214 Charity & Community
Sussex Snippets Community news from across the counties The National Garden Scheme (NGS) doesn’t just open beautiful gardens for charity, they are passionate about the physical and mental health benefits of gardens too. They also support charities and help community gardening projects. They have donated over £63 million to nursing and health charities and made an annual donation of over £3 million in 2021. Their core beneficiaries include Macmillan Cancer Support, Marie Curie, Hospice UK and The Queen’s Nursing Institute. For more information and to view all the open gardens near you, visit www.ngs.org.uk. Nature-friendly road verges are helping pollinators across West Sussex. If you notice a verge with grass that’s longer than you’d expect, it’s likely to have been left to help nature. Inspired by the council’s Pollinator Action Plan, which aims to increase the number of crucial pollinating insects - bees and moths – this has become a much higher priority in recent years. Friends of South Downs are focussed on the pollution caused by plastic tree guards. On 21 May their band of volunteers collected over 700 plastic tree Guards for recycling in Singleton Forest in partnership with Forestry England. Details on: www.friendsofthesouthdowns.org.uk/ban-plastic -tree-guards Sussex Search & Rescue, a team of volunteers that support Sussex Police in searching for vulnerable missing people, has been awarded the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. This is the highest award that can be given to voluntary groups in the UK. More information on the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service and all winners can be found at www.gov.uk/queens-award -for-voluntary-service The end-of-life charity Marie Curie is calling on people in Sussex to throw a Blooming Great Tea Party in July to help fund vital care and support for those living with a terminal illness, and their families. Simply set a date and invite family, friends, or colleagues to tuck into a treat and catch-up over a cuppa. Every penny raised will go towards ensuring more people have access to
the care and support they need at the end of life. More details at: www.mariecurie.org.uk/ teaparty or contact your local Community Fundraiser Clara Gill on Clara.Gill@mariecurie.org.uk / 07717 480602.
Arundel & South Downs MP, Andrew Griffith, is leading a bid for West Sussex to pioneer trialling new acoustic cameras to catch anti-social road users in the act. The Department of Transport confirmed it would be trialling four innovative noise cameras across England and Wales. Andrew Griffith MP has joined forces with Sussex Police, the Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne, West Sussex County Council, Sussex Safer Roads Partnership and local campaign groups, to make the case for a camera to be located on the noise ‘hotspot’ on the A29 at Bury Hill. West Sussex Libraries are looking for volunteers from age 14 up to support children with the Summer Reading Challenge in libraries. The ideal commitment is a minimum of 10 hours from July to September but there can be flexibility in choosing days and times. Young applicants could also use this volunteering opportunity as part of their Duke of Edinburgh award, (must be agreed with the library in advance). For more details and to apply visit www.westsussex.gov.uk and search for ‘Summer Reading Challenge volunteer’. Students from West Sussex Alternative Provision College (WSAPC) brought a sustainability and recycling stall to the “Goodwoof” dog event at Goodwood recently. Students teamed up to make a range of products from recycled materials, including dog toys, bandanas and waste bag pouches; they raised a total of £2,012 for WSAPC’s College Enterprise Fund. WSAPC delivers the equivalent of 292 full time places for children and young people from West Sussex who have been permanently excluded, those at risk of exclusion and those out of school for medical reasons.
