79 Mile Walk for Mental Health Awareness & Suicide Prevention

Local man Paul Chambers is currently in training for a walking challenge to raise awareness and funds for the charity he co -founded - The Creative Mental Health Charity, PoetsIN The 79 mile walk will take place between 11th15th September and will co ver bo th the Chiltern Hills and Bar ton Hills, places Paul o ften visits for his o wn wellbeing 79 men ended their lives each week in England to wards the end o f 2022 which is why Paul has chosen to walk for this amount o f miles

Paul will be walking with old f riend, ex-army veteran Greg Husbands (and Stanley the dog) during Suicide Awareness Week Paul told the Sto tfold News Magazine: “Greg and I have bo th struggled with our mental health in the past and no w aim to raise awareness (and maybe some funds) for a most wor thy cause ” “We’ll be broadcasting f rom the walk, and actively sharing (and using) our o wn mental health tools throughou t each day ”

“We all need to talk so much more in order to normalise the subject o f mental health.” “People can join us for a day, half a day, or even just a mile; bu t the more people joining in and talking abou t it using the hashtag #The79 the better.”

Paul may be recognisable (especially to our young people) as o ver recent months he has been active in delivering assemblies, workshops and mental health programmes in Bedfordshire schools – more recently at bo th Etonbur y Academy and Samuel Whitbread; all with the aim o f enabling students to speak abou t their o wn mental health and learning wellbeing tools that will help them for life He strives to be the person he didn’t kno w he needed when he was at school

The Creative Mental Health Charity PoetsIN is an awardwinning organisation which o ffers a safe space for people who are experiencing poor mental health and mental illnesses Its Creative Mental Health Programme™ encourages people to express their feelings via creative ou tlets and simply talking It has a success rate in the high 90 percents and those who take par t repor t having reduced suicidal thoughts, self-harm less and symptoms o f depression and anxiety are signif icantly eased

More abou t the fundraiser on https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/paul-chambers79 Find ou t more abou t the charity, their ser vices and do wnload mental wellbeing tools on www.poetsin.com

Dear Editor, New Year New Challenge? A local bef riending charity is looking for more people to help make a real difference in their local community!

Do you have couple o f hours to spare each week?

Do you enjo y meeting new people and spending time chatting and listening?

Do you have a sense o f humor?

Do you enjo y the occasional trip to a cafe or a pub?

If yes, then this is a great oppor tunity for you!

Full training and suppor t given and no prior experience required, bu t you do need warmth, reliability, empathy, commonsense and a ready smile

The suppor t we give is rewarding and a life changing ser vice to o thers, and many o f the families we visit each week have described our ser vice and volunteers as “a lifeline”, “ the highlight o f my week” and even “a gift f rom heaven”. If you are interested in joining our f riendly team? Then call us today on 01234 743063, or 07483 376077 or email: respiteathomevolunteers@aol.co.uk Respite at Home Volunteers make a real difference to families living with life limiting illnesses o ffering a FREE bef riending ser vice, which also allo ws carers some much needed time o ff each week!

Make 2023 the year you are truly able to make a positive difference to somebody elses life.

Table Top Sale

Saturday March 18th

St Mar y’s Church Hall

Sto tfold 10am - 12 noon

For availabilit y o f tables (£5 each) please contact Chris Webster on 01462 834108

Raffle - Ref reshments

All proceeds to St Mar y’s Church

Dear Editor, I wonder if any o f your readers have a pale colour brooch they are looking to par t company with? (Preferably with a gold surround ) I would be interested in hearing f rom anyone that may have one for sale - my number is 07788597009Patricia.

Dear Editor, Is it possible to thank Boxall Taxis o f Hitchin (whose telephone number we found in the magazine) They magically managed to step in at ver y shor t no tice (4.30 am) to take us to Lu ton Airpor t as we were let do wn by ano ther taxi pro vider who had been booked for many months

No t only did they send someone straightaway bu t managed to get us there on time for an early flight that morning What were the chances o f getting a taxi for 4 plus luggage at 4 30 am? Well done Boxall!!!

Verna Bull

Dear Editor,

Sto tfold Christian Choir was formed in 1978 through the inspiration o f Norman Gurney, and our rehearsals have always been at King’s Baptist Church, The Green, Sto tfold. Our membership in the early days was drawn f rom the Baptist Church and o ther local churches. In recent years we have members who come f rom Stevenage, Hitchin, Letchwor th and Langford for rehearsals on Monday evenings f rom 7.30 pm.

We are no w urgently looking for new singers in order to maintain our regular programme o f concer ts and the suppor t we give to churches with ser vices at Christmas and Easter. For many years we have held concer ts at the Memorial Hall in the Summer as par t o f Sto tfold Festival and last year we gave a concer t which was well attended and raised £200 for Garden House Hospice, and we like to bring jo y to the elderly by singing in Care Homes

Please give thought to this oppor tunity to join a local choir and enjo y the f riendship o f o thers who f ind enjo yment in singing and ser ving the community. We appreciate you may wish to have more detail abou t the Sto tfold Christian choir and Clare Kilby or Hazel Thompson would be ver y pleased to have contact with you. We are also looking for a pianist to accompany the choir and would be delighted to hear f rom keyboard players

Please contact the Choir Secretar y, Clare Kilby on 01462 731142, email: clare@kilby com, or Hazel Thompson 01462 735580, email: thompsonh459@gmail com for more details

Februar y was an eventful month where we have all been involved in lo ts o f craft projects in Creative Ar ts Week and celebrated awareness o f Children’s Mental Health Week by wearing something colour ful to raise much needed funds for CHUMS March always brings optimism that Spring, warmer weather and brighter days are just around the corner! We will be sharing ideas once again this year to celebrate World Book Day on Thursday 2nd March The children will be invited to come into school in non- uniform with their favourite book They can even dress as their favourite book character if they would like! There will also be a sponsored read and book character craft competition with prizes! This is something we all really look for ward to and ever y child will receive a f ree £1 00 World Book Day

Voucher

We have our class assembly by Diamond Class on Wednesday 1st March Coral Class will follo w on Friday 3rd with Jet, Moonstone, Emerald and Opal holding theirs on Wednesday 8th, Friday 10th, Wednesday 15th and Friday 24th respectively. Parents and carers o f children in these classes are as always invited to watch and enjo y the per formances. Parent/Teacher in-person Consultations are planned for the week commencing Monday 13th March.

We will once again be suppor ting Red Nose Day on Friday 17th March and are inviting our children to come in