Learning how Eikon helps youngsters to thrive

A visit by the High Sheriff to The Eikon Charity had to be changed to a Zoom call with Chris Hickford, chief executive of the charity.

He gave Dr Llewelyn insight into the charity’s excellent ongoing work to support the most vulnerable young people in Surrey.

Eikon works with schools, communities, health and social care, and other organisations to deliver a range of services providing much-needed emotional wellbeing and mental health support for young people. The charity has successfully placed specialised support workers in six schools in Surrey, and their efforts to support attendance at school are close to Dr Llewelyn’s heart.

Dr Llewelyn said: “Eikon is a very well-respected Surrey charity, and I was impressed by all the work they are doing, especially their plans to increase the number of specialised workers in schools.”

Well-deserved Unsung Heroes Award for Stanwell charities

The High Sheriff was delighted to present an Unsung Heroes Award to Victoria Goodacre for her work as a volunteer at the Stanwell Events Community Project near Staines.

Ian and Linda Millin from Stanwell Events said: “We nominated Victoria to receive this award as she works so hard with the pre-school children and their parents who visit the project. She is always helping to make positive memories for others.”

The Stanwell Events Christmas Giving Project gives food items and family presents to community members who need extra support at Christmas. During Dr Llewelyn’s visit, the project was in full swing, with Stanwell Events’ chief executive Anne Marie Goodacre taking a call offering 40 turkeys, which were gratefully received.

Stanwell Events volunteers work not only in Stanwell but also in the broader community of Surrey. They help their sister charity, the Stanwell Food Bank, which supports those in need in Spelthorne. The food bank works in partnership with other food banks and serves vast numbers of delicious meals, all cooked at the Community Centre kitchen.

Recognising the tremendous work of all the volunteers at both organisations with awards, the High Sheriff said: “It is clear that Stanwell Events and Food Bank play a vital role in their community and do a huge amount of excellent work.”

High Sheriff commends Spelthorne Youth Awards finalists

The High Sheriff congratulated the finalists of the Triumph over Adversity category in the biannual Spelthorne Youth Awards – the first in its history to be held virtually.

Thirty young people were nominated in the categories, which included Academic Achievement, Arts Achievement, Sports Achievement, Personal Achievement, Community Spirit, Triumph over Adversity and Unselfishness, Kindness and Bravery.

Spelthorne Borough Council Leisure Services organises the event, receiving nominations from teachers, sports coaches, community groups, charities, and many others.

All the nominees received a goodie bag before the ceremony, including a certificate of achievement from the Mayor of Spelthorne. At least one person from each category was also selected to receive a STAR award, including a trophy and cash prize.

Julie said: “I was truly impressed by everything the young people had done. There were some extraordinary stories in all the categories, and I was particularly struck by those who were in the Triumph over Adversity, Unselfishness, Kindness and Bravery category, which I was lucky enough to be able to introduce.”

Joining the Countess of Wessex at Disability Initiative

A visit by Her Royal Highness the Countess of Wessex to Disability Initiative in Camberley on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities allowed Dr Llewelyn to present High Sheriff Awards to deserving staff.

Dr Llewelyn presented a certificate to the team as a special recognition of the outstanding services to disabled adults with complex physical disabilities or acquired brain injuries that they support throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The team all worked together incredibly well. There was massive collaboration at all levels. It included valuable contributions from their patron and trustees to ensure that all the people they help to care for stayed well and out of the hospital.

The visit was tremendous fun for everyone and had a Christmas theme. Staff, volunteers and clients sang a specially composed song, made chocolate robins and Christmas wreaths and participated in a rather difficult Christmas Quiz.

High Sheriff visits the Royal Alexandra & Albert School

Dr Llewelyn spent an enjoyable morning at the Royal Alexandra & Albert School in Reigate, touring the school and its magnificent grounds and meeting the staff team, pupils and the interim executive head David Blow. She also joined a maths lesson!

During her school tour, the High Sheriff learned from pupils about the school’s diversity and inclusivity, and it is always easy to get help from a ‘peer support’ or teacher. They also loved the boarding houses’ homely feel and told her all about the hobbies or sports they enjoyed and their ambitions for when they leave school.

Then, Dr Llewelyn congratulated the school chefs on their reputation for producing excellent food and enjoyed a delicious tea with pupils in the magnificent Gatton Park House.

About 12% of the school’s boarding places are reserved for Foundationers – pupils part-funded or funded by the Royal Alexandra & Albert School Foundation, charities, trusts, benevolent funds and local education authorities. Foundationers may have lost parents, have a parent that’s chronically ill, or have been abandoned or abused, or a parent can no longer meet their needs.

Day of visits strengthen ties in Reigate and Banstead

The Mayor of Reigate and Banstead, Councillor Jill Bray, joined the High Sheriff for a day of visits to the YMCA East Surrey Sports and Community Centre in Redhill and the borough council’s Earlswood Depot.

YMCA East Surrey supports vulnerable children, young people and adults in housing and health and wellbeing and is one of the mayor’s chosen charities of the year.

A visit to the YMCA centre kickstarted the day. Dr Llewelyn met the team, including the chief executive Ian Burks and Judith Brooks, head of children and young people services. She visited the multi-sport and gym facilities and saw exercise classes in action.

YMCA Hillbrook House is nearby. It offers affordable accommodation for young people who do not have a permanent home, along with a lot of support and I was pleased to meet some of the tenants enjoying a training session. Some of this group had recently benefited from a grant from the High Sheriff’s Youth Awards, which had enabled them to climb Snowden. It was great to hear their positive stories about the experience.

Next, Dr Llewelyn visited Earlswood Depot, where she had a fascinating tour and congratulated the numerous teams. She was delighted to thank the entire waste collection and recycling team for their commitment during the pandemic and the green-spaces team for helping to maintain the highly used public areas at this time.

Dr Llewelyn was intrigued by the area where the borough’s refuse and recycling is collected before being sorted and the community recycling centre. Here, a wide variety of waste is collected and recycled, including through a shop which has raised over £2 million for good causes.

HMP Bronzefield partners with local parish church and homeless charity to provide secure home for women on release from prison

A fantastic ‘Team Spirit’ collaboration, delivering Social Value, has provided a secure home for female residents facing homelessness on release from prison. HMP Bronzefield works with a local church, St Hilda’s in Ashford, Middlesex, to provide accommodation and comfortable home for female residents faced with homelessness on release from the prison. It is an excellent example of a joint delivery of Social Value in the local community.

Through Bronzefield’s strong links with the local community the team has been working in partnership with St Hilda’s Church in Ashford to provide accommodation to women to help them integrate into the community and support rehabilitation. The church is one of more than 70 in the UK linked to ‘Hope into Action’ – a charity whose unique purpose is to enable churches to help house the homeless. What is unique about this specific project is the partnership between the prison and the parish church.

HMP Bronzefield’s deputy director Vicky Robinson said:

“This is a vital step for the women, and the partnership with St Hilda’s Ashford has been a great success. A key factor in reducing reoffending and desistance from crime is accommodation and support. Turning a house into a home with a safe space to grow and develop should not be underestimated.”

Brookwood Cemetery team receives award for care

On a bright, crisp morning at Brookwood Cemetery, the High Sheriff said a big thank you to all the staff for their tremendous work in continuing to provide families with a dignified burial for their loved ones during the Covid-19 pandemic.

She also thanked them for their continued work to restore this historic Surrey site to its former glory and presented a High Sheriff certificate to the Brookwood Cemetery team.

The team, led by manager Avril Kirby, makes sure that families receive the best service, care and support at this resting place for people of different faiths from all over the UK and other countries.

They also make it a place of interest to visit or just find a few moments of welcome peace from busy lives.

Employee awards for HMP Send team

The hard work of staff at HMP Send in Woking during or as the prison emerged from the pandemic has earned them all Employee of the Month awards.

Dr Llewelyn was delighted to present the awards to a group of employees specially selected by the Governor, Amy Frost. The team members had built relationships and considered the needs of vulnerable prisoners.

“We had tea and delicious cakes, which were prepared by two of the prisoners who are participating in the prison’s restaurant training programme,” said Dr Llewelyn.

HMP Send is a closed female prison with a population of 202 women. It has the only democratic therapeutic community for women in the country and a specialist psychologically informed planned environment (PIPE) unit.

Despite the challenges of lockdown, Her Majesty’s Inspector of Prisons said the prison’s leadership team and dedicated staff established and maintained a “strong, deep culture of respect and support”.

Joining the dots with Guildford Samaritans

Dr Llewelyn is very interested in the work Guildford Samaritans does in prisons. During her meeting, she linked two of its representatives to local charities and Surrey Police who are interested in restarting some pre-pandemic work.

Nick Martin, director of Guildford Samaritans, and Renato Lowres, responsible for the charity’s work at HMP Send, told Dr Llewelyn about the national Listening Service, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.

Guildford Samaritans runs the service at HMP Send and trained selected inmates to become listeners. Prisoners can talk to them about their problems, which prevents issues from escalating.

Listeners have a separate uniform, and fellow inmates can interact with them during ‘association’ time. Alternatively, inmates can phone the main Samaritans helpline, which will arrange a meeting with a listener.

The Listening Service was invaluable in HMP Send during the lockdown and saw heavy use.

Dr Llewelyn said: “I was pleased to meet one of the listeners on my recent visit to HMP Send, and she invited me to go and meet the listener team.”