Charities in Warwick District thank the public for their support

Helping Hands, which is a Leamington-based charity that helps the homeless and the vulnerable in the Warwick district, has received a number of kind gifts this festive season.

Earlier this year the charity was looking for a new home for its House2Home Service, which provides household items that the tenants could not afford to buy themselves.

The service was housed at Stoneleigh Park after a vacant building was gifted to the charity in 2016. But because the building was needed for a permanent occupier the charity needed a new home for the service.

The charity has now found another base at Stoneleigh Park.

Ian Johanssen from Helping Hands said: “We are very grateful for the continued support and generosity of Stoneleigh Park. We always knew that it was a temporary arrangement and remain keen to find a permanent home, but we are thrilled to have been found an alternative unit here so we can stay on site on the same basis. Moving to our new home at this time of year really has given us a boost for the New Year.”

As well as finding a site for its service Helping Hands also received a kind Christmas donation of £10,000 from the Leamington Round Table.

Lianne Kirkman, from Helping Hands, said: “The Leamington Round Table was instrumental in 2016 in funding the phase one conversion of a former shop into a super community facility, where we can give a hand-up for those in difficult situations. The £10,000 will help develop phase two works and facilities upstairs at 12 Gloucester Street.”

The LWS Night Shelter, which is also based in Leamington, also received kind donations to help the district’s homeless. This year they were asking people to take part in a reverse Advent calendar, where the team posted an item every day on its Facebook page and those taking part put the item in a box. These boxes were donated to the shelter on Christmas Eve.

The team at the LWS Night Shelter team: “We have been overwhelmed by the generosity of the community. Over the last couple of weeks we’ve been inundated by donations, many in the form of 
our reverse Advent calendars, as well as much-needed
 monetary donations for the redevelopment of our new premises. We’d like to extend our sincere thanks to these members of the community - it’s only with your help that we’ve been able to help our guests stay safe, warm, and well fed this Christmas, so thank you.”

The team at the shelter are also trying raise £60,000 so that they can refurbish their new premises on Packington Place.

The shelter is currently based at the Priors Club in Tower Street but the site is due to be developed so the shelter needed to find a new home.

To donate to the appeal click here.

The staff behind an appeal to help make a new maternity unit at Warwick Hospital a “home away from home” are celebrating another fundraising milestone.

The Birth and Babies Appeal was launched in April 
to help raise £200,000 for Warwick Hospital’s new
midwifery-led birthing centre.

The unit will offer expectant parents the opportunity to have their babies in a more ‘homely’ setting.

Since it was launched the appeal has raised £53,000.

Throughout the year, individuals, organisations and groups have been supporting the appeal through donations and hosting events.

More recently, Leamington-based caterers Top Nosh Food organised a Winter Wonderland Ball in aid of the appeal at Leamington Town Hall. More than 150 people attended the ball and nearly £9,000 was raised.

Jayne Blacklay, director of development at South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust, said: “I have been overwhelmed by the support for the appeal so far. The new birthing centre is going to be extremely beneficial for lots of families in Warwickshire and the surrounding areas so it is lovely to see how everyone is getting involved.”

The development of the new centre will commence in January, with the opening planned for summer 2018. The funds raised for the appeal will buy enhancements such as special cribs and birthing pools.