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A new life saving defibrillator has been donated to Windsor's Street Angels. The welcome gift from the Legoland theme park in Winkfield Road was handed over to their co-ordinator Police Community Support Officer David Bullock last week. The Street Angels are trained volunteers who patrol the streets of Windsor and Eton town centre on Friday and Saturday evenings, offering support to anyone who has become vulnerable. They offer vital first aid and defibrillators can make the difference between life and death to heart attack victims. Until now the Angels have used an iPad Automated external defibrillator (AED). Now that Legoland have given them a new higher grade defibtech defibrillator, the Angels are donating their old one to the Windsor Community Defibrillator Partnership which was co-founded by PCSO Bullock. It will be made available for public use on another site . The new machine be kept at the Angels' base in Windsor Baptist Church when it will also be available for public use when the they are not out and about patrolling. Sue Bradley, First Aid Supervisor at Legoland Windsor Resort said: "We’re so pleased to be able to donate this potentially life-saving equipment to the Windsor Street Angels and commend the fantastic work they do in the local community." David Bullock said: "We can’t thank Legoland enough for their kind donation." Media Release - Faith and Police join forces in Houses of Parliament:
Representatives from a wide range of faith and police related communities gathered in the Houses of Parliament this week for the launch of #FaithAndPoliceTogether. #FaithAndPoliceTogether is a collaboration of several faith based organisations who each have a long standing track record of working alongside Police and statutory bodies with outcomes that have helped towards wider community transformation within Police Related Priorities. The day was hosted by Halifax MP Holly Lynch who founded the campaign for police officer safety - #ProtectTheProtectors. Ms Lynch spoke about the way faith communities were working within her own constituency and the impact they have for the wider community. Representatives from faith groups including Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Pagan and Sikh spoke about work, impact and needs within each faith and the wider community. The work of faith communities were thanked by Deputy Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall Police Paul Netherton who highlighted the way faith groups respond within disaster situations including the Grenfell Tower fire. Grassroots faith led projects were highlighted including ROC Conversations, Street Angels and Bus Oasis. ROC Conversations gather together people of goodwill to produce action plans towards community cohesion whilst Bus Oasis, working in Calderdale, meet needs including elderly isolation and young people hanging around in the town centre - the latter seeing anti-social behaviour reduce by 25% as a result. The day finished with messages of encouragement from MP's and Christians on the Left. Debra Green OBE, founder and Executive Director of Redeeming Our Communities, comments, "I was delighted to attend the #FaithAndPoliceTogether network event at the Houses of Parliament on April 18th. Redeeming Our Communities (ROC) are members of the network and are passionate to play our part alongside other faith organisations in supporting policing priorities. We are better together. ‘ Paul Blakey MBE, co-founder of #FaithAndPoliceTogether and CEO of Christian Nightlife Initiatives Network, said "This was an exciting day of gathering together faith, police and political leaders from across the UK to start and continue conversations around working together for the benefit of the wider society. Together we can achieve community transformation and cohesion which will help create communities that all want to be part of." Lee Russell, Executive Director of the Christian Police Association said “It has been really great to be part #FaithAndPoliceTogether and members of our charity’s executive team were so pleased to be able join the launch event. It was exciting to be able to connect with both faith and also police related communities within this exciting project and we look forward to continuing to support this initiative” To find out more about how to join this exciting new project please visit www.faithandpolicetogether.org.uk Source
Four remarkable volunteers from the Diocese of Durham are being recognised for their outstanding community service by being invited to the Royal Maundy Service to receive Maundy Money from Her Majesty The Queen at St George’s Chapel in Windsor on Thursday 29th March 2018. Those receiving the Maundy Money are:
Commenting on the announcement The Right Revd Paul Butler, Bishop of Durham said: “I am delighted that Her Majesty The Queen in her 92nd Birthday year has chosen to recognise these outstanding individuals. The amazing work that Anne, Margot, Bill and Dick do and the way that they do it in our communities in blessing them for the transformation of us all is simply outstanding. “Each recipient has made a significant and lasting difference to their communities through their voluntary service and I am thrilled that the Queen’s award of Maundy Money recognises this vital contribution.” The Mayor of Chichester, Councillor Peter Evans, presented the City Council’s Civic, Heritage & Young Citizens' Awards at a ceremony held on Thursday 8 March 2018 and, for the first time a Community Award was also presented. Civic Awards were presented to Edward Cooke, Stuart Dobbin, Kenneth Green, Ann Willard and Alan Williams for their outstanding contribution to the City of Chichester and its residents. A Young Citizens' Award was presented to Phoebe Ockenden. The new Community Award was presented to the City Angels. Heritage Plaques were presented for the restoration of The Old Priests House in Whyke Road and The Malt House in North Pallant. The Sadlers Warehouse development in Little London also received a Heritage Plaque. A Blue Plaque was presented to recognise the former almshouses in The Hornet, which were endowed under the Will of Martha Dear (1730-1807) a generous benefactor to the City. Source
VOLUNTEERS from Macclesfield Hope Street Angels were joined by local MP David Rutley who witnessed their work providing help to people in need in the town centre. Meeting at Hope Street Angels’ base at the United Reformed Church on Park Green he joined team leader Peter Cliffe and volunteers Andrew Melville, Lynne Kirby and Pam Simpson as they went onto the streets. Together with the management of Macclesfield town centre, Cheshire police and local pubs and clubs, the team provides help to people enjoying time out on Saturday nights between 10.30 pm and 3am. They help by giving directions or finding taxis, giving out free bottles of water and flip-flops, providing simple first aid and warm drinks at the church as well as lending a listening ear to those in need and referring more serious cases to the emergency services. Mr Rutley also visited St Alban’s Church and met with volunteers at Winter Hope Accommodation in Macclesfield’s (WHAM) Night Shelter, as well as its co-ordinator Deborah Bennett. The Night Shelter runs from December to March, with each of the six Macclesfield town centre churches involved providing shelter on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, and giving guests a meal on Friday and Sunday evening, and breakfast each day. Saturday evening meals are provided by the Treehouse Food Kitchen, a charity supported by Hope in North East Cheshire. The MP is a longstanding supporter of both Macclesfield Hope Street Angels and WHAM Night Shelter, having visited their services on several occasions. He said: “It is always impressive to see the positive difference the Street Angels make by helping those in need in Macclesfield town centre. “I would also like to thank the volunteers at the Night Shelter, for all of their work to support some of the most vulnerable people in our communities. “I hope that other local residents will consider how they can support these invaluable services going forward.” Anyone interested in taking part in the initiatives can contact Pip Mosscrop on [email protected]. Source
Oldham Event Centre staff proved they were upper crust good citizens when they were unexpectedly forced to shift a pie mountain on Saturday. Preparations to feed a hungry army of Latics fans were well underway when game against Southend United was called off at last minute due to a frozen pitch and they were left facing a pastry palava. But a "meat pie, sausage roll, c'mon Oldham give us a home!" plea on Twitter soon found the food a home and thanks Oldham Street Angels they were distributed among the town's homeless and needy. Within minutes of getting the call out, Street Angels founder Jean Hurlston, agreed to take the 200 pies and sausage rolls off their hands and later that night volunteers Lynn and Barry Cotton and medic Gemma Heap handed 50 out to rough sleepers. The rest were donated to a very grateful One World Cafe, at the Unitarian Chapel, in King Street, which offers hearty meals and refreshments to those in need. "It happened so quickly and ran so smoothly it was amazing," said Borough Dean of Oldham Jean. "Lynn and Barry picked them from Oldham Event Centre and then helped to hand them out on the night. "It was such a cold night so they were very welcome. "It just demonstrates that people don't want to waste food and they were thinking of others rather than throwing it away. It was great example of citizenship and a big thanks to everyone involved. Sally Blakey, OEC Conference and Events Manager said: "We’re so pleased that the large quantity of food was able to help. "The work the Oldham Angels and Salvation Army do is essential, especially in the weather we are currently experiencing, and it was a pleasure to support them and Jean." Oldham Street Angels are on the verge of opening up a homeless drop in at their Hunters Lane base on Saturday nights from 11am to 1pm. They aim to provide food, hot drinks and shower facilities to those in need and are holding a meeting on Saturday (march 3) at 11pm to get more volunteers on board. "We need to recruit an additional team to be based at the centre on Saturday evenings to help provide a warm and welcoming place for rough sleepers," said Jean. "We're specifically looking for people not up to walking about the town but great at brewing and sitting and chatting with people. "You can be any age, they just need to provide a reference and be willing to be DBS checked. "We'd also like to hear from anyone who could help us spruce up our facilities a bit or provide a few sandwiches, pies etc which are surplus." If you'd like to help out, pop along to the meeting or go to "Oldham Street Angels" on Facebook and Twitter. Source (with video and pictures)
A new charity shop has opened in Barrow promising to pump its profits into community projects. Re:new, on Cavendish Street, says that unlike many of the other charity shops in the town, it puts the money it makes back into the local area. It is run by manager Tim Jeffries and has been set up by Rev Sophie Carnaby, a police chaplain and community worker for the South West Cumbria Area Methodist and United Reformed churches. She says the charity shop is a good way for people to get rid of unwanted items and give money to local projects. “We want to serve the town and we feel this is a good way to do that. “Money made could make a significant difference to projects benefiting the community already that we would like to keep going. With budget cuts we are aware that projects have lost funding and we want to help out. “A small amount of money could help to make a big difference,” she says. One of the initiatives marked for a grant is Barrow’s Street Angels. Also set up by Sophie, they are a group of volunteers who help people keep safe and get home on a Saturday night. A group will decide whether to give grants for other projects who wish to apply. The shop is keen to help unemployed people back into work by giving them customer service and till skills. Sophie, of Hindpool, moved to Barrow from Cardiff to take up her role as community worker. “My job is to start projects that benefit the community. I find out what the needs of the town and do what I can to meet them. On moving to Barrow, she said: “It’s where God wanted to be. This is my town.” Source
Two sharp-eyed Good Samaritans spotted that a car was about to be engulfed in flames with the driver sitting at the wheel — oblivious to the danger she was in. Stefan Ward, 30, and Ric May, 50, were walking along Broughty Ferry Road when they spotted flames under the Citroen C3. The pair immediately went to see if they could help. Moments later, the vehicle was engulfed in an inferno. The car — which had developed an electrical fault — had broken down at Blackscroft. Ric said the 65-year-old driver was sitting in her car on the phone to her husband thinking she had simply broken down — and was unaware of the danger she was in. Moments after they got her out of the car, the vehicle was completely destroyed in the inferno. Stefan said that if they had been one minute earlier or later, they might have missed the woman’s predicament and the consequences could have been tragic. Stefan, a volunteer with the Steeple Church and Street Chaplains, said: “Instantly we were thinking, ‘is there anybody in the car?’ “We ran over and saw there was a woman sitting in the driving seat. “Within minutes the car was engulfed in flames. “It was God’s perfect timing — it was lucky that we were there at that time. “We need more people to help out — we can all be heroes if the timing is right.” Fire crews arrived at the scene and brought the blaze under control — but the car was completely gutted. Police closed the road and diverted traffic away from the scene. The woman was uninjured and did not require hospital treatment. Ric said: “She was lucky. One minute earlier or later and we would have missed it. “It’s nice to save someone and be there at the right time. “The woman was sitting on the phone to her husband as her car had broken down. “We just happened to be able to see the flames under the engine — but she didn’t realise that it was on fire. We phoned the fire service and they were there within five minutes. “I’ve seen cars go on fire before so I knew she had about two minutes before it got out of control.” A spokesman for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service confirmed a crew had attended to tackle the blaze. He said: “The fire service was called to an incident on Blackscroft at Broughty Ferry Road at 6.57pm on Saturday. “One appliance was sent to the scene and two hose reel jets were used along with one extinguisher. “We left the scene at 7.30pm.” A spokesman for Police Scotland said that officers were involved in the closure of the road as emergency services dealt with the incident. It was reopened by 8.15pm. Part of the vision of CNI Network and our local projects is to be available to pub and club workers not just those who are out and about enjoying the night-life scene. Through a chaplaincy style approach our street and club teams are ideally placed to be available to bar staff, door staff and management of night-time establishments. In this interview we chat to Rachel who at the age of 20 headed to Ibiza and ended up working at Manumission, one of the world's leading clubbing experiences, in its mid 90's heyday. Rachel shares her thoughts on life working within a clubbing environment and how that shaped her life today....
You were working in one of the world's biggest nightclubs at the height of its popularity - how did you end up doing this? It was early 1996 and I was working as a waitress at an American Diner in Halifax called The Hughes Corporation. I had wanted to go to Ibiza since watching a TV programme about house music when I was just 15 years old, and low and behold some of my friends from The Hughes Corporation also wanted to visit, so three of us packed our bags with a view to get some work in Ibiza and head back to the UK after all the infamous closing parties in late Summer. I was 20 years old at the time and knew that if I didn't go to live in ibiza then that I may never do it! We arrived in Ibiza, immediately found somewhere to rent for a few months, enquired about part-time jobs with restaurants, bars and nightclubs, and hey presto I landed both a restaurant job as a waitress for a Dutch couple at their little place called Cafe Amsterdam, they served garlic bread with the best aioli dip I've ever tasted, and I got a job on the Monday night Entertainment's Team for Manumission, the biggest and best club on the island. Tell us about some of your experiences working within the night time industry The nighttime industry in Ibiza in the mid-90s was so much fun, my job for Manumission was to be a 'Flashing Monk', yes that's correct, I wore a bikini under a monks habit and then I flashed at people in the club. It was a great job description "we're looking for a flashing monk", one that I'm sure wouldn't be allowed these days, but I loved it. The industry was fast-paced with street entertainment every Monday night, daytime activities for the rest of the week at the then Bar M, and working at the restaurant too. I saw plenty of British drunks on the streets of San Antonio, it wasn't a pretty sight, but on the flip side the clubs were an exciting, exotic and raw place to be. I would work at the restaurant until 10pm, then head over to Manumission for the party and change into my costume, where I would usually work until sunrise - having loads of fun. As a young person within this crazy culture were you ever pressured into doing things you didn't want to do or was it more 'anything goes'? The culture of Ibiza was definitely 'anything goes' in the 1990s, I was never pressured into doing anything I didn't want to do. There were drink and drugs all over the place, but that was all part of the fun of Ibiza. I did see a fair few drunk tourists fighting with the police and others being arrested for drug dealing, but fortunately I didn't know anyone personally who was involved with this in Ibiza. My time in the Balearic was all about having fun, working, and sunbathing outside Mambo and Cafe Del Mar with my friends. Don't get me wrong, I did have a headache most mornings as I definitely liked to party hard! You have lived a nightclub from the inside whilst our teams are either working on the streets or offering welfare support - how can we better support staff and managers of clubs? I think that just by being on the scene and letting the nighttime club managers know you are there is going to be a great support mechanism. Sometimes just knowing that there are people on hand for nighttime help is great. Generally what was the attitude towards the customers, presumably mainly young people, who were your customers? I can't answer for the Manumission club owners Andy and Mike, but I can say that for me as both an Entertainment Team member and a customer of the club, the venue was just amazing, yes there were drugs around, but mostly people just wanted to dance, it was the height of the dance music era with big named DJs taking to the decks, and both customers and workers alike were there for the music. It was an expensive night to go to Manumission, the entrance fee was one of the highest in Ibiza, the drinks were extortionately priced (£15 for a vodka lemonade in 1996), but you were paying for the big named DJ and the venue. Customers loved Manumission because it included DJs, erotic shows, live performances, unusual acts, people dressed in weird costumes doing weird things at 4am like tea-ladies serving cereal to clubbers, or flashing monks. It was the best place to be in Ibiza on a Monday night and all the staff were there to make each and every customer have a memorable night. In the 1990s there wasn't any form of after care, nothing like what the Street Angels, Club Angels or Festival Angels offer these days. If you were too drunk to get home or back to your hotel, you sat on the side of the road until the first bus back into San Antonio or cadged a lift in a taxi and quite often just got left somewhere near Ibiza town or San Antonio. In those days it didn't seem to matter. How did your experiences help shape your life My time in Ibiza definitely shaped who I am today, I learned to be more independent, a stronger person, it gave me drive and determination to work harder in the future. It taught me to be brave, because if you've ever been a flashing monk at 4am on the Manumission terrace at the club Privilege then there's nothing you can't do! Since then I have worked in radio for 10 years, set up a DJ Agency for world-renowned DJs, run a Marketing and PR Agency (which I still do today), and write for a number of magazines (which I still do today). Ibiza really did shape me, I'm forever proud of myself for having the courage to pack my bags and head off on an adventure at the age of 20. The night time economy has changed drastically over the last decade or so - people now go for experiences over weekly nights out. Some of the most famous clubs are no longer. How you see the future of the night-time economy? I truly believe that everything comes around time and again. Dance music was massive in the 1990s and it has returned with vengeance today, clubs are bringing back the big named DJs after quite a few years off, and the youth of today are loving it, just like the youth of the 90s did. I think the nighttime economy will stay strong, there's always going to be the need for music and people getting together to dance, it's a form of liberation, and who doesn't like to feel liberated. There may be less big named clubs in the world today but there are more ways to enjoy yourself on a night out than there ever has been. Woking Street Angels and Churches Together held a celebration and commissioning service for new volunteers. Paul was the speaker at this event which was attended by volunteers, people from local churches, Woking's MP, Mayor and police.
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ROC Angels - an initiative of ROC (Redeeming Our Communities)
Charity - 1139817 / Registered Company - 7327258 Postal Address: ROC Angels, c/o The King's Centre, Park Rd, Halifax, HX1 2TS E-Mail: [email protected] (founder / CEO) / Phone: 07725501465 |