There's always things happening at Sandhurst Counselling Service
This week grants, like London busses, have come along in three's - so it with grateful thanks that we acknowledge:
All are hugely welcome and help us continue to deliver a record level of support sessions free of charge to the community of Sandhurst and environs.
We are once again grateful to the Berkshire Community Foundation for their continuing support. In particular we are most grateful for their grants of £3,000 to cover our client assessment costs for the period from March to December 2022, and £500 to help cover greatly increased heating costs from November 2022 to April 2023. These respectively help us match client need with counsellor availability in a timely and efficient manner, and defray greatly increased heating costs through this winter.
Secondly thanks to the Engelfield Charitable Trust for a grant of £500 to cover the costs of introducing a payment card process to boost donations from clients and other donors, supplementing or replacing reducing cash donations.
We are so grateful to all trusts and other organisations and supporters that are committed to keeping this vital service running.
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We are delighted to have been nominated by Bracknell Forest Council to receive a share of their recycling awards. For those who live in Bracknell Forest this is an easy way to support us. To donate your recycling reward points to Sandhurst Counselling Service, log in to your account: https://eplus-rewards.smartcitizen.net/public/login.aspx . A point counts as a vote, rather than a monetary value. The scheme is sponsored and currently £1,000 is available to be split between the good causes every three months. When the donation period ends in July, the points total is recorded and £1,000 is split between the three causes. The funds are split in proportion to the points donated to each cause. The more people who nominate Sandhurst Counselling Service, the greater our share will be. The good causes scheme is currently being sponsored by the waste collection contractor SUEZ. |
The challenges for mental health of the pandemic are only going to grow, so it's really great that two funders are stepping up to the plate to help us continue to deliver our support and help.
| Firstly we are so grateful to Berkshire Community Fund for their ongoing support and a contribution of £5000 to help underpin our finances for the year and to ensure we can continue to offer support to our clients whatever their financial services. | |
| Secondly we are delighted to welcome the Albert Hunt Trust who have generously offered us £2000 towards the costs of continuing the service and in particular underwriting the supervision of our practitioners - work that is vital to ensuring the very highest professional services are maintained. |  |
We are so grateful to all the trust and organisations that are committed to keeping this vital service running.
Two pieces of great news to start the year on the funding front.
First of all we are hugely grateful to have received a cheque for £1,000 from the Berkshire Masonic Charity - this will go towards recruiting further new counsellors to meet the growing demand, and to other Covid 19 related costs.
Secondly we were pleased to be advised this week that we are once again one of the selected charities to which St Michael's church generously give 10% of its annual donated income. This together with the support they offer with the premises at the Pastoral Centre in Lower Church road are vital to the ongoing work of the Counselling Service. From the time the Service started in the early nineties, effectively as a child of the Church, then becoming an independent charity in 2011, to the present day, St Michael's support has been essential for our survival and our growth.
Thank you!
You can help support Sandhurst Counselling Service by shopping at the Co-op!
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We have been selected by the Coop as one of their nominated charity partners for the next year. All you have to do is to register us as your charity choice, which you can do by applying on-line at Co-op/Membership or by downloading their App. Providing you live within about 15 miles of St Michael's Pastoral Centre you can select Sandhurst Counselling Service as your local nominated charity. We are seeking funding for workshops and training courses for our counsellors as detailed on this link: https://membership.coop.co.uk/causes/46246 After your registration, and until the end of next October, from whichever store in the country you buy Co-op branded products and services, both you and the charity will benefit as detailed on the Co-op website |
Mental Health through the pandemic is becoming a major concern. We are grateful therefore to all the organisations who have come forward to support our continuing work. They include:
The National Lottery Coronavirus Community Support Fund
Edward Gostling Foundation
The additional funding enables us to continue to offer our online counselling and remote assessments so that we can continue to serve the local community.
Our team has been brilliantly committed and creative throughout the crisis, overcoming many hurdles, and ensuring we continue to serve as many clients as possible by remote means at this time.
But like many charities our fundraising activities and opportunities have been severely impacted through the current crisis, and our costs for each session delivered have inevitably gone up. So we are incredibly grateful to the various organisations which have stepped in, and contributed to different aspects of our funding:
Poor mental health is going to be a legacy of the crisis for many - so we salute our team, and our funders, for the massive support they offer, so that we can go on caring for those struggling with life who most need our help at this time.
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Sandhurst Crafters made Sandhurst Counselling Service their chosen charity for the proceeds of their Fair held at Owlsmoor Community Centre on November 17th last year This is an annual event, and the general consensus was that this was their most successful event yet. Catherine Wilkins of the Crafters presented Peter Hulbert of the Counselling Service with a cheque for £850 at the St Michael’s Community Centre on Wednesday March 6th. The funds were enhanced by Vodaphone giving a matching donation on the first £350 raised, making an overall total of £1,200. Peter explained how vital this support was, with Local Authority grants being withdrawn and the demand for counselling services growing. This will help us recruit more counsellors and provide around thirty more counselling sessions this year. |  |
SCS was delighted to participate in the BCF Showcase Event on 7th of March and to be the recipient of a grant of £17,000 to further develop and consolidate the services offered by SCS.
The funding has been made possible by funds raised through the BCF 2017 Year of Mental Health campaign.
Speaking after the award was announced Mr Peter Hulbert, a trustee of SCS, said: " Many thanks, both for this most welcome award, which will totally underpin our plans to enhance and develop SCS over the next few years, and for the excellent work that BCF does in so successfully coordinating fund raising activities in Berkshire .
Our team thoroughly enjoyed yesterday's event, notwithstanding the somewhat nerve-wracking experience of speaking against the clock, and the totally professional way in which the event was put together is testament to the hard work and expertise of you and your team."
There are lots of pictures here.
We were delighted to host Dr Phillip Lee on 19th May for a working lunch at which he listened sympathetically to the challenges we are currently facing.
At a time when the government is stating that mental health issues are of paramount importance, we among many other charities find that our grant from local government, which has been our largest source of income, is being reduced and ended.
| We had some excellent news from Councillor Hazel Hill, the Mayor of Sandhurst, who has nominated SCS as her charity for her Mayoral year of 2017/18. She has designed an action-packed year starting with a Hog Roast Quiz that was held at The Bird In Hand, Little Sandhurst, on June 17th. Since then there has been a Bottle Stall on the Sandhurst Recreation Ground as part of the Day Centre Fete on July 1st, an Afternoon Tea at the Sandhurst Day Centre on July 23rd, Just Desserts - a starter and five classic British Puds - at the Sandhurst Community Centre on September 9th, and the Mayor’s Quiz, also at the Community Centre on October 14th. |  |
Collectively, these events have so far raised just over £2,500, giving a much needed boost to our funds.
Other events planned (tickets in advance from Sandhurst Town Council or St Michael’s Pastoral Centre) are:
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Strictly Sandhurst at the Sandhurst Community Hall at 7.30pm on Saturday, December 2nd. Come and dance (or just listen) to the 17 piece Newtones big band and singer Tickets are £17.50 including supper.
Race Night at the Sandhurst Community Centre at 7.30pm on Saturday, January 13th Entry will be free
For more details of these events, please ring 01344 775881 |  |
Come along to any of our fundraising events and help to support a local counselling service as well as having a memorable evening. All the above will help us to carry on working with the clients who keep contacting us for help. We offer counselling to everyone regardless of how many sessions they need and ask for contributions towards the costs if possible. All our counsellors are to the highest standard. A few of the issues we deal with are bereavement, abuse, depression, anxiety, stress etc.