Here at Sanctuary in Chichester, we think it is really important to spread positivity and celebrate each and every achievement. How does doubling our contact hours sound for good news?

In March, when lockdown began, our work had to adapt to the remote ‘new normal’ – Zoom and WhatsApp became a lifeline for our tutors and befriendees. There was still a need to provide English lessons and promote independence for our refugee friends, plus additional needs, like assisting with homeschooling and ensuring people didn’t feel isolated.

Now, eight months later in a second lockdown, we are on track to double last year’s total contact hours. In 2019, when things were much simpler, we managed to provide 866 hours of tutoring and befriending to our 22 families and individuals. With just over a month until 2020 is behind us, we have nearly doubled that figure. Almost 540 hours from our Befriending team and over 950 hours of tutoring has racked up a staggering 1,494 hours! What’s more, over 1000 of these have been logged as being remote. Against all odds we have been significantly more active this year and as a result we actually feel closer to the people we support.

This was only made possible by our incredible team of volunteers, trustees and tutors. The resilience demonstrated by each and every one of them is inspiring and heartwarming, hence why we think it is fully justifiable to show off this achievement!

How many hours do you think we will get to by the end of the year?