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A Message from Henryhenry circle

Last week I came across a couple of pieces of paper on which I had written ‘Christmas 2017’.  I remembered that it was what I said I would like to see by the 2017 Christmas party.  As I read the notes, I was greatly encouraged to read that what I had written had pretty much happened!  For example; satellite centres in villages such as Linton and Clare, and although we don’t exactly have ‘satellite centres’ as such, we do have two great ladies working out in the community bringing hope and all the Reach resources via home visits to the rural areas.  Tina covers the villages from Haverhill into South Cambs, eg. Linton and Abington and Jo covers Haverhill and the surrounding villages eg. Wickhambrook and Clare etc [1].
 
From 1st April to 30th November we have seen a doubling of our foodbank use in the rural communities compared to the same period last year![2]  Whilst other support services in the villages have been cut, those that remain like schools and midwives have welcomed us, especially in South Cambs where Tina is receiving requests for help almost on a daily basis!
 
Meanwhile Jo (see below), who has only been with us since September is busy building links and supporting those struggling with poverty related issues; people like ‘Terry’ who was formerly homeless but now can rest in the knowledge of having a roof over his head this winter.
 
It really is an amazing privilege to work with such a great team in serving the local community, we really couldn’t do it without you.  A big thank you for all your support throughout 2017; we do have ambitious plans for 2018, but more of that next month. For now may I wish you a very happy Christmas and a peaceful new year.
 
Henry
 

[1] Reach into the community
[2] Of the 968 people fed through the foodbank, 97 are from rural communities compared to last year where 784 people were fed and just 37 were from rural communities

Henry Wilson, 14/12/2017