The other day Mrs Ahmed was in The Well (almost a daily occurrence!) She was in very good form – which we were all very pleased to see – for a few months, she seemed to be carrying extra burdens, which now seem to be lifted.
Ms Benocova came in – she’s been coming regularly for several years now, each of the staff got a hug from her, and then she turned and hugged Mrs Ahmed! I was so chuffed! A Pakistani and Slovakian woman giving each other a hug. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I’m not sure I would have believed it. It really was a very special moment, and all the years of working at building relationships not just between the staff and our service users, but trying to provide an environment where those from different backgrounds, faiths and cultures could get to know each other was finally paying off!
At our prayer time this morning Sarah prayed for an Afghan man that she had helped last week, and Vivien mentioned “last week when I took Mrs Ahktar home . . .” I was reminded of the privilege that is ours to pray for by name people from all over the world. Dougie went further and said he loved being able to call people from so many parts of the world “friend”. It also made me grateful for the volunteer staff that give so much to The Well, and its service users. Not just the shifts they do, but regularly going the second mile for their new friends. Volunteer staff who give people lifts, or make home visits, or follow up with phone calls, or email me to ask about how someone is.
As ever we are looking for more people to join our Volunteer Staff team. Would you consider it? Sometimes when people first start, they feel a bit daunted – but with support and training they quickly realise that being in The Well gives them back so much more than they could ever imagine. If you would like to find out more, please get in touch.
I really admire Gail for being willing to give the fundraising role a go, but Gail found that filling in application forms was just not for her – we’re delighted that we will continue to benefit from Gail’s commitment and many talents as she continues on the volunteer staff team.
We are now looking at building a team of people to do the fundraising – both grant applications, followup and other fundraising activities. Maybe this is a way you could help us?
I’m in the process of registering The Well with “Give as you live” – I’ll let you know as soon as it’s live, an easy to support The Well if you do online shopping.
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