Charity&Community News

Sussex Snippets

Charity & Community news from across the counties

Discover your local library! West Sussex Libraries have asked us to remind readers about all the things your local library can offer: • Free, warm welcoming spaces for everyone • Computers for people to use • Free Wi-fi in every library • Regular free activities – children’s rhyme times & story times, knit and natter sessions, reading groups, board games and jigsaws • Digital volunteers to help people get online if you are nervous or new to the internet • Take home toys – children can take home up to three toy bags (for up to three weeks, with no late fees!) • Newspapers and magazines • Books for people wanting to start new hobbies, learn a language and more They also offer Home Library Direct for people who are unable to visit personally. Lastly they are always on the lookout for more volunteers. www.westsussex.gov.uk/libraries. Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner (PCC) Katy Bourne is inviting residents to provide their thoughts on policing priorities in a survey about police funding through council tax. You can provide your views on potential increases and tell Katy what you want the police to focus on. The short online survey is at www.sussex-pcc.gov.uk. A new initiative from the West Sussex Waste Partnership (West Sussex and District/Borough councils). is aiming to improve recycling rates in students aged 15-24. The partnership is working with the University of Chichester and the Chichester College Group (at Brinsbury, Chichester, Crawley, Haywards Heath, and Worthing). Concern about children’s mental health and the negative messages in children's media has led two dads to launch a fun and satirical podcast and magazine aimed at promoting kindness and mental resilience in children. Martin Spinelli is a professor at the University of Sussex while Lance Dann teaches at the University of Brighton. Their podcast is called The Rez and it has also just been accredited to be taught in schools as part of the PSHE curriculum. www.jointherez.com South Downs MP Andrew Griffith has made the views of his constituents known in his response to the new routes published by the Rampion 2 proposed windfarm, calling it a “cable motorway” that would “leave a scar on the South Downs”. Andrew says that “vast swathes of delicate chalkland in the South Downs will be trenched” to accommodate the cables and accompanying access roads which will run from Climping beach through to a new substation at Cowfold, via Storrington and Washington. Rampion say that all disturbed land will be restored after the work is completed. See the routes at www.rampion2.com/consultation-2022. A fresh and redesigned website has been launched by Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust to support those living with mental health, learning disability and neurodiversity conditions. www.sussexpartnership.nhs.uk. West Sussex-landscaper Paul Greenyer is baring all for the horticultural charity, Perennial, in its ‘Naked Grubby Gardener’s calendar” for 2023. Proceeds are going towards its work helping people from the horticultural industry to improve their financial and mental well-being. The calendar is available to purchase online at www.perennial.org.uk. Potholes are a big source of frustration for all road users, and in the six months from April 2022 West Sussex Highways say approximately 22,000 were filled. They are also taking a holistic approach to the condition of our roads, with whole roads and larger sections completely resurfaced to make them more resilient to potholes, and “vastly reduce the need for smallscale, disruptive repairs”. You can report a pothole at www.westsussex.gov.uk or by phone to 01243 642105 if it is an immediate safety risk. The Sussex Sunday Walkers programme runs from October to March with walks usually 12 16 miles long, starting and ending at the same car park, with a pub stop along the route. www.sussexsundaywalkers.org.uk

Charity & Community News

Citizens Advice offer local drop in sessions Citizens Advice Horsham are now offering advice sessions in village and semi-rural communities in the Horsham District to support those who find it difficult to access advice digitally or are unable to travel into town centres. • Pulborough, Medical Centre RH20 1FG 3rd

Jan 10am-2pm then alternate Tuesdays • Storrington Chanctonbury Leisure Centre, 13th

Jan 10am-2pm then alternate Fridays Sessions are also available at Billingshurst, Steyning and Henfield. For full details visit: advicewestsussex.org.uk/horsham-outreach. Unattached people - new year, new beginning! Many people find that those weeks after Christmas and New Year provide a time to reflect and make changes. The Group, a Sussex club for unattached men and women aged 55 or over, has venues in Worthing, Burgess Hill, Brighton, Lewes and Horsham. The Group isn’t a dating agency but it does offer a great opportunity to meet new friends of all genders in a welcoming atmosphere. There are walks, pub evenings, theatre trips, golf, galleries, lunches and dinners, live music, holidays, and much more. The Group is a non-profit organisation which has been operating for 17 years with over 300 members. www.thegroup.org.uk Scout group carol service with a difference! The Storrington and Sullington Scout group held a lively carol service at St Mary’s in December. Beaver Leader Kim led a hilarious Christmas tableau, inviting an ever growing cast of Beavers, Cubs and Scouts to take part with her extensive stock of props. If that wasn't enough, transition ceremonies for Beavers and Cubs involved the youngsters in some high stakes acrobatics, either “jumping the river” or, in the case of the Cubs, navigating a “bridge” of poles held by the Scouts. Challenging stuff - but they all made it! Stories to info@sussexlocal.net

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Charity & Community News

Charity Christmas tree collection The Rotary Club of Storrington & Pulborough District has been raising funds by collecting local Christmas trees for the past 5 years and money collected this year will support Chestnut Tree House (Children's Hospice Care) and Turning Tides (Ending local Homelessness) and other local causes supported by Rotary. Residents’ Christmas trees will be collected from 12th January to 15th January from RH20 postcodes and Amberley. You just have to register by midnight on 8th January at www.just-helping.org.uk/register-tree or by scanning the QR code above. Have fun Morris dancing! Chanctonbury Ring Morris Men will celebrate their 70th anniversary in 2023 and are looking for new recruits. Morris dancing involves mostly a set of six or eight dancers and Chanctonbury have devised some dances of their own in a more recent tradition. The group meets on Wednesday evenings, dancing at local pubs most weeks in summer. In winter they practice at Henfield on Wednesday evenings, after which they retire to The Plough for a convivial beer! Visit www.crmm.org.uk or email bagman@crmm.org.uk. Lodge Hill main house is renamed A plaque was unveiled in November 2022 at L o d g e H i l l i n memory of its founder, Penny Hardwick OBE who passed away in 2018. The main house accommodation at Lodge Hill, used by thousands of children and young people every year, has now been named Hardwick Hall. This is in honour of Penny and all that she did, both to save Lodge Hill almost 30 years ago, but also to secure its future as the vibrant, bustling outdoor activity centre it remains today. Pictured -Sir Brian Barttelot OBE and Penny’s daughter, Jennifer Hardwick.

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