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Two members of the Devizes Lions Club have together amassed over 100 years of the voluntary service to the local community. The impressive milestone has been reached as the Club marked the 50th anniversary of its founding. With the support of the local community for over the last five decades, the Devizes Lions have raised many thousands of pounds to help support local people and various charities. Soon after the Club first formed back in 1970, David Bousfield joined, and John Hurley did so a few months later. Over the years they have helped to organise many events of all sorts, ranging from assisting individuals and groups in need of the Lions’ practical or financial help to organising large scale events such as Gymkhanas and the May or Christmas Fayres.
NEW volunteer listeners are being trained by the Samaritans as it contends with a more than 20 per cent rise in callers during the pandemic. Swindon and District Samaritans has been awarded £3,500 from Wiltshire Community Foundation’s Coronavirus Response and Recovery Fund to buy new headsets and carry out extra deep cleaning at its branch office in Swindon. The money was donated to the fund by the Oakfield development, a new neighbourhood of 239 sustainable homes in east Swindon. The headsets will allow new volunteers to be mentored remotely while they gain experience of taking calls. “The mentors listen into calls until the volunteers are ready to take their first step on their own,” said listening and publicity volunteer Maggie Gill.
A CORONAVIRUS fund grant is helping the Samaritans train new volunteer listeners as it contends with a more than 20 per cent rise in callers during the pandemic. Swindon and District Samaritans has been awarded £3,500 from Wiltshire Community Foundation’s Coronavirus Response and Recovery Fund to buy new headsets and carry out extra deep cleaning at its branch office in Swindon. The money was donated to the fund by the Oakfield development, a new neighbourhood of 239 sustainable homes in east Swindon. The community foundation’s fund has already raised £1.2 million and distributed more than £1 million through more than 200 grants to groups across the county.
Alzheimer’s Support has received funding from Wessex Water through Wiltshire Community Foundation for its Movement for the Mind classes in Devizes VOLUNTARY groups and charities helping communities recover from Covid have been boosted with grants through a partnership between Wessex Water and Wiltshire Community Foundation. The Wessex Water Recovery Fund is part of the Wessex Water Foundation, a multi-million pound initiative launched last June. Grants have been targeted at people struggling with money, schemes to strengthen communities, green recovery initiatives and projects to enhance nature and wildlife. Among the recipients of the £43,000 awarded through Wiltshire Community Foundation is Alzheimer’s Support. The group, which works all over north and west Wiltshire, received £1,800 to cover the running costs of its Movement for the Mind classes in Devizes. The group’s fundraising has been badly hit over the last year and needs help with running costs.