2020 News
31st December 2020
As this year draws to a close we just wanted to take a moment to reflect on everything we've achieved this year.
2020 has been for almost everyone the most difficult of years. (Understatement yea?) But we have found that although we've all struggled in different ways this year we've also found strength within our community.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
To all our volunteers who always have gone above and beyond to help however they can. Special shout out to all our admin team who make everything possible. To all the businesses that have supported us and our appeals through sponsorship, donations or sharing our posts. To all of you who continue to donate to our Tin on the Wall appeal every single month, share our posts and helped make our Christmas appeal an overwhelming success. What a truly beautiful community we have.
And finally... we just wanted to say a massive Thank You to our founders. Dawn and Tara! Inspiring, committed and passionate women who came together to ensure no one in our community was lonely, hungry or frightened during a pandemic.
We'll continue to be here for those in need in 2021.
Have a wonderful rest of 2020 - more to come from us next year x
25th December 2020
Scott Quinnell's Big Thank You - BBC Sounds
Listen to us here, being interviewed by Scott Quinnell on his Christmas day programme, we appear at 16 minutes 23 seconds.
7th December 2020
Wow!
Our first ever Saturday collection and it was an overwhelming success. Thank you so so much to everyone who donated for our campaign in 2020.
Each collection raises over 2.5 tons of food that have been used to help food banks and charities throughout South Wales. To put that into to perspective - that's a family worth of hippos or 3 T-Rexs that you have donated to our cause in 2020. You amazing generous people you.
Our collection this month went to Llamau, Risca Foodbank, St David’s Foodbank, RCV Foodbank and Socelex Animal Sanctuary.
Another massive thank you to our wonderful Street Champions and sorting volunteers who probably still have sore muscles from carrying all the donations. A special thank you to the Gwent Police cadets who assisted with this collection and helped deliver the collection to our charities.
From the Tin on a Wall Admin team once again thank you so much for your support this year. We hope you have a wonderful Christmas and we will see you all in the New Year!
3rd December 2020
ITV Wales, Did you see us? Thank you to Richard for interviewing us and getting our charity out to a wider audience.
22nd November 2020
Dawn and Tara had the pleasure of being interviewed by Elizabeth Birt from the South Wales Argus, read it here.
19th November 2020
Read about the launch of our Christmas Toy Appeal in the South Wales Argus.
13th November 2020
What a week it's been!
Prize giving for the Pumpkin Trail, last week of the School Uniform Recycle (until the next school holidays), bag2school clothes collection (like cash4clothes), Tin on a Wall last night (collecting for the foodbanks) and our new Christmas appeals launching.
Who said there aren't enough hours in the day!
Novembers Tin on a Wall was our best collection yet, and we must thank all our wonderful volunteers and also everyone who donated to the collection. But we'll let Caroline talk more about that shortly.
Our big news of the week is that we've now officially launched our 3 Christmas appeals.
Christmas Toy Appeal
We will be taking donations of new / unused and still wrapped toys from the community to be given to local children and those still in hospital over Christmas.
There will be several drop off points; St John Ambulance Hall, One Stop Shop Risca, Fusions Play and at some point we will also have 2 mobile drop off units (more about that, once they are confirmed).
We have partnered with the new Grange Hospital, Noahs Ark, our district nurses who care for children with life limiting problems in the community, parent network and the Centre at St Davids to distribute the toys directly to those in need.
We are working to ensure that no child in the community goes without a gift from Santa this Christmas.
Christmas Wish Appeal
We also want to make sure that the people we support in the community, (our VIPs) our neighbours, the elderly and vulnerable that we support, receive a gift. So we will have a gift wish tree in St Johns, where a gift tag can be chosen and a gift bag can be filled with small items; toiletries, socks, scarves etc. A bit like a shoe box appeal but in a gift bag, which we will provide.
Cwtch in a Box
Some of our VIP's will also receive the gift of a cwtch in a box; a fleecy blanket, woolly hat, gloves, scarves, a hot water bottle, mince pies and hot chocolate. The Cwtch in a Box will also be going to some of the residents in the assisted living complexes. There will also be a Christmas card made by the local Gwent Police mini cadets.
We will be partnering with various organisations to launch this project, including PoBL Group Ltd and Gwent Police Mini Cadets.
1st August 2020
We are now official agents for the Risca Food bank, therefore if you are in need of supplies, please do not hesitate to contact us.
March 2020
Tara quoted “Our aim is to bring the community together and to help prevent the vulnerable from being alone”.
“Community spirit here is likened to the days of old when everyone knew their neighbours, People ask each other how they’re doing and they’re genuinely interested in their reply, they look out for one another and It’s truly beautiful to be a part of.”
As part of their work in the community, around 7,000 ‘kindness cards’ have been pushed through homes in the area.
The group is applying for charity status and has become an agency for the Trussell Trust, meaning they can issue vouchers for food parcels.
To make a donation towards the group, visit justgiving.com/crowdfunding/riscacv19volunteers
30th June 2020
Recent news published by the Caerphilly Observer - Photos via volunteer group members
Volunteers collect more than six tonnes of food
A voluntary group in Risca has collected more than six tonnes of food with their ‘Tin on a Wall’ initiative – the equivalent of six Fiat 500 cars.
The Risca Covid-19 Volunteers have given half of the donations to the Trussell Trust foodbank in Risca, which now has enough stock to last six months.
The Tin on a Wall initiative sees residents leave non-perishable food, such as tinned food, outside their front doors ready to be collected by volunteers.
The food is then taken for sorting, before being collected by local charities.
Tara Holloway Scott, who is one of the group’s 150 volunteers and part of its admin team, said the foodbank had to borrow a community hall to store the donations – with two vans and 15 car boot loads needed to transport the food.
The group, which was formed in March following the coronavirus outbreak, has also been collecting donations for St David’s food bank in Risca, as well as Feed Newport CIC.
As well as collecting food donations, the volunteers have been supporting vulnerable residents in Risca, making around 120 calls each week to check in with them, as well as shopping and collecting prescriptions on their behalf.
The group is looking to start socially-distanced coffee mornings for vulnerable residents, when guidelines allow.
“Many have been shielding for so long that they need support and a confidence boost to feel safe enough to leave their homes,” said Ms Holloway.
“Our callers have now built up a rapport over many weeks and months of regular phone calls, so will be on hand to help integrate our vulnerable residents back into the community one step at a time.