HUB NEWS VOLUME 3 • SUMMER 2020
SAVING A LIFE, SAVING A WORLD
IN THIS ISSUE
JO DOLBY - HUB LEADER There's an old Jewish saying I really like; 'whoever saves a life saves a whole world'. I love thinking about every life as a whole world - connected to all these different people and places, each individual with their own set of gifts and passions, hopes and dreams. I'd extend the saying to mean whoever helps a life, helps a whole world.
Saving a Life, Saving a World • P. 1 Food Parcel Project • P. 2 Pantry Update & WiFi • P. 3
In the work we've been involved in over the past few months, we've come across many numbers - 45 families, 540 food parcels, 20 kinship carers. But behind each number, behind each individual is a whole world, and very often we're never aware of how helping just one of these people can have a huge impact, a ripple effect that is felt far beyond that one person. Each time we wear a mask to protect others, each time we're part of an act of kindness, each time we hand out a food parcel, we are doing more than we know.
Kinship Carer Packs • P. 4 Spotlight • P. 5 Join us • P. 6
FOOD PARCEL PROJECT Since May, we've been running a weekly food parcel project to help those hit hardest by the impact of Coronavirus. Working in partnership with the Southdown Whiteway Church and Community Partnership, the Salvation Army and FareShare, we've been able to deliver parcels to around 45 families each week. We couldn't have done this without our amazing team of volunteers, who have joined us from all across Bath as drivers and bag packers! We received funding to run this project from Quartet Community Foundation's Coronavirus Response Fund, Sovereign Housing and those of you who backed our successful Crowdfunder campaign. We initially were planning to stop the project in July, but as the need has grown and Coronavirus looks like it's hear to stay for now, we wanted to continue until the end of August. Thanks to a generous grant from St John's Foundation, we're delighted to be able to say that we can now extend the project and run throughout August.
FRANCESCA'S STORY... "I worked professionally as a ballet dancer in Germany. I married and had four children. I'm a trained singer, and also have a degree and an MA. I moved to Bath at 45 and my youngest child contracted M.E, after which I became seriously ill too. After an eviction process we were extremely lucky to be housed with Sovereign Housing. However the long-term effects of clinical depression left me unable to run my private teaching practice ‘Best Vocals’. Because of Coronavirus, from one day to the next my existence was wiped out. Because my turnover is below the tax personal threshold I am not eligible for any of the government measures for loss of income. The food parcels have helped me enormously because I have only had to buy dairy, eggs and bits and bobs. I have had fun using foods I would never buy. It is humbling to meet your amazing volunteers. Recently, a wonderful woman delivered the food parcels in the most appalling rain storm running up and down the stairs with those heavy bags. As a result of Coronavirus I decided to apply to do a PGCE and train to teach music at secondary level hoping that I can secure an income. I have been the recipient of such kindness and generosity from your organisation and team I would love to find a way to give back by volunteering myself."
A huge thank you to Francesca for bravely sharing her story with us.
OASIS PANTRY In the last edition of Hub News we told you about the Oasis Pantry, which will provide weekly access to good quality surplus food for families on low incomes. Due to the impact of Coronavirus and the ending of our food parcel project in August, it's become absolutely vital that we get this up and running as quickly as possible. We've been working hard behind the scenes and we are pleased to confirm that we will be opening in early September. We will be able to help those with an income of less than ÂŁ18k who live or work within a 15 minute walk of Oasis Church Bath, which is where the pantry will be based. We particularly want to welcome families with children, refugees/asylum seekers and victims of domestic violence. If you are interested in finding out more about the pantry for yourself or someone else, or you'd like to volunteer at the project, please email welcome@oasisbath.org.
Funded by:
WE HAVE WIFI! Lots of our work is based in our city centre building Oasis Church Bath, which provides a home not just for our projects, but for many other community initiatives and activities such as addiction support groups. For a while now we've known that providing publicly accessible broadband in every community space would really add to and improve the experience of those who use our building. We're delighted to say that due a grant from the Quartet Community Foundation Express Fund, we've now been able to install WiFi throughout the building! This will make a huge difference to many of our groups, several of whom are planning to run their activities in a 'hybrid' model while Coronavirus is active, meaning those who are shielding can still join in online. A massive thank you to Quartet for enabling this to happen for us. We'd also like to thank one of our volunteers Andy Ide, who sourced and installed all the equipment for us.
SELF-CARE PACKS We've not been able to run our monthly Kinship Carer's Support Group for a while now, and we've been particularly mindful of how our Kinship Carers are likely to be struggling with schools closed or partially closed, and without access to some of the normal support structures and resources that might help them. We're hoping to be able to start our support group up again in September, but in the meantime we wanted to send our kinship carers some 'self-care' packs to help them remember to look after themselves, and know we're thinking of them.
"Just a quick message to say thank you so much for the care package. It meant a great deal to me and made me feel that we are not alone". SHELLEY, KINSHIP CARER
"Thanks so much for the parcel. Loved the soap and I use my yellow tea cup everyday. My granddaughter had the drinking chocolate and I had the tea". MARIA, KINSHIP CARER
SPOTLIGHT
In this regular Hub News feature we interview someone involved in or connected to the work of Oasis Hub Bath.
Claire HenCow-oordoinatdor at
Volunteer and Pantry Oasis Hub Bath
What’s your role within/relationship to Oasis Hub Bath?
What’s been the most challenging part of your involvement so far?
I’ve been part of Oasis (and Hay Hill Baptist Church before we joined Oasis) since 2002. I’m part of the team who deliver Make Lunch, which is our holiday hunger programme tackling food poverty in school aged families throughout the school holidays. I’m also currently setting up the Oasis Pantry, a low-cost food project aimed at helping those on low incomes.
One of the biggest challenges has been the sense that there’s so much more I can see could happen, without knowing where the time or energy or manpower would come from. I've had to temper my own expectations! What I’ve also found challenging was the time of change and development we’ve been through as a church and the impact that had on some people in particular. It was painful, but also necessary in getting us to where we are now..
What’s been the highlight of your involvement so far? Along with Lea Lawton, I set up Make Lunch in 2016. It’s been such a privilege to part of a project that we felt God was so clearly leading. We’ve provided hot, nutritious meals; fun activities, including with lots of other partners; opportunities to make healthy food; and a safe place to come to during school holidays. It’s great to hear from families how much they look forward to coming along, and it’s been a privilege to support those families, along with many others, over the last few months with weekly food parcels.
What are you most excited about when you think about the future of Oasis in Bath? I’m really excited about the focus on meeting more with our local community and exploring what could come next. When we set up Make Lunch we were always clear it was a first step towards more... the Pantry feels like an extension of that, the next step, with so many more possibilities to come. I dream of us running a low-cost food shop, something bigger than the Pantry, and of finding a way to support people to fulfil their potential through being involved directly in the running of our projects.
To watch a Tedx talk Claire gave on holiday hunger, go to https://tinyurl.com/clairehenwood
Join Us!
There are loads of ways to get involved in the work of Oasis Hub Bath. Reading this newsletter is a great way to stay in touch with all we're up to so if you want to make sure you receive this direct to your inbox, four times a year, let us know by emailing welcome@oasisbath.org. Here are some other ways you can be a part of what we're doing...
Volunteer...
From serving up food and facilitating craft sessions at our Make Lunch project, to being a listening ear for our kinship carers, there are loads of different volunteer roles at Oasis Hub Bath. Even a couple of hours every few weeks could make a real difference to someone in need, so if you've got some time to spare get in touch and we'll find the perfect role for you.
Give... You can now give by text! Just follow the instructions on the picture on the left. The best way to help us is to give each month by standing order. To download a standing order form visit the donate page on our website: oasisbath.org/get-involved/donate
Don't forget to follow us on social media too! @OasisHubBath
@Oasis_Bath
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Oasis Hub Bath is a registered charity (no.1138904) and part of Oasis UK. To contact us email welcome@oasisbath.org, and to find out more about us please visit www.oasisbath.org