Charity

A local charity, supported by 106.9 SFM, has been awarded funds from The Asda Foundation through their Sittingbourne superstore.

Asda's Sittingbourne Community Champion, Claire Fosbeary, presented the cheque to the charity's CEO, Jason Firmanger and a number of volunteers at their recent Tuesday night meeting at Holy Trinity Church (next to Lidl).

The free weekly group meet every Tuesday at 7:30pm and is for men who want to make positive changes in their lives and combat Mental Health issues.

Local officers are seeking witnesses following reports of three purses being stolen in Sittingbourne town centre.

The thefts are thought to have taken place between 9am and 1pm last Tuesday (28th February).

The victims were allegedly targeted in separate incidents at two charity shops in The Forum Shopping Centre and Roman Square, and also a store in the High Street. The crimes were only discovered at a later stage when the victims realised their property was missing.

Access to a new job and home could be on the cards for people experiencing homelessness here in Swale.

A 12-month pilot programme, with homeless crowd sourcing social enterprise Beam, will be discussed at Swale Borough Council’s cabinet meeting this week (on Wednesday 13th April).

The programme would aim to help 38 people start jobs, 15 people leave homelessness and 23 people avoid homelessness.

A £20,000 project, to support bereaved children and set up by two Kent charities with the aim of providing bereaved children the help they need, has started locally.

Demelza Hospice Care for Children, based here in Sittingbourne, has brought Rochester-based Holding On Letting Go (HOLG) on-board to provide pre and post bereavement care to their families.

A charity has had a welcome financial boost following a Kent Police Fun Day earlier in the year here in Sittingbourne.

In September 2018 the Kent Police Recreation Association organised the family fun day which, due to 2018 being the centenary year of World War One, was themed throughout with activities including a trench experience and wartime victory live band. Two veterans from World War Two were also guests of honour at the event.

Two burglars, who were caught on CCTV breaking into The Friends Of Wisdom Hospice's Charity shop in Sittingbourne have been jailed.

Lee Heathfield, aged 33 and Shane Baker, aged 28, entered the property in July stealing electronics and cash. Both were identified and arrested. Baker, of no fixed address, was jailed for 27 months and serial burglar Heathfield was jailed for fraud, theft and three other counts of burglary in Sittingbourne. His crimes were committed in June, July and August.

Sittingbourne's very own 'Whistling Postman', Dale Howting, has won yet another award for his tireless fundraising work.

80-year-old Dale has cycled across all areas of the world raising money for local charities since 1977. He has raised over a quarter of a million pounds for charities and has been raising money for Demelza Hospice, The Kent Air Ambulance plus 29 other charities!

Local MP Gordon Henderson has congratulated an Iwade resident who was recently awarded a British Citizen Award for setting up an orphanage in Malawi.

Elspeth Baecke BCAo, a former teacher at Sittingbourne Community College, set up a small charity called Smile Malawi in 2004 after watching children suffering in Africa on Comic Relief. Elspeth began fundraising and construction started on the new children's home in 2005. The doors opened in 2006 and now has 39 children aged between 3 and 20-years old.

Pictured: Gordon Henderson MP with two Iwade Primary School children, Edward Milham and Connie Gambell.

Local anti-litter charity, Litter Angels, has installed two new litter bins in Iwade - one outside Costcutter on Ferry Road and one in Dunlin Walk, opposite the primary school.