Time & Talents welcomed at the Deal Town game this saturday

For tomorrow’s game with Deal Town we welcome to St Paul’s an inspirational community support group Time & Talents.

Founded in 1887 to support the people of Rotherhithe and Bermondsey, Time & Talents (T&T) runs social, art and learning-based activities for all ages, working with people such as isolated elderly people and disabled groups, and universal wider projects and events designed to create a happy, healthy, connected community.

But during this difficult time they have taken on an even greater challenge – helping the community through the Covid-19 pandemic. What they are doing is exemplary:

They run a food distribution hub from their premises every week, to meet the increasing local need which is overwhelming existing food banks. This service is open to families and individuals in SE16 who are struggling financially and need support to get the food they need. You can help to support the community by contributing to their fundraising campaign or sharing it amongst your network.

To access the service, please refer either through the Southwark Covid-19 Community Hub on 020 7525 5000 or by emailing our team, so we can conduct a brief assessment of need.

To help overcome loneliness and social isolation T&T provide telephone befriending and other remote social contact. Team members are making regular welfare/check in phone calls to older people at the time they would be attending their T&T group (such as the Happy Mondays social contact group, Stroke Club, Visually Impaired Group).

Another important aspect of T&T is their children and families support. Collaborating with the food banks and other voluntary and community sector partners in Southwark, T&T get essential items to local parents who need help with emergency food packs and others in need. With children now at home full-time we’re creating fun, weekly, online activity packs for children to support parents, for whom we know this is a stressful and uncertain time. Subscribe to the mailing list here.

These are just some of the many incredible things Time & Talents do in the local community run by a dedicated team of volunteers. For an organisation that has supported the community for 133 years, including through two world wars, this is one of the most difficult times they have ever faced. Their services are a lifeline for some of the most vulnerable people in our community, and meeting face to face has always been the backbone of their work. As they say; “The challenge is immense – but we know our community needs us more than ever. We will be at the heart of rebuilding our communities when we begin emerge from the immediate crisis – when the lock-down period is over, our community and many of the people in it, will need additional support for some time.”

We at Fisher are proud to have them down at St Paul’s and we hope we can give them a decent day out and a great game of football.

For more information; if you want to help out, or are in need of their services, visit the website and get in touch: https://www.timeandtalents.org.uk