Gordano Rotary Christmas Campaign

No Christmas Do?

Do good this Christmas!

The Coronavirus Pandemic has brought a lot of changes to the way we live during 2020. Many of the things we took for granted have either been altered beyond recognition or abandoned completely as a result of social distancing and limitations on social gathering.

Here at Gordano Breakfast Rotary Club, we have felt the changes acutely, having been forced to hold our meetings on line via ZOOM; but the pandemic has played havoc with our fundraising activities in support of our chosen charities for this year.

Every year we select three charities for which we raise funds; two are based in our local community, and one is located overseas. Our three for this year are the Jessie May Trust; St. Peter’s Hospice; and the Ebenezer Clinic, in Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), Africa.

Please read more about the causes we support below. 

So, how can you help?

One of the casualties of the pandemic is this year’s office or work’s Christmas party. Many people also chose to go out for a meal with friends or family in the run-up to Christmas. All such social activities will now be put on hold, at least for this year.

So why not donate the spare cash via Gordano Breakfast Rotary Club, who will claim gift aid where appropriate and use it for the benefit of our charities? That way, the year won’t be a total loss, and you will know that your cash has been used to change for the better, the lives of people who are currently suffering additional hardship.

Just scroll down and choose the amount you wish to donate. We thank you very much for your help!

About our supported charities:

Jessie May Trust

 www.jessiemay.org.uk 

Jessie May is a Children's Hospice at Home service caring for local terminally ill children.

It’s been a strange time for everyone and, like most charities, Jessie May has suffered a significant drop in donations and voluntary income.  However, during lockdown, we continued to visit our most poorly children, especially those at end of life and those with additional needs.  We kept in constant touch with all of our other families in any way that suited them…via Zoom, Skype, extended telephone conversations and sometimes a quick wave from the street outside their homes at the end of the day.  It’s the simple things that mean the most. Our Nurses have gone above and beyond ensuring that no family felt alone or isolated. 

Our visits have always enabled our families to have the choice to stay at home instead of being in hospital and so we have helped relieve the stress on NHS hospitals by offering children care within the home.  However, our Nurses are needed now more than ever when extended family and friends are unable to visit and help with the care of vulnerable children. 

Lockdowns have seen everyone experiencing what is “normal everyday life” for our families, staying at home, thinking twice before socialising with others and caring for our nearest and dearest and we have pledged to keep our service free to every child that needs us for as long as Jessie May survives. 

We are slowly but surely increasing our visits back to pre-covid levels and hopefully will soon be back to business as usual, but in a time when fundraising has declined to the point of almost stopping, we are grateful for every penny and every pound that come our way.

St. Peter’s Hospice 

 www.stpetershospice.org 

At SPH, local people and their families facing life-limiting illnesses never feel alone when it matters most. We are a comfort through fear and anxiety, a supportive hand, a voice at the end of the phone, a nurse on the doorstep, a place to feel normal and a beacon of hope. However, we have lost over £2million in funding this year and this means our ability to help those at home, those in need of specialist care and those that need support through bereavement during these extraordinarily difficult times is diminishing as every week goes by. We have had to make the devastating decision to run our IPU ward as a ten rather than 15 bed unit for the short term. This means we are simply not able to help as many local patients and families as would like. As Bristol’s only adult Hospice, if we are not there when it matters most, no one is. Your support helps us ensure that our patients and their families have a beacon of hope and never feel alone. 

Ebenezer Clinic

https://vula-amehlo.org.uk/ebenezer-clinic/ 

Coronavirus Pandemic Threatens Services at Rural African Clinic

Ebenezer Clinic is a busy nurse-led primary health care clinic in the Lubombo Mountains of Eswatini, which lies between Mozambique and South Africa, in southern Africa. It serves a very poor, isolated, rural community. The costs of basic medicines and a nurse’s salary are provided by the Swazi Government but the clinic relies mainly on charitable donations for most other running costs, support staff, repairs, maintenance and any new developments. Even in good times, it is a hand-to-mouth existence.

Covid-19 has dramatically increased the workload and has required the purchase of expensive PPE plus the construction of a Covid-secure Triage-Unit to protect patients and staff. A strict lockdown in Eswatini (and South Africa) has also made it difficult to obtain essential supplies. International donations have all but dried-up as supporters have been unable to fundraise due to Covid-19 lockdowns in most countries. This threatens the long term survival of this important clinic.