NEWS

Due to the ongoing pandemic we have had to suspend many of our services including the Wednesday Club, Holiday Schemes and all of our social events. We are aware that many of our members are struggling with the lack of social opportunities, however, due to current restrictions we are not permitted to run these services. 

 

Leatherhead Link reopened the day service on 3 August 2020. To enable social distancing and compliance with current guidelines, we are now open on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays for smaller bubble groups. In order that we meet the needs of our service users we are considering opening a fourth day soon.  

 

We will open our full services as soon as it is possible and safe to do so, following Government advice. 

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If you have any questions, please contact us on 01372 374555 or email info@midsurreymencap.org.uk and we will get back to you.

With the prolonged uncertainty due to Covid and the concern for our elderly and more vulnerable members, the Board of Trustees made the decision in September to not hold our AGM this year. 

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We have written to our members and sent out our Trustees' Report, along with a brief account of our financial position. Our accounts for year end, along with our full financial report will soon be registered online with the Charities Commission which you can access via their website https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/charity-commission. 

Despite having to close over the pandemic, we have made the most of the time and have undertaken significant improvement works to the hall and the garden, so that we can open bigger and better than ever! 

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See our dedicated refurbishment page here for pictures and further information on the works undertaken. 

Sue and Andy Harrison, our stalwart jams and marmalade makers, worked tirelessly leading up to Christmas to fulfill orders in time for the festive season. Sue had stalls at Craft Fairs, local table top sales and also managed to keep her regular customers happy. Sue and Andy presented us with a cheque for £440 at our January Wednesday Club evening. We thank them for all of their hard work and generous donations which fund our Wednesday Club. 

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Storm Brendan left its mark last week. We arrived at the hall to find the storm had blown a large tree over and was left hanging precariously on the telephone wires serving our neighbours. Despite being extremely busy, Furlonger Tree Services came to our rescue. After assessing the damage, Tom sent a team of 6, headed by Fiona, to remove the tree. At the same time they discovered two more trees which were deemed unsafe and close to our hall. Tom immediately gave the go ahead to remove them. Furlonger Tree Services have given freely their time on several occasions to our charity. We were extremely grateful to them this time due to the dangerous situation we found ourselves in. We thank Tom and his team for the very generous donation of their time and resources and we are grateful for their continued support. 

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Gill and her team of busy knitters have also had a very productive time. Their novelty Christmas chocolate covers and fine knit wear for babies are a treat to the eye and were in great demand at the local craft fairs and tabletop sales leading up to Christmas. Gill raised a magnificent £400 which we are very grateful for. 

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A fellow parent, David May, nominated Mid Surrey Mencap as his chosen charity during his tenure as Chair of Cheam Probus Club. David started our New Year with a cheque for £300. We thank David and his fellow Club members for their kind generosity. 

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We thank Nick and Gill Thorpe, Directors of Snakehive in Dorking for their very kind donation of £100 which they have asked us to put towards entertainment and refreshments. Nick and Gill will be pleased to know that their money will be put to good use at our Valentine's Disco. 

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We received another welcome bit of news from Catherine Shrimpton, Manager of Leatherhead Link. Catherine volunteers her cooking skills at the Walton Hill Open Group. The Open Group meet once a month and host lunches and teas for local residents in the village. Each year the group nominate a charity to donate the proceeds from their open kitchen and we were very fortunate to be chosen this year. We would like to thank Mo Atkins, Norma Darter and Pauline Shaw for the very generous cheque of £2000 which we will be putting towards new blinds for our hall. 

Glen Miles and Lauren Haines, of asb law,  gave an excellent talk on Future Planning and EHCPs to an audience of over 40 people. Feedback from those who attended has been very positive. 

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Glen heads asb's specialist vulnerable people team and has acted on a Court of Protection panel of approved deputies for over 14 years. Glen advises on tax planning, trust and estate administration and asset protection with particular interest and experience in the needs of vulnerable people and their families. https://www.asb-law.com/people/details/glen-miles/

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For those who missed the talk or if anyone would like to contact Glen or Lauren, please contact asb Law on www.asb-law.com.

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If there is a subject you would like us to host a talk on, please contact us and we will do our best to get the right people in.