*|MC:SUBJECT|*

Hi *|FNAME|*, What a year it has been, yes we've had lows but we've also many many highs, and we've been filled with joy by the warmth and kindness displayed by our volunteers throughout. Thank you for joining us on this journey, here's to a New Year in 2021!

We are pleased to inform you that we have volunteers available to assist our vulnerable and self isolating neighbours, throughout the Christmas and New Year period. We are operating daily between 10am and 4pm and will help where we can but will obviously be at the mercy of shop & pharmacy opening hours.

Help Us to Help Medway Donate Here

If you come across anyone who is in need during the Christmas & New Year period please pass them our contact details. We can help with shopping, utility top ups, a Let's Get Chatty call, prescription collections or hearing aid battery deliveries. Please check on your neighbours, delivering a Christmas card is a great opportunity to ring their bell and check all is well.

Our amazing volunteers have undertaken in excess of 3000 tasks, showing our community that we really are here to help!

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Our Let's Get Chatty team are in need of admin support and more Chatters, if you or someone you know could give a couple of hours each week or could make 1 call a week then please email the team or pass on our phone number 01634 907045.

Starting Christmas Day we will be celebrating 12 of Medway's voluntary organisations in our '12 Days of Christmas' project, led by our volunteer Paramjot Kaur. Please like, follow and share. It's the perfect time to donate to these groups, so they can continue their amazing work in 2021.

HAVE A WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS & A HEALTHY, SAFE NEW YEAR!

Mutual Aid Road Reps CIC
[email protected]
www.mutualaidmedway.org.uk
T. 01634 907045

Copyright © MARR 2020

Mutual Aid Road Reps CIC is a registered company in England & Wales 12754639.
Registered Address: 98 Elmfield, Gillingham, Kent, ME86BN.

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

Coffee, Chat & Connect Logo - Mutual Aid Road Reps

Mutual Aid Road Reps (MARR) gears up for new initiative. Its aim? To bring Medway’s coronavirus fractured community back together.

MARR, a mutual aid community group in Medway has secured vital funding via the Test Bed Fund and Medway Voluntary Action, allowing them to launch their ‘Coffee, Chat & Connect’ sessions later this month across Medway.

The sessions are to be targeted at those who have been isolated throughout lockdown and will serve as an important process of reintegration for shielded individuals back into our community. Initially, MARR intends to host these events twice a month in venues across Medway.

Let’s Get Chatty co-ordinator and initiative lead Shila Jassal had this to say:

“This is an opportunity for our service users who have been feeling lonely and isolated, and struggling with the lack of social contact over the past 6 months, to finally have the opportunity to meet face to face in a public setting - and to connect with others who have gone through the same experience. Many have expressed how relieved they feel that this service is being set up. If you’re interested in attending, or would like to help, please contact us.“

The first session will take place at a local cafe on Saturday 19th September in Rochester, followed on Saturday 26th September in Rainham.

To express an interest in attending future sessions please email your details to [email protected] or call 01634 907045.

About MARR

MARR was formed in March this year as a direct reaction to the pandemic. The organisation has helped hundreds of residents across Medway through the efforts of 270 volunteers, working tirelessly within their communities.

“As lockdown has ended, volunteers have been returning to work and we have been rebuilding our volunteer base. If you’re interested in giving back to your community, and can commit even a couple of hours each week, please get in touch with me via [email protected] for more details.” -
Kate Belmonte, MARR Co-founder.

07.09.20

Newsletters

*|MC:SUBJECT|*

View this email in your browser

NEWSLETTER #4

1400+ INDIVIDUALS HELPED SINCE 14TH MARCH
391 COMPLETED TASKS SINCE 24TH JULY

Give me your hands, if we be friends.

We at MARR aim to bridge the gap of isolation with simple kindness and friendship, and boy have we achieved that! Collectively we have helped over 1440 individuals across all of the Medway Towns, providing essential support during an extremely scary and uncertain time.

Since the 24th July you've all completed 391 tasks and, despite the pausing of shielding, we have seen a steady stream of enquires and requests for help from those still shielding, or those needing to self-isolate following symptoms or positive test results.

Rules are changing thick and fast, so rather than typing something that will probably be outdated by dinner time, keep up to speed with rules, laws and regulations by visiting the central government website HERE.

MEET THE TEAM
On Tuesday 20th October join MARR's Steering Group for our first public meeting, ask us anything and find out how you can help shape the future of MARR. You can send your questions in advance via our general email. To join us please register HERE. There will also be the opportunity to provide feedback on our journey to date, so please do come along.

Mutual Aid Road Reps (MARR) gears up for new initiative. Its aim? To bring Medway’s coronavirus fractured community back together. At the beginning of September we were successful in securing a grant from the Test Bed Fund for our Coffee, Chat & Connect sessions. This will help us extend our Let's Get Chatty service to physical engagement via a series of coffee mornings across Medway, in order to help the lonely and isolated. This will allow us to bring people together to form human connections and a sense of belonging and well-being within their community, helping to heal the traumas of lockdown. You can view our Press Release HERE.

The COVID-19 Symptom Study app has been developed by health science company ZOE and it is endorsed by the Welsh Government, NHS Wales, the Scottish Government and NHS Scotland. 4,221,187 participants have downloaded the app and are using it to regularly report on their health, making it the largest public science project of its kind anywhere in the world. App data is being analysed in collaboration with King's College London researchers. We encourage all of you, your family and friends to consider downloading this vital research tool in the fight against Covid-19. DOWNLOAD ANDROID APP | DOWNLOAD IOS APP

We still have PPE kits and masks available...
If you know of anyone in financial hardship or someone wishing to come out of shielding who is in need of PPE, please refer them to us. There is no charge for the mask and they are not only reusable - but they have been hand made by our wonderful team of 'crafters! If you would like a kit for yourself or friends/family there is a suggested donation of £5 per kit. You can register your interest HERE.

ID & DBS CHECKS
As some of you may know, our wonderful volunteer Christina Moss is in the process of checking IDs and DBS declarations. This is important, not just for safeguarding those we work with, but also so that we can meet the terms of our grant acceptance through the Test Bed Fund. In addition, it also means we can ensure that those who are identified as needing a DBS check can receive one though our partnership with Medway Voluntary Action at no cost. If you would prefer to submit your ID details you can do so HERE. Or you can directly call Christina on 07729 566281. Once visual confirmation is received, your submitted proof of identity will be deleted.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Do you know someone who would like to get involved with the amazing work we're doing here at MARR? If so please ask them to give us a call or drop us an email, or perhaps even forward this newsletter to them.

Crowdfunding
With the success of our Test Bed Fund application, we have secured our overheads through to the new year. However, with many losing work during these difficult times, we would like to be able to cover your fuel costs when running errands and completing tasks. We do not want fuel poverty to be a barrier from connecting with your community, so please share this newsletter and the following link with your friends and family. There is no minimum donation with Crowdfunder, so even £1 will help those with petrol costs. DONATE HERE

Skills Audit
If you are interested in getting more involved with MARR, please complete our Skills Audit. Our Coordinators will then able to look at the skills you have and reach out to ask for your help.

CALLING ALL VOLUNTEERS - SHOW US YOUR CERTIFICATES

At the beginning of the month, our Area Coordinators began to deliver Thank You packs to all volunteers who have submitted completed task form since joining MARR*.

We would love to see our social media flooded with your kind and loving faces, so please tag us in a picture of you holding your certificate on FACEBOOK, TWITTER or INSTAGRAM using the #MutualAidHeroes. Silly Hats or Fancy Dress optional for the bold & brave!

*Gillingham is a little behind, please bear with us while we get delivery organised.

We still have A5 leaflets to distribute to key locations across Medway, if you can spare a couple of hours to target retirement areas and areas of high density, please get in touch ASAP.

Help Us to Help Medway.

HAVE A GREAT MONTH EVERYONE, AND THANK YOU AGAIN FOR ALL THAT YOU CONTINUE TO DO!

Mutual Aid Road Reps CIC
[email protected]
www.mutualaidmedway.org.uk
T. 01634 907045

Copyright © MARR 2020

Mutual Aid Road Reps CIC is a registered company in England & Wales 12754639.
Registered Address: 98 Elmfield, Gillingham, Kent, ME86BN.

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.