Dear all,

This week was volunteers week. And at Caring Together we celebrate this event every year for volunteers and helpers. We recognise everyone’s offers of help and supportive gestures in whatever way it is given, this can even be from our regular dedicated volunteers, to ad hoc offers of help from members, and their family and friends and our supporters too. It all matters a great deal.

Over the last year your acts of kindness have benefited so many. From regular befriending visits, phone calls, letters to helping in groups, money box making and counting, sharing musical talents and written creativity, tending to the allotment, baking and making things, passing on and sharing skills together, tombollas, Unity day, Little London Community Day, helping at other events, day trips and outings, catering, fundraising, marketing, trustees, delivering our newsletters and so on. Phew!

And the lockdown did not squash your thoughtfulness, it just meant for some it shifted slightly for which we are truly grateful. To you and the countless others in the community who have, and continue to give so much, we say a huge thank you to you all.

On a final note we did have something special planned this year with it being our ’25th Year’ yet this will have to wait. We can still celebrate together the amazing support of all our Caring Together’s volunteers and helpers, past and present. And everyone else in the community doing their bit.

Members and volunteers from the Univeristy of Leeds enjoying a sing a long last year before the lockdown

Homemade Marmalade sitting alongside our second batch of homemade Jam

Volunteers at Unity Day last year – huge team effort

Our newsletter ready for our team of volunteers

Pat and Joyce helping in the office prior to the lockdown. And one of our volunteers bringing the newsletter together just recently in the sun. Myrna is also making use of some of the home made jam and marmalade. She is baking buns and cakes which she will be distributing to her neighbours. Some of whom work in the NHS and some are shielding.

This is our 2nd homemade fruit cake

Helping to do a bit of shopping

Music Creations and Singing together with student volunteers just before the lockdown

Crochet and Sewing Skills Share – this was a team effort, just before the lockdown, led by Felina, Viv and Sylvia who kindly helped a group of us rekindle chrochet skills and for some learn how to crochet. I recently picked up one of the blankets from Felina who lovingly finished it off. We made two blankets. The one Felina is holding was for one of our members in the next picture.

.Happy 90th Birthday Clarita for this weekend. She was thrilled with her gift, yet not so much with my singing and birthday jig….

Thank you to you all for ‘Caring Together’