138281/).
