virgo health spear central office 89 heath road we would
TRANSCRIPT
We want to get to know you!
At SPEAR we really welcome the opportunity to get to know our donors more. We have started running Focus Groups, where a small number of people meet together with a couple of SPEAR staff to hear about our plans and give feedback. The groups have been both interesting and useful and we would like to have more of our supporters involved.
It is likely that the next group will meet for an hour in September. If you would like to come along please contact Kerry Thomas, Community Fundraiser, at [email protected] or on 020 7036 9766.
We would also like to build up more contacts with local schools – if you work in a
school and could help us please get in touch with Kerry.
Charity Number: 1122206 - www.spearlondon.org - Company Number: 6396687
Virgo Health
We would like to thank Virgo Health who have chosen SPEAR to be their Charity of the Year.
Based in Richmond, Virgo Health is a well-respected PR and Communications company within the health industry. With over 60 employees they have repeatedly won awards for the Best Workplace, and we will benefit greatly from their skills and experience.
To date, they have already produced the publicity material for The Big SPEAR Snooze and they will shortly be volunteering with the SPEAR Outreach team.
We are looking forward to working together on other projects through the year.
Harlequins Charity Match Day
Are you a Harlequins fan?! Well, come and join us on Friday 7 September for the first game of the season.
The SPEAR team will be there with our buckets – and we hope everyone in the stadium will be able to donate just £1.00 to help our clients.
Harlequins will be playing local rivals London Welsh so it promises to be an amazing match!
St George Properties support SPEAR
We are delighted to announce that SPEAR has been chosen as the charity for St George Properties for the next 4 years. St George, a member of the Berkeley Group, is a very well respected company, and the partnership promises to have a positive impact on SPEAR’s work.
The Berkeley Foundation will present SPEAR with a £10,000 donation which will specifically help to fund our Skills Development team. This is an essential part of SPEAR’s services, providing training and activities to help clients access employment and work experience, and gain the skills they need to move from homelessness to independence.
St George are also proud to be sponsoring The Big SPEAR Snooze in October at the Twickenham Stoop, and with their support the event will really make a difference to our clients. We look forward to working with St George for the benefit of our clients.
SPEAR Central Office 89 Heath Road
Twickenham TW1 AW 020 8288 6506
Meet our supporters - Claudine McCreadie
My husband and I moved to Richmond from North Lambeth about 25 years ago with our five children aged nine to baby! Before having children, I had been a lecturer in social policy and I had found housing a particularly fascinating area of policy. Like many local people, I got to know Penny Wade when she was running the Vineyard Project and campaigning for overnight accommodation in the area for people who had nowhere else to go. When the night shelter first opened, I did some volunteering, but I have mainly supported SPEAR by giving money over the years and by telling other people, including at my church, what a great organisation it is.
Moving on - Olga’s story
I became a SPEAR client three years ago after I was evicted from my tenancy. SPEAR found me a bed in the YMCA and then I moved to a place in Twickenham.
Throughout this time, I have been supported by a keyworker who helped me to get my benefits in place and helped me through a period of depression. Keeping active is important for me, so I became involved with SPEAR’s Skills Development, going on trips
and attending Job Club. I had a volunteer befriender, which was great for helping me to get out. I hadn’t swum for over 10 years but we went together each week – soon I was swimming 34 lengths!
Over the last two years I have volunteered for SPEAR, on interview panels, running the Gardening Club, and on the reception at Penny Wade House. Through this I have met lovely people, my confidence has increased a lot, and it has given me a good work reference. I am stopping volunteering as I have a job as a Care Assistant. I know I am now ready for this and am excited about starting something new.
Helping Veterans return to life
The SPEAR Veterans Support Service helps ex-Service Personnel and their dependants living in south west London who have a range of housing and social care needs.
Launched in 2010, and funded by the Royal British Legion, the service provides ongoing support through key-working sessions, which include in depth assessments of potential clients’ support needs, risks to their journey to independence, and their personal goals and aspirations.
The team addresses issues such as benefits, mental and physical health, debt management, housing, and tenancy sustainment, employment, education, training and reducing isolation following their time in the Services.
We have worked in partnership with other agencies such as Combat Stress, Gardening Leave, Mind, and the Citizens Advice Bureau to ensure clients’ needs are being met.
We are continuing to learn about the challenges faced by Veterans, and the team aims to provide the opportunities they need to live fulfilling lives.
For more information about this service, please contact Kossar Butt, the Senior Worker, at [email protected], or go to our website.
The Big SPEAR Snooze
Change the place you sleep for just one night -
and help people change their lives forever.
This year we are hoping to raise £10,000 from SPEAR’s annual sleepout, and we need your support to reach that target!
On Saturday 6 October we will be hosting The Big SPEAR Snooze at the Harlequins stadium, Twickenham Stoop. Participants will be able to enjoy a traditional English supper followed by an evening of entertainment, sports stars, live music and a raffle including prizes from Harlequins and the spectacular Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Syon Park.
The sleepout will begin at midnight, when you will be able to bed down for the night with nothing but a sleeping bag to keep you warm. Before heading home in the morning a hot breakfast will be served for each Snoozer.
Although this experience cannot even begin to replicate what our clients go through, by changing the place you sleep for just one night you will help more SPEAR clients move off the streets for good.
Every penny of your sponsorship will help to improve the lives of our clients – please be part of this year’s sleepout.
www.facebook.com/SPEARLondon
www.twitter.com/SPEARLondon