The sunny days at the end of July allowed for plenty of outdoor activities, although it did mean that we missed the usual art sessions. Sally Evans from Chichester College was also on hand to offer advice on further education pathways, and we welcomed almost 80 attendees at the first session in August to introduce our new Charity Manager & Lead Volunteer Coordinator, Rosemarie Hegarty.
The inaugural family event at Westhampnett was a huge success, as were the children’s summer activity days. Thanks to Ben and Anna from Westgate Leisure Centre, who have started regularly providing children’s sports activities at the drop-in. We are also very grateful to volunteers Andy and Gurjit for providing opportunities in cricket and golf for some of our beneficiaries.
Mid-August brought an emotional farewell to Claudie Fleming, who had such a positive impact as a Volunteer Coordinator here at Sanctuary—thank you, Claudie, and good luck! More on Claudie and our search to replace her here…
We were delighted that Oxmarket Contemporary invited refugees to take part in the Postcards part of their Wish You Were Here exhibition during August. In the end, only two of our beneficiaries submitted work for inclusion and attended the (very popular) private view. They were very excited to see their work displayed alongside that of other artists.
In early September , the drop-in had a visit from Sue Walsh, who is a Community Nurse and a Sanctuary volunteer. She and her team provide preventative healthcare information and she is going to be running clinics for beneficiaries, providing general NHS health checks and blood pressure checks. We will set up some of these over the coming months at the drop-in, women’s group and the hotel.
September also saw the return of craft activities for children at the drop-in, with the Play-Doh table and the painting table now busy all afternoon and producing some lovely creations.
Positive updates from our beneficiaries about their personal and academic achievements were particularly uplifting as we continue into the autumn months, and one beneficiary who has only been here a few months arrived at the last drop-in in her new work uniform. She was able to get her job thanks to guidance, help and encouragement from Pathways to Independence. Manager Kerry Foster. Another beneficiary passed her driving test and her GCSE maths exam over the summer.
Massive thanks to all those who have helped with The Big Tidy over the last couple of months, gradually sorting the mounds of donated clothing at the hotel store, so that we will be able to quickly and more easily respond to clothing requests.
And many thanks to the volunteers who bring beneficiaries to the drop-in, many on a regular basis, and many with a visit to a supermarket on the way home. We are extremely grateful for this, as lots of the families would otherwise not be able to attend, and it is such a great opportunity for them to meet others and share stories, get advice, gain English support, meet with staff, keep their children busy and, of course, to eat cake!