WHVC Update 3rd March 2023
The WHVC charity has 4 trustees: Janet Crame (Chair), Sharon Whitehead, Suzy Meller and Lili Moffat (Treasurer)
The Charity has gone from strength to strength this year, carrying out our regular work:
- Mobile lunch club – every week-day
- Weekly Lunch Club in the Wraysbury Village Hall – Thursdays
- Coffee morning in The Hub – Wednesdays
- Our new Coffee morning in Champney Hall – Mondays
- Handling service for food donations which we then deliver to Foodshare in Windsor
- Transport to medical appointments
- Shopping for the house-bound – purchase and delivery
- Help with house-hold chores
- Helpline advice and support
- Confidential ad hoc hands-on help and support where needed
In addition, we held additional events:
The Group hosted a Lunch Club party in the Village Hall on 2nd June last year to celebrate the Queen’s jubilee. In total that day, we served and delivered 80 lunches, with most of the volunteers from the group taking part in some way.
Also in June, we provided one of the barbeque food stalls at the Wraysbury Fair although this wasn’t the financial success we had hoped. We were limited on what food we could offer and the location was not ideal. However everything we didn’t sell we were able to save and use for lunch clubs and then for for the Grange Church Garden Party in September. This event was very successful – well attended and helpful for fund raising as well as raising attention to the work we do and volunteering opportunities available.
On December 22nd we hosted a Christmas party at the Village Hall and again served & delivered more than 80 lunches to local people. We will be organising a similar event for the Coronation in May this year.
We covered lunch deliveries for the whole Christmas and New Year period, delivering no-charge Christmas lunches to ten people in the two Villages with only Saturday 24thDecember as a no-delivery day.
Volunteers & Rota
Suzy Meller is our volunteer and rota coordinator. We are always looking for new volunteers to help with driving and with food prep/cooking in the Village Hall.
A couple of new kitchen volunteers joined us briefly but did not last and we also lost two valuable volunteers who have not been replaced as yet. We require occasional help on Mondays and Thursday lunch club requires kitchen help 10-12. We are also looking for volunteer drivers to help with transport – and possibly driving the Age Concern bus.
Last year we managed through a busy holiday (catch up) period from COVID, however, going forward recruiting a few new volunteers would really ease the load. We have advertised in Wraysbury News, floated flyers door to door and at events, Wraysbury Got Talent, coffee morning, Summer Fair and The Grange. Generally, we have a good array of personalities, skills and reliable volunteers working well together.
Sharon Whitehead is the Organisation’s designated Safeguarding officer & represents us on Village committees.
As a Charitable Incorporated Organisation registered with the Charities Commission, WHVC has a formal written constitution that lays out our purpose as well as policies on Trustee and Volunteer roles and on Safeguarding. Any issues or suggestions for policy changes should come to her (or to another Trustee if more appropriate) so that the Trustees can ensure that we are working in the safest and most appropriate way for our volunteers and clients.
Representing WHVC on the Hub and Village Hall Committees
Both the Hub management committee and the Village Hall Trustees have a representative from WHVC as we are major users of both facilities
We tentatively supported the initiative to open the Village Hall foyer for anyone wishing to use a warm public space. We initially provided materials for users to make themselves a hot drink and a sandwich, or warm up a meal. The Village Hall is still open to visitors, but there has been no demand for this service with the exception of one man who came for one day only.
Finances
Our treasurer is Lili Moffatt. The charity cost are funded by donations during coffee mornings, and modest charges for mobile lunch club and Thursday lunch club meals. Apart from that, we are reliant on grants and donations from organisations such as the Wraysbury’s Got Talent team who gave a hefty boost to our funds last year and help from generous residents. Long may that last because without it we would not be able to continue.
We have 4 donations boxes; Pennyfields (latest and most successful), followed by Sai news and Wraysbury Chemist.