What's happening at Hope Nottingham?
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May 2024
In this month's issue, we look at the importance of signposting, advertise two new staff vacancies, welcome our newest team member and appeal for new allotment volunteers...
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Bringing real Hope
Dear Dominique,
The Trussell Trust recently released figures showing that 3.1 million food parcels were issued in the UK in the last 12 months. It's a huge number to get your head around.
However, behind the statistics are real people. Families and individuals who have received support thanks to the generosity of people like you.
And the work we do goes far beyond food. Each parcel we give, is an opportunity to restore and build hope in people's lives. We thank you for playing your part in making this happen.
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"Where there is hope, there is life"
Anne Frank
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Signposting the way...
Both Hope Nottingham and the Trussell Trust, believe strongly that food banks on their own, are not the answer to relieving food poverty and bringing about positive change in people's lives. Whilst an emergency food parcel may help in the immediate term, we recognise helping people to tackle the causes of their crisis brings much greater benefit to people in need - both financially and in terms of mental health and overall wellbeing. This holistic view is key to our approach to referral and signposting across our foodbanks.
Hope's teams of volunteer befrienders at our hubs and food banks, as kind and compassionate as they are, are not qualified counsellors or advisors. However, many of our guests, can benefit from specialist support which is why signposting is so important. Signposting involves making our guests aware of different options for support - either from statutory agencies (e.g. local councils, housing providers, NHS services and schools) or through other charities (e.g. support with homelessness, domestic violence or addiction). Our volunteers can also help refer guests towards further practical support (e.g. clothing, furniture, etc) where appropriate. Increasingly our food banks are becoming places where people can be directed to the help and support they need.
Some specialist advice is now happening within our food banks, with several of our sites now benefitting from onsite advice provision via local advice agencies, like Citizens Advice, The Ark, Bestwood Advice and Step Forward. This advice service is not a general outreach service for anyone. It has been funded for us by Trussell Trust, specifically for guests referred the foodbank, so that those in crisis and referred for emergency food, may benefit from immediate and easily accessible welfare, benefits and debt advice.
Helping our guests navigate and access what help is available is time consuming, sometimes frustrating and relies on building trust and relationships, which is why we value our volunteer befrienders so highly. However we know it is an approach which can be truly transformative to those whose lives have hit a crisis.
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Emma from Citizens Advice Broxtowe (third from left), pictured with some of the Hope House befriending team. | |
We're recruiting!
We are currently looking for two amazing individuals to join our team:
Area Operations Manager: Working as part of our senior leadership team, this crucial role will be responsible for hands-on management of our Trussell Trust foodbank franchise, overseeing our 14 foodbanks. The role demands relevant senior experience to support our CEO and manage our general operational services including oversight of volunteering and personnel, facilities, IT and H&S. You can find out more about this role and how to apply here.
Supporter Care and Engagement Officer: Working to engage, involve and inspire existing and potential supporters of Hope Nottingham, this role will lead on increasing brand awareness, celebrating our impact, and achieving long-term financial and food stocks sustainability.
The right individual will be proficient in social media and marketing, capable of contributing to our food and fundraising strategies and confident to deliver engaging talks about our work to various audiences including local churches and corporates.
You can find out more about this role and how to apply here.
Informal chats about the roles and visits to Hope House before applying are strongly encouraged. Get in touch here to arrange.
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Welcome Liv!
We are delighted to welcome Liv Hunter, who joins us as our new Friendship Projects Coordinator. You can read more about Liv and our other staff team members here.
Liv's skills in social science, mentoring, catering and community will help us further develop our community projects such as our community meal at Hope House and developing a new regular community meal at our Carlton Community Hub (more news about this soon). Liv will also oversee our friendship groups, as well as working on new activities to reduce social isolation, such as a new Monday morning cafe session at Carlton (9.30-12) and new activities using our allotment. To register interest in these volunteering roles, please get in touch here
We are always on the look out for speakers for our Friendship Club, or gentle, live music to be performed at our community meals, so if you or someone you know is able to help out, Liv would love to her from you. Please contact the office here.
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Prayer resources
As a Christian charity, Hope Nottingham hugely values the support we receive from churches, organisations and individuals who pray for us, the work we do and the people and communities we serve. If you would like to join in praying for all we do, you can view or download our list of prayer points via our website here.
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Hope is Alive!
We are excited to be running the Alive series at Hope House, beginning on the 10th June. You can find out more by scanning the QR code below, or getting in touch with us.
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Looking forward to Volunteer's week!
Next week (3rd - 9th June) is Volunteers' Week and we are looking forward to saying a huge thank you and celebrating the amazing contribution of our 350+ incredible volunteers. You can find out more about the benefits of volunteering here and can find out about our current volunteering vacancies here.
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Help us grow our allotment!
We are still looking for a team of enthusiastic Allotment Volunteers including an Allotment Lead Volunteer for a new Friday morning growing team on our Beeston allotment.
Our community allotment has developed from an overgrown and forgotten piece of land, into an oasis of greenery and calm, thanks to our dedicated and hardworking team of volunteers. Producing an incredible array of fruit and vegetables which help supply our food club and community meal, as well as providing a quiet space for activities such as our Literacy group, we are looking to recruit a second team, to help us make even better use of this fantastic space. If you have green fingers (or want to have!) and can volunteer a couple of hours on Friday mornings, we'd love to hear from you! Please drop us a line here.
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Hope House Community meal
Our next pay-what-you-can meal is on Tuesday 11th June at 6pm at Hope House, Beeston.
Our community meals are a great chance to enjoy a delicious meal cooked by our wonderful volunteers and to get to know others in the community. Why not bring a friend?
We'd love to see you there! Let us know you are coming by calling on 0303 040 1110 or by email.
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Final thoughts...
This month, our reflection comes from Iain, our Support Manager, who looks at how sometimes the little things can make the biggest difference. You can read his reflection here.
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Thank you
We love hearing from you - please do call in for a chat, arrange a tour or visit our website for more ways to get involved with our work. You can also follow us on facebook here.
Every blessing,
From the Hope Nottingham team
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