Harkstead and Lower Holbrook Good Neighbour scheme

Update December 2010

It is now a year since the scheme began and as this anniversary approaches, we will be reaching a landmark 100 calls on our services. These include lifts and accompanying people to surgery and hospital appointments, pet care, shopping, collecting prescriptions, help with village events, company, letter and form writing, information on services and sharing of computer problems.

We are grateful for the financial support given to us in this first year by the Suffolk Foundation, Holbrook Parish Council, Harkstead Parish Council, Ipswich and Peterborough building society, and Suffolk County Council through our Councillor David Wood. We are also grateful to Suffolk ACRE for their support through out.

On 16th December we are meeting in the Bakers Arms, Harkstead, to celebrate and sing a few carols at 7.30 pm. Do join us! The number of volunteers in the scheme is now 40, spread across both Harkstead and Lower Holbrook. Each volunteer has indicated which of a range of tasks they would be happy to be asked for help with. If you have occasion to want assistance with something, even if it's only another pair of hands, 788427 is the number to ring.

Scheme Details

788427 is the number to ring if you need a helping hand.

lt may be that you are away and need pet care, have difficulty picking up some shopping or a prescription, getting to the station when going on holiday or just need a helping hand. With bad weather, many of us used it to phone in lists for shopping which volunteers with 4 wheel drives were able to collect.

Examples of the way the scheme can be used are as follows:

• help in bad weather and emergencies (e.g shopping, help with heat and cooking)
• errands: collecting prescriptions, pensions and shopping
• garden: help with picking and sharing produce; jobs where another pair of hands would be helpful (eg pruning)
• help in the house: e.g. moving furniture, preparing emergency meals or snacks, stacking logs
• help with pet care (may be feeding the cat, if away, or walking the dog if we are ill)
• information on services and charities
• transport: for example to clinic, hospital or Doctors' appointments, or to catch a train, bus or even further afield by agreement.
• help with writing: letters and filling in forms
• short term parking arrangements whilst you have builders in.

Nearly 40 volunteers in the community have volunteered to help, all have been CRB and reference checked. The scheme is for all to use, volunteers as well. lt‘s also potentially an environmentally friendly scheme: it could be used to share journeys, tasks and surplus produce.

We can all use this scheme so please do.

Try it and see! Ring 788427