News
2023 Events
Kath Muir
As Croft Good Neighbours volunteers, we were devasted by the sudden loss of our friend and Chairperson, Kath Muir, who died on 26th December 2022. She carried out her role in a most excellent way, being organised, pro-active and warm-hearted. Many people from the village attended her memorial on 14th February, with the crematorium being full to capacity.
In the summer of 2023 Kath was postumously awarded the Croft Village Cup by the Parish Council.
CGN at the Parish Council Gala Day 1st July 2023
We had a Children's Lucky Dip stall. With 100 bags @ 50p and sold out. Two of the bags had £2 in them. It was a very well attended event and the sun shone for a while. There were lots of stalls for the children to enjoy. (Pictures to follow)
2022 Update.
Croft Good Neighbours has about 17 volunteers, ready to do odd jobs for people who live in the village. 9 of those are able to give a lift, locally, to anyone in the village who is struggling to get there by any other means. The CGN phone co-ordinator will be in touch via email with the volunteers, but the volunteers do not normally have much contact with each other. In 2022 we put this right!
30th April 2022 Drinks and nibbles in Windermere Drive
14 volunteers (with partners) gathered to welcome our four new volunteers, Penny & Chris Hevey, David Mason and Kath Akoslovski . Kath has actually been a volunteer since COVID started but had not met many of the other volunteers. It was a delightful spring evening, and good to see so many volunteers there. You will have read that our Chairperson, Kath Muir, who organised this, has since died, and we send our condolences to her husband, Colin.
30th July 2022 BBQ in Broughton Road
13 volunteers came with partners to relax and chat, with super food. It was good to be able to relax together and there was certainly lots of chat. It was a lovely warm evening and we thank Ray and his wife for their, also warm, hospitality.
23rd September 2022 Litter Pick
The day before the Croft Canter (a 10 mile run in aid of charity) five of us did a litter pick on and around the hill. It was much appreciated. Three of us then did car park duty on the day of the run. As a result of this charity run, CGN were granted £600 from the money raised. This will go towards food & essentials for families in need. We thank Julie Raftery, the organiser of the annual Croft Canter, for this kind donation.
Annual Update 2021
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The cup cake projectWe delivered a cup cake to 62 residents once a month for six months (January-June) to those who were on their own or needing cheering.The food box programme:We are heading for our tenth six-week block of food box deliveries. Sanjay and Manju at the Post Office have been great, making up the boxes every Monday afternoon for us to collect. Since June 2020 when Blaby DC gave us our first funding of £500 for food boxes, we have delivered 246 food boxes to nine different families in the village. We restarted on Monday 3 January and the block after that (starting on the 28 February) will be our last food box delivery. We have been given a lot of short term funding and although I have been successful in applying for grants, it is getting more difficult to justify our food box project continuing into the long term. The families are very grateful and have appreciated the extra help this has given them over the last eighteen months. We intend to keep in touch with the families and will be able to respond with Co-op vouchers or an emergency food box should they need support. |
Christmas Cheer
In December, volunteers delivered Christmas cheer in the shape of mince pies and Christmas puddings to 25 vulnerable residents.
We sent Christmas cards to all our users and also to the forty ‘new temporary volunteers’ who came forward during the first lock down. In their card we asked for help with volunteer drivers. We have had two responses so we hope our new volunteers will be ‘installed’ soon, once paper work is completed.
CGN Jobs 2021
Volunteers responded to 110 requests which came through to the community phone this year. Of those, 72 were lifts to medical appointments (27 of those were for vaccines/boosters); 17 to deliver shopping; 8 prescription collections; 5 calls were about information needed/advice/referrals; 1 gardening job; 7 cancelled jobs- 3 we were unable to cover (usually because too short notice) and 4 residents cancelled after booking.
To compare, we had 168 requests in 2019 and 132 requests in 2020. We used to get requests for residents to be taken to the hairdressers/social events or out shopping but this year all lifts have been to medical appointments only. I think this shows how much more reluctant people are to go out and about and how much more limited things are for some folk. Hopefully, things will ease over the next year-let’s hope.
Funding we have been granted since COVID
Granted £500 from Blaby District Council May 2020
Application made and granted £600 from Blaby DC September 2020
Granted £4,589.62 from Leicestershire County Council Food and Essentials Supplies Fund September 2020
Application made and granted £500 (vouchers) Central England Co-operative ‘The Making a Difference Community Dividend’ Fund September 2020
Application made and granted £510 (for cup cake project) Leicestershire Communities Fund February 2021
Application made and granted £1000 (vouchers) Central England Co-operative ‘The Making a Difference Community Dividend’ Fund. May 2021
Application made and granted £600 Leicestershire CC Household Support Fund DWP November 2021
Thank you to all who have helped (especially Julie W and Di for help with the food boxes) and also thank you to those who have donated so very generously in any way, over this last year in addition to all the other things you do quietly for your neighbours.
If you would like to get more involved see below.
We got an award!
Croft Good Neighbours were runner-up in the 2021 Blaby District Council Community Awards.Thanks to all who have contributed to make our group a valued service to the Croft community.
In addition to our volunteer drivers who give residents lifts to medical appointments, collect prescriptions, do the shopping or simple DIY, volunteers from Croft Good Neighbours have also delivered over 230 food boxes during the pandemic. This award recognises the work they do.
Coronavirus
Added 18 March 2020
f you are self-isolating due to Coronavirus and need help, ring 07590 246386. If no-one is available to answer, please do leave a message and we'll get back to you ASAP, or email us at contact@croftgoodneighbours.com
If you would like to volunteer to help other villagers through this crisis then please contact us too.
We may be able to do things like:
- Deliver shopping;
- Walk the dog;
- Collect your prescription;
- Keep in touch
Good Neighbours at Croft Fun Day
Added 3 Sept 2018
The morning of the Fun day started off a bit windy but warm. Kath’s plant stall looked splendid and by the end of the day she had sold ALL the plants. Thank you, and well done Kath.
The sun came out around 2 o’clock as Ray, Brian W and Geoff took turns being in The Stocks. By the amount of laughter generated, everyone enjoyed throwing the wet sponges. The guys enjoyed themselves as well! Thanks guys.
The adult prizes Tombola, win a prize every time - well over 60 donated items - quickly sold out and the children’s prizes Tombola soon followed.
The ‘Find a £5.00’ tubs had two people winning £5.00
We had a selection of homemade cakes that went down well. Thanks to Deb’s sister Rachel for cooking them.
At the end of the day we raised £295.50 which was a little more than last year!
Thank you to everyone who donated items, helped or participated on the day and most of all a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who handed over their cash on the day to support Croft Good Neighbours!
Croft Fun Day Good Neighbours Stall
Added 28 May 2018
We are having a stall at the Croft Fun Day on June 9th (Winston Ave) with a Tombola, Plant stall and ‘Stocks’ where you can throw wet sponges at the Parish Councillors!!!! We would love to see you so why not come and say hello and ask us about what we do.
A poem from Pete who we helped with transport…
Added 28 May 2018
COMPANY
In this village of Croft community,
Good Neighbours give help and more for free.
When asked they said they’d, of course, take me
To attend the hospital surgery.
As I’m all alone and aged eighty-four,
I was thankful and couldn’t have asked for more.
They came and met me at my front door;
So pleased was I and grateful, for sure
A test for cancer was scheduled that day
And company took much of the worries away.
The test was clear, so I’d like to say
A big thanks to those ladies who made my day..
Our Story so far...
Added 29 March 2018
As Croft Good Neighbours move into their third year, more and more villagers have been using the service and the volunteers are thoroughly enjoying helping people.
In April 2017, we had our first Litter Pick. Our volunteers were able to meet other villagers and it was also an enjoyable form of exercise! We had our second pick just before the ‘Open Gardens’ weekend to help the village look its best. Our next Litter Pick is on 7th April 2018 – all are welcome to take part.
We have had stalls at village events, The Fun day, Church Fete and the Christmas Cracker. Thank you to everyone that supported us at these events and enabled us to raise enough funds to keep us operational for another year.
We understand it can be difficult to ask for help, especially from strangers, but our volunteers are a friendly bunch, all Croft residents, and are willing and eager to help, so we won’t be strangers for long! Some of the things we can/have helped with are: transport to the doctors and hospital, sitting with loved ones and one off DIY and gardening tasks. We will try to help whatever the request. We can even pop around for a chat and cup of tea every now and then.
Perhaps YOU would like to join us and become a volunteer? Please give us a call.
We are looking forward to helping and welcoming more villagers to Croft Good Neighbours in 2018.
Another Village Clean-Up
added 29 March 2018
We'll be doing another litter pick on Saturday 7th April at 10am. If you'd like to help, we're all meeting at the top of The Bridle, at its junction with Broughton Road. Litter pick sticks, bags and gloves will be provided. We'd love to see you there!
Croft Fun Day Fundraising
added 11 July 2017
We had a magnificent afternoon of fundraising for Croft Good Neighbours at the Croft Fun Day on Saturday 17th June. Our Chairman Chris brought his gazebo and the parish council lent us some tables and chairs, which we believe came from Croft School. We had our pull-up banner, and all our exciting fund-raising things made a great display. For once, the Fun Day was warm and sunny with no rain. In fact it was so hot that we had to keep moving the cakes around to make sure they stayed in the shade and did not melt!
One fund-raiser that the children were very drawn to was 'a prize every time' in decorated glass jars, with the possibility of finding a £5 note!
We had a raffle and Geoff showed great enthusiasm in encouraging people to buy tickets. The raffle prizes were very varied, from cuddly toys to a go-karting session. People could also guess how many sweets were in three tubs and we had home grown plants for sale.
With many grateful thanks to our Secretary Deb, who dreamt up, planned and organised most of the games, here is a breakdown of what we made.
Raffle £97.00
Goodie Jars £75.00
Cakes £30.50
Donations £25.00
Plants £24.50
Sweet games £22.50
GRAND TOTAL £274.50!
Last year, we made £115.30.
We will be spending the money very wisely - our main expenses are public liability insurance, Criminal Records Bureau checks for our volunteers, the Croft Good Neighbours designated phone and our Web Site. A huge thank you to all those people who came to support us at the Fun Day!
Kind regards,
Janet (treasurer)
Croft Fun Day Photos
added 11 July 2017
Find the £5 jar game
Raffle Prizes
Setting up
Drawing the Raffle
Croft Fun Day Prizewinners
added 11 July 2017
Raffle Winners
BASKET OF ‘GARDENING’ GOODIES – SEEDS, GLOVES, BOOKS + OTHER |
NAT c/o DEB S |
GO KARTING SESSION - SUTTON CIRCUIT, SUTTON IN THE ELMS |
SAM FROM SHARNFORD |
CERAMICS POTTERY EXPERIENCE WITH CLAIRE JORDAN |
MRS TEBBUTT |
CUDDLY TOY – GIRAFFE |
MR NICHOLLS |
PAINT YOUR OWN BIRD BOX |
M COLLINS |
CUDDLY TOY – DOG |
RAY ARMSTONE |
CHILDREN’S MONEY BOX |
DAWN – PETERSFIELD |
CUDDLY TOY – DOG |
ANNA RADFORD |
PAINT YOUR OWN BIRD BOX |
EM & JACK c/o THE GREEN |
CHILDREN’S MONEY BOX |
E LAINE |
CUDDLY TOY – UNICORN |
G BODYCOTE |
CHILDREN’S MONEY BOX |
MARY c/o DI |
CHILDREN’S TOY – AIRFIX MODEL |
R ARMSTONE |
ART THERAPY COLOURING SET |
MRS LEONARD |
BOOKS – WHERE TO GO IN BRITAIN + OTHER |
DI WING |
BOOKS OF CHILDREN’S STICKERS |
TOM |
BUBBLE BATH GIFT SET |
JEAN |
CHILDREN’S TOY – DISNEY TSUM TSUM |
PAM BODYCOTE |
CANDLES & A MIRROR |
POPPY BODYCOTE |
WINE & CHOCS |
ANNA RADFORD |
Guess the Sweet winners
KIDS TUB – ETHAN c/o Petersfield
MINTS – KATH MUIR
SWEET – E COLLINS
Help statistics - how we're helping our community
added July 11, 2017
2017 tasks completed to date:
Befriending x2
DIY x4
Transport x17
Gardening x1
2016 tasks completed:
Befriending x2
DIY x1
Transport x39
Gardening x3
Advice x1
2015 tasks completed:
Befriending x2
DIY X 1
Transport x1
Keep Croft clean Litter Picks! Just turn up!
If you were free on the evening of Tuesday 20th June, you could have joined our second grand Litter Pick. If you missed it, we'd love you to join us at future picks. You don't need to become a member to take part in the litter picks. We provide the necessary picks and bags. All you need to bring is you. We'll post details of the next pick around the village and if you do have any queries beforehand, just call us on 07590 246386
First Litter Pick Saturday 1 April
added May 30, 2017
Croft Good Neighbours and other village volunteers took to the village streets with their pick-sticks, gloves and high-vis vests on 1 April for a Litter Pick.
Read how the litter pick went!
February 2017 - We have Funds!
added March 13, 2017
In February, we were awarded funds from the Parish Council to help with DBS renewals and Public Liability Insurance. A BIG thank you to Steve Blackburn, Clerk to Croft Parish Council, for his assistance and to all the councillors on the Parish Council for agreeing to award us the funds.
December 2016 - People Changes
added March 13, 2017
In the past year, a few volunteers have left or relinquished their posts but we are grateful to have also welcomed several new members. In December, we elected a new secretary, Deb Summers, and a new treasurer, Janet Thompson. You can see the list of current volunteers on our home page.
Scheme update
added 11 May 2016
The scheme has now been live for six months and we have had a good variety of requests, including giving lifts to the hospital, the dentist, a neighbouring village, Fosse Park and the church; collecting shopping, helping with sewing, assembling a flat pack and digging holes in the garden!
If you think you would like to be part of our volunteering team, we would love to hear from you. Please contact us on the dedicated phone line: 07590 246386
We Are Live
added 24 November 2015
With the help of Leicestershire and Rutland Rural Community council (RCC), the scheme is now live! There was an administrative issue while setting up our bank account which caused months of frustrating delay, but our finances and procedures are now in place, the scheme is fully insured, and all volunteers have now been checked and issued with ID.
June 2015
We promoted the Croft Good Neighbours at the Croft Fun Day on 20 June. We had a lot of interest about the scheme, in spite of the rain!
