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What's happening at Hope Nottingham?

August 2024


In this month's issue, we think about the upcoming harvest season, welcome our new Area Operations Manager, highlight some exciting volunteer and job vacancies and look forward to Oxjam Music Festival.

A Hope-filled new term


Dear Dominique,


As we approach the new school year, it can be a time for new beginnings. For those with younger children, there may be first day photos by the front door in shiny new school uniform - a time of hope and optimism!


However, for many in our communities, this time means extra expense on school equipment and uniforms, and larger heating bills on the horizon as we approach autumn.


Thankfully, your generous support means we are able to offer hope and practical help to those who need it most. As one of our guests recently put it:


"Hope is always there in times of need, for a food parcel, a free breakfast, a chat, and somewhere to go to feel part of the community. We all need Hope."


Thank you for your continued support.

"Look at the new thing I am going to do.

It is already happening. Don’t you see it?

I will make a road in the desert. I will make rivers in the dry land."



Isaiah 43:19

Donate to support our work 

Looking ahead to harvest


Our fantastic allotment team have already been hard at work bringing in the harvest (pictured) for use at our food club and community meal. For many of us, harvest season conjures up images of tables of food in school assemblies or church services rather than getting our hands muddy! However, harvest is still a vital season for our work here at Hope Nottingham, where we see many supporting organisations, particularly schools and churches, organising harvest collections to help stock our foodbanks. Along with Christmas (apologies for mentioning this in August!), harvest remains a time where we can give thanks for what we have - as well as give to others who are less fortunate.


Communities across Nottingham are still very much depending on the support of our foodbanks and keeping up with demand is an ever present challenge. Whilst the number of people and families needing emergency food parcels has remained at the same high level over the last 12 months, food donations have dropped by 26% compared to previous years.


Harvest is an ideal time to both encourage donations and raise awareness of the work of our foodbanks. We have a range of resources available here if you would like to hold a Harvest Foodbank Collection in your school, workplace or church. All our foodbanks are grateful for any donations of food which all go to support people in their local communities. You can find out about what items we need most and where to donate them, here. If you need any help or support organising a collection, or a speaker to attend an event, or additional resources, please get in touch and we will do our very best to attend.

Countdown to Oxjam!



It is now just over a month until this year's Oxjam Beeston Music Festival on Saturday 5th October. Hope Nottingham are very grateful to have been selected (along with our friends at Middle Street Resource Centre) as one of two local charities supported by this year's event. Oxjam 2024 promises to be the best yet, with bands and artists performing at 20 different venues across Beeston.


To buy tickets (wristbands allowing entry to all venues cost £10 for adults and £5 for 12-18s) or to volunteer at the event, please visit the Oxjam website or Facebook page. We can't wait to see you there!

Nominate Hope to help us win £1000!


You could help us win £1000 from the Benefact Group's Movement for Good awards by nominating Hope Nottingham. Anyone can nominate a charity to enter the draw, and the more nominations we receive the more chance we have of winning funding, so do tell your family and friends!


You can nominate us (search for "Hope Nottingham CIO") here.

Welcome Helen!


We are delighted to welcome Helen Voce, who joins us as our new Area Operations Manager. Helen joins us with 30 years of experience in managing local charities and will be responsible for the oversight and development of our Trussell Trust foodbanks as well as assisting our CEO, Dominique, with the operational running of the organisation. Helen is looking forward to getting out and about across our foodbank network to meet our wonderful volunteers, guests and donors, so do look out for her and say hello! You can read more about the rest of our team here.

We need you!


Volunteers are the key to the work we do. We are currently really in need of female volunteers for our Youth Renew Cafe sessions at Hope House on Thursday evenings, and for Bethesda Ministries soon to start Community Cafe on Wednesday afternoons. This will run alongside our foodbank and welcome the local community in to meet, whilst sharing refreshments and snacks. To find out more about these opportunities and other volunteer vacancies at Hope Nottingham, see our Volunteering webpage here.

Advisor vacancy at The Ark


The Ark Advice Centre in Gedling partner with Hope Nottingham to provide welfare and benefit advice at our Carlton Community Hub, funded by Trussell Trust. We are also hoping to extend this provision to Bethesda Foodbank in Netherfield.


We are all very sorry to see Jenni, their long term advisor move on to pastures new and wish her the very best of luck. The Ark are currently looking to recruit an Employment coach & wellbeing mentor to replace Jenni. This role will provide benefit advice and jobseeker support to those in the Gedling area.


For more details and how to apply, please visit The Ark's website here and please do share this opportunity far and wide!

Hope Community meals


Our next pay-what-you-can meals are on Tuesday 10th August at Hope House, Beeston and Monday 23rd September at Carlton Community Hub



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.

The Chosen


Hope House in Beeston will be showing Series 4 of The Chosen - a drama telling the life of Jesus - on Thursday mornings at 10.30am beginning on Thursday 12th September.


The series will be shown over eight weeks with an opportunity each week to discuss some of the themes raised.


Please do come and join us. You are welcome whether you have any kind of faith, or no faith at all!


For further information please email.

Final thoughts...


Hope Nottingham would not exist without the dedication of our amazing volunteers, many serving faithfully behind the scenes over many years.


This month, our reflection comes from Dave Lowe, one of our longstanding volunteers at our Hope Café in Beeston, who is finally hanging up his apron after first volunteering for what would later become Hope Nottingham back in 2006! You can read Dave's reflection on his time with Hope Nottingham here.


Thank you Dave, from the bottom of all our hearts, for all your great efforts and countless hours of volunteering, you and your family will be in our thoughts and prayers and you know where to get a decent cuppa/sarnie!

Thank you


We love hearing from you - please do call in for a chat or tour of Hope House or Carlton Community Hub 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

Read more about our work

Hope Nottingham | 0303 040 1110 | www.hope-nottingham.org.uk

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