Recent News Celebrating Disability Pride Month 28th July 2021 July is Disability Pride Month - we talk to CCP's Rachel to find out how COVID has impacted her and some of the positive changes she has experienced. Read here June is Pride Month Thursday 10th June June is National Pride Month and our colleague, Richard, shares some history behind Pride and his experiences as a gay man working at CCP. Read here A Grand Day Out Monday 26th April A trip to Bristol might not seem like much for many, but for Amber and Hawre, it was a 'Grand Day Out' to remember. Read the full story here How the GEM Project changed Aamna's life Thursday 15th April Sam (a GEM Navigator Developer at CCP) recently supported Aamna in rebuilding her confidence and even securing her dream job "I will take with me everything I have learned and put it to use in my new job when I start. GEM has made a massive impact to my life, people have already noticed the difference in me and that’s what GEM has helped me achieve" Read Aamna's story here Take on the Cheltenham Challenge in support of our frontline workers Monday 12th April “We were very disappointed to have to cancel the event last year, but with the announcement of the first lockdown, it was absolutely the right decision,” adds Liz Thatcher, Race Director and CCP Engagement Manager. “The 2019 event saw 1200 participants enter raising over £12,000 to help those accessing CCP services. We are delighted to already have over 300 people signed up for the virtual event..." Read the full story here. "We are Hereford ABS" Tuesday 23rd March "...We deal with everything from an emotional resident who just wants to chat over a cup of coffee, to emergencies requiring immediate First Aid and Paramedics being called. Recently, during the Covid19 Lockdown, staff have proved to be very resourceful in ensuring that all our residents still receive a quality service..." Read the full story here Sarah's Story Tuesday 2nd March "Hi I'm Sarah and I am a Key Worker for CCP. I joined the CCP Pantry at the end of March 2020 and was really looking forward to working with the community to better understand and help tackle the causes of food poverty. Unfortunately, the first lockdown was announced due to the increase in COVID-19 cases and the Pantry had to close its doors to the public..." Read the full story here "This Lady Saved My Life!" Monday 15th February Kerry, now Project Manager for our services in Worcester, shares Lewis's story- a young man who she supported in turning his life around. Read it here Our Pantry continues to support those in need through the Lockdown Friday 15th January If you find yourself in need of any extra support, whether it be with becoming a Pantry member, struggling with debt or financial issues or maybe you are feeling lonely and isolated, please know we are here to help. Give our Community Wellbeing Team a call on: 0300 3656463 (Lines are open Mon-Fri 9am-5pm) Fill out a form online here Download and Follow our Reverse Advent Calendar Monday 23rd November We know that with the Covid restrictions in place it is has been hard for our supporters to give to Hamper Scamper in their usual ways. Therefore, we decided to make our very own Reverse Advent Calendar which you can download and follow from your homes this December! By following our calendar you will be helping us to spread the word of what we do and raise essential funds to enable us to support some of the most vulnerable in our local communities. Download it here Reverse Advent Calendar We saved Henry £274 on his energy bills Thursday 19th November Kirsty, our energy administrator, wanted to share Henry's story who we recently supported in saving a total of £274 on his energy bills! Read the full story here Can You Help Us Light Up Someone's Christmas? 13th October 2020 It's hard to believe it is that time of year again but our annual Hamper Scamper Appeal is upon us and we need your help more than ever this year to help those families that are struggling this Christmas time. Find out how you can get involved here Cordell Ray MBE 10th October 2020 It has been announced that Cordell Ray, Chief Executive of the Cheltenham based charity Caring for Communities and People (CCP) has been appointed a Member of the British Empire (MBE) in the Birthday Honours List. Read the full article HERE CCP Big SleepOut 2020 Cancelled 29th September 2020 We are sad to announce that our SleepOut is cancelled and will not be taking place in October 2020. This was not an easy decision to make but we believe it is the right one given the current position with COVID. Read the full article here Thank You Worcester Community Foundation 25th September 2020 We are so grateful to have received a £5000 grant from the Worcester Community Foundation. The grant allowed us to employ an extra member of staff for 1 day a week over 12 weeks to help us support homeless individuals who were placed in local hotels as part of the Government’s “Everyone In” campaign, in response to COVID-19. Read the full article here "CCP were there for me when I needed them most..." 17th September 2020 Two members of our Community Wellbeing Team (Irena & Gwyn) recently supported Andrea, a young lady with physical disabilities, helping her with meetings and assessments and through the tough period of Lockdown. Read the full story here Check out our Refurbished Hereford Accommodation 10th September 2020 Our Accommodation Based Support Team in Hereford have been busy with the task of making their buildings more homely and welcoming for residents and staff alike. Find out more here Family brought together during the Lockdown 7th September 2020 With the ending of Lockdown and life slowly returning to a new-normal one of our family support workers, Ali, has been reflecting on the families she has supported over the past few months and wanted to share how this time has had a positive effect on one such family. Read the full story here Calling All Gardeners 3rd September 2020 We are calling out to all those who own an allotment or maintain a vegetable garden in the Cheltenham area who can donate fresh produce to our Pantry supporting vulnerable people in the local community. Read the Press Release here Energy Advocate Success 1st September 2020 Our Community Wellbeing Team work in partnership with Warm & Well to provide free energy advice to the people who most need it across Gloucestershire. Our Energy Advocate recently supported a single mother of three helping her to save a total of £853.75 on her energy bills. Read the full story here We Want to help End Period Poverty 28th August 2020 Our Pantry Team have partnered with Tewkesbury Priors Park Neighbourhood Project to distribute free, eco-friendly sanitary products to those who need them in the Tewkesbury area. Find out more here Izzy & Dave's Ultra Marathon in Aid of CCP 26th August 2020 On the 29th August our amazing supporters Izzy and Dave will be attempting an Ultra Marathon following the beautiful, but very vertically challenging, Cotswold Way all to help raise essential funds for our work. They chose to support CCP after hearing about the way we responded to help those in need in their local community during the lockdown, especially supporting young people who might otherwise be homeless. To read their story and sponsor their challenge visit their page here. Click here to watch the BBC Points West Interview Should we do a SleepOut 2020? 20th August 2020 On 9th March this year we announced plans for SleepOut 2020 (read more here) but then the world was turned on its head by COVID-19 which left us with a number of uncertainties. In light of this we want to seek the views of previous participants and the wider public on some possible options we are considering. If you can spare a couple of minutes please fill out this Survey to help us make the best decision. Thank You. Community Involvement During the Lockdown 10th August 2020 Our Community Based Support (CBS) Team have been maintaining regular contact with their clients in Gloucester, Tewkesbury and Forest of Dean to check in on their welfare and wellbeing during these unprecedented times. With Zoom quizzes and online Art classes they have been able to provide emotional support and have taken on a befriending role in these local communities. Read the full article here Our Pantry is Open Again! 5th August 2020 We are very excited to be able to open up our Pantry to members in Cheltenham once again for the first time since the COVID-19 Lockdown. Find out more about our Pantry Project here Supported Accommodation Success 28th July 2020 "...Young people in Supported Accommodation can really go far. Sometimes they need someone to believe in them so they can believe in themselves. I felt believed in, and could achieve so much because of that." Read Joe's story here We are Caring for Communities and People… Could you too? 15th June 2020 “I worked for a retail bank for 11 years and dealt with customers on a day to day basis. When I read up on the attributes required to work with CCP, it synced up really well with the skillset I had developed over those years.” Have you ever wondered if your skills and experience could transfer to a successful career in the charity sector? Read the full article here Family Advocacy Success 7th June 2020 Our Family Advocacy Team provide support to vulnerable parents whose children are involved in the Child Protection process which can be very daunting for parents. Read Kirsty's success story here