Officers’ Association is a registered charity, founded in 1920. They provide advice and financial help to relieve distress and hardship amongst those who have held a Commission in the Armed Forces, their families and dependants.
The donations that Event Cycle was tasked with distributing for them consisted of clothing, stationery, and furniture. These types of useful and timely donations can make a real difference to charities.
Sensory and office support
Berkshire Vision (registered as Berkshire County Blind Society, BCBS) were delighted to take the plants and stationery…Laura Mitchell, CEO of the organisation said,
“...The plants are great for our deafblind/dual sensory loss members as they use other senses. The stationery would help with day to day where we are often short of such items as we cannot budget to buy them new…”
What a fantastic use for items that would otherwise be discarded.
Berkshire Vision was established in 1910, growing steadily throughout the 20th century and having a huge impact on visually impaired veterans following both World War 1 and 2. Later purchasing housing to be used as a residential home for blind persons.
They have been based out of Midleton House, Reading since 1962 after releasing the residential property when it was no longer a requirement and in 2014, BCBS received The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award given to volunteer groups across the UK for outstanding work in their local communities for the benefit of others.
Safe space for college papers
Dealing with and storing important documents is an essential part of Inclusion Hampshire’s specialist, Post 16 SEMH college.
They will make good use of the safe that was offered to them. They have a growing number of learners sitting exams and require a more robust secure storage to keep their exam papers in. It seems as though this donation came at the right time for them!
The Inclusion College Post 16 Programme is designed for students aged 16—25 who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and require a tailored further education programme in a supportive learning environment. Supporting the mental health and well-being of learners is integral to each of the sessions. The objective of the programme is to equip students with the skills and strategies to step into a larger environment, such as college or the workplace in the future.
Stationery supplies school
Calmore Junior School Association (CJSA) is run by parents and is enormously beneficial to the Calmore Junior school. They raise a huge amount of money which they donate back to the school each year. Most of the money goes towards subsidising school trips and visits for the benefit of all children.
The committee organises various activities throughout the school year and has recently signed up to receive donation alerts from Event Cycle, to help them receive much needed items for their ongoing activities, some of which are designed to be fundraisers whilst others are planned to bring the community together and have fun.
They received 8 boxes of stationery from the Officers’ Association that will help them keep costs down at the school as well as increase vital supplies for their ongoing office administration and busy activity schedule.
The team on site have already used some paper and plastic wallets to make up welcome packs for the parents of children starting in September 2023. They have also used some of the padded envelopes to send items we are selling to raise funds for the CJSA.
CIC Computer repair shop gets a boost
Event Cycle has been supporting Tubbs Computer Supplies for a couple of years now. The team at Tubbs provide refurbished computers to local Sussex residents and have been doing so since 2013. The team were delighted to receive the Officers’ Association donation alert.
Chris Hunnisett, owner operator, and the team at Tubbs work with businesses, charities and government agencies. Tubbs are constantly on the lookout for donations in order to provide computer equipment for those who need it as well as useful items to display in their shop.
The chairs, cupboards and desks they received from the Officers’ Association donation will really accelerate their plans to fit out their new office space, as well as provide a quality display for their shop offerings.
Sport in Mind
Sport in Mind is an award winning mental health charity (unaffiliated to Mind and not part of the local Mind network) that was formed in Reading, Berkshire in 2010 with a simple mission:
"To improve the lives of people experiencing mental health problems through sport and physical activity"
They are the UK’s leading mental health sports charity and deliver physical activity (sport, walking, dance and movement, gardening, and exercise sessions) projects in partnership with the amazing NHS in order to aid recovery, promote mental wellbeing, improve physical health, combat social isolation and empower people to move their lives forward in a positive direction.
In 2019, the charity received the highest honour a UK charity can bestow - the Queen's Award for Voluntary Services. Receiving a flipchart from this donation will allow them to save money and help facilitate more of their award winning programmes.
Tentshare
Tentshare is a community led tent-matching service. With Tentshare you can either rent out your tent and camping equipment to earn income or book a tent from someone local to your or your campsite and save money without the set-up expense.
Receiving 10 hoodies and a wheelie suitcase will really help them and their team to stay warm as well as allow them to easily transport their camping essentials!
Tentshare began in 2019 when Rebecca Heaps rented her bell tent to families in her neighbourhood. Parents wanted to give their kids the glamping experience but did not want the burden of purchasing, storing or maintaining a tent. On that day, a business idea was sparked which led to Tentshare.
Sharing resources is one of the many ways that Tentshare is reducing pressure on the planet. Tentshare is committed to supporting the local community and economy by creating a sharing, carbon reducing, camping community.
Big or small, quirky or regular… We help find new homes for lots of different items and the benefit to the charity, whether small or huge, makes life that little bit easier for them, allowing them to grow and do more for their community. #EventCycleIt