A friendly community of members helping each other

Covering: St Neots’ Postal Area of PE19 A friendly community of members just waiting to help others

As coordinator of St Neots TimeBank, I would like to publicly thank the Team of helpers that volunteered to help isolated and vulnerable people through the Lockdown. Together they have donated over 250 hours to many non-members in addition to our members. A particular thank you goes to a key member, Jean, who has given her time unreservedly to coordinating the help – phoning, organising & practically.

As the Lockdown slowly and hopefully returns to some normality, the TimeBank will also return to its normal registration of new members. Hopefully, many more will have realised the value of mutual assistance for the offer of many different requests and skills from our

210 members. We will also continue to accept referrals from other care organisations as we

have always done. We’ve had many comments and notes thanking us for stepping up and helping with shopping, prescriptions, gardening, or just a simple phone call, which has given so much joy. All financed by a generous donation from Chorus Homes.

is such a rewarding thing, the joy it brings is so heart-warming.

Total members Total Organisations helping

and referring

Total hours exchanged

HDC’s plans to Opening our towns Local businesses have made preparations to trade

safely and preparations have been made in our high streets to encourage shoppers to return and shop safely with queue markers and posters to promote safe social distancing, being kind and

patient with others • Town Action Plans • free parking whilst lockdown eases • moving markets to create space in our town centres as they become

busy • signage highlighting social distancing message • queue and queue end markers sprayed in environmentally friendly

paint • town ambassadors at peak times to support our retailers and visitors

to have a safe shopping experience • additional street cleaning

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Government Advice to protect people from Scammers posing as Test and Trace There have been some concerns raised regarding scammers using the Test and Trace communications to commit fraud. The government has issued the following important information to help keep people safe: The NHS Test and Trace service will not…….

• Ask for bank details or payment

• Ask for details of any other accounts such as social media

• Ask you to set up a password or PIN number over the phone

• Ask you to call a premium rate number such as starting with 09 or 087

FORTHCOMING FURLOUGH CHANGES Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) key dates for your diary

• From 1st July, we will see the introduction of flexible furlough - employees can work part-time and be furloughed part-time.

• From 1st August, employers will have to pay employees National Insurance contributions and pension contributions, no longer reclaiming through the CJRS

• From 1st September, the government will only reimburse 70% of salary (up to a maximum of £2,190). The employer will then be required to top up to 80% (or more depending on what was agreed with the employee)

• From 1st October, the scheme officially closes on this date.

‘Jigsaw Library’ News At the moment, due to the lockdown we are organising this by phone or online. We have researched the safety of this from Covid19 and providing we do as stated below all will be safe. Health and Safety and Covid19: The dangers of the virus on cardboard - Jigsaws need to be left for at least 24 hours after leaving the other person. So, it’s best to: accept with gloves on and put aside for 24 hours, before enjoying the hobby. We have a 1,000-piece Jigsaw and a set of 4 – 500-piece Jigsaws on offer of loan at the moment. Call 07590 909057 if interested in joining the library.

TimeBank Covid19 Help Our Covid19 team have been making lots of telephone calls during the month. We’ve have also helped a couple of people to get to hospital, one in extreme pain with her knee.

Lots of prescriptions have also been collected and safely taken to the patient. We have also cut several lawns and also tidied a garden so well that the neighbours commented on such a lovely garden. The lady herself was over-joyed and that took away the stress and worry she had about the jungle.

The team have given over 250 hours helping the vulnerable and relieving isolation and they are still continuing to help. Helping is our purpose so if not a member and appreciated the help given, then why not sign up to St Neots TimeBank, no charge, no pressure, just call when you need or offer if you can and want to.

BIT’s and PIECES Load of Rubbish – the average household in England produces more than a

tonne of waste each year. Put together this becomes an estimated UK generated total of 30-40 million tonnes. There are now 5.25 trillion macro and

micro pieces of plastic in our oceans and 46,000 pieces in every square mile of ocean – weighing up to 269,000 tonnes. Every day around 8 million pieces of plastic make their way into our oceans. Fresh Water – Although 70% of the world is covered by water only 2.5% of earths water is ‘fresh’; of that 6% is liquid, 90% is ice (was in 2011), the rest is water vapour in the atmosphere, 98% of this liquid fresh water is underground. The amount of water on earth has remained the same since the planet was created approximately 4.6 billion years ago, maybe even older. 7.8 billion people is the number of people in the world according to the June 2020 count by United Nations estimates elaborated by Worldmeter. (The population reached 7 billion in 2011, was 2.5 billion in 1950 and 1.8 billion in 1900. I cannot say accurately how many after Covid19 – but the number has reduced by 463,250 known deaths, but number of births unknown.

Know Your Plastics (Part 2)

Type: Known as:

What it's used in: Can it be recycled? What does it look like?

Polypropylene PP

05

Butter and Margarine tubs, clean fresh soap containers, some bottle caps and glass jar caps

Not generally recycled

Will shatter into strips if compressed. Caps usually too hard to flex

Polystyrene or styrofoam

PS

06

Yoghurt pots, insulated disposable cups, some trays and parcel packaging

Not generally recycled

A thick tough plastic which will spring back if bent, caps can usually be flexed

Polycarbonate, Acrylic, Styrene, Perspex

Other

07

Reading glasses, CDs and DVDs and cases, some electrical connections and wiring, general household plastics

Reuse of individual items more likely avoid placing in your recycling unless specifically instructed to do so

More fragile and will crack and/or stay bent if stressed, bottles make a ‘crinkle’ cracking sound if squeezed. The majority of these plastics are very tough and are likely to shatter if pressure is applied

Illuminate Online Course

Thursday 2nd July

4 Changing Mindset – Noticing the Positive; join us for a gentle interactive session looking at how our beliefs affect our view of the world and a simple way of seeing the positive through questioning.

11.00 – 12.30 with a 10 minute break

To apply for any of the above please complete the online form at https://illuminatecharity.org.uk/applicationform.php and stating what they/you are interested in. There is no

referral form. Any queries please contact Maria or Sam – info@illuminatecharity.org.uk

Easy fund-raising: If you're not supporting St Neots TimeBank yet on

#easyfundraising please get involved! You can shop online with over 4,200 retailers and raise free donations for us at the same time! Sign up now:

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Thank you to everyone shopping through easyfundraising and raising donations for St Neots TimeBank with #easyfundraising! If you haven't signed up yet, it's easy

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Every donation you raise makes a difference to us so please sign up today.

So far, we have raised £170.04 just through

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Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service is urging residents to take

extra care while outdoors this summer. With temperatures rising,

fires in open areas of land can easily spread and become out of

control. There are some simple steps we urge residents to take to

help prevent an outdoor fire:

1. Put disposable barbecues on bricks, do not place directly on grass.

2. Ensure cigarettes are completely out.

3. Do not throw cigarettes out of car windows onto grass verges or vegetation.

4. Do not leave glass bottles lying on the ground, the sun’s rays reflect through the glass

and can start a fire.

5. Use barbecues on a hard, flat surface, away from grass, shrubs or fencing.

6. Talk to your children about the dangers of starting a fire. We are responsible for delivering a fire and rescue service to the 700,000 people of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. The Fire Service Headquarters is based in Huntingdon and houses the senior management team, our control room and central operational team.

We have 76+ skills that members are offering, these are just a few:

PhotographyPicture Framing

Plant Watering Plastering Plumbing Poetry

Check out our member friendly Data Base

TimeOnLine2 https://tol2.timebanking.org/stneots

Disability Aids – Time4 Health We now have several disability items to loan out to our members, to help them over difficult times. This has already helped quite a few members overcome their accidents or operations. We have 3 push along wheelchairs and one self-propelled wheelchair. Two walkers with a small table and shelf. A wedge cushion to alleviate back pain A large Walker with seat (blue) A large Walker with seat and shopper Adjustable walking stick Crutches Over bed tables Perch stool Bed rest for pillows Plus, a motorized Buggy These items are for short term loan until you are better or have purchased your own.

Contact the coordinator – there is a £25 deposit on some items, such as for wheelchairs to cover maintenance cost. For our buggy, there will also be a small weekly charge plus

£50 deposit. Both deposits returnable if no damage.

Change some of your hours for TEMPO VOUCHERS Save them for a treat after this lockdown period

To learn more about Tempo call 07590 909057

other than exchanging skills we can also help

by offering Members ‘no longer wanted’ items to give pleasure to someone that needs them. So far, many items of furniture and gifts have changed hands and

made ‘space’ for someone and ‘joy’ for the person receiving. Recently some beds found new homes. Also, it’s saved money by giving the goods many more years

of service instead of being dumped.

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service With this hot weather forecast don’t take risks near rivers and lakes - If you

should see someone in trouble in water

please help:

• Do not hesitate - call 999

immediately with clear details of your

location. Request fire service if inland.

• Try to reach out to them with a stick

or belt, keeping low so you do not get

pulled into the water yourself.

• Send someone to the nearest road

to flag down the emergency services

when they arrive and direct them to the incident.

• Find the nearest life ring and throw it to the person. If a life ring is not

available, throw in anything that could help them float.

• If someone goes under the water, mark on the water’s edge the place

they were last seen with something like a piece of clothing.

• Download the free what3words app so that emergency services can

help pinpoint your location in hard to find areas.

https://www.lakesidestneots.co.uk/news“

If not online then text or call 07590 909057 for a printout.”

https://www.facebook.com/timebankstneots

https://twitter.com/StNeotsTimeBank

Phone 07590 909057 or email:time.volunteers@outlook.com

www.stneotstimebank.org.uk

If you wish to exchange hours for Tempo Vouchers, contact the co-ordinator. Free entry into many venues across England and Wales in exchange for helping others

We are all Volunteer Members – giving our time freely. We raise our own funds from events

etc and apply for funding from various providers for the bigger things. We would like to thank

all those that have helped us financially to continue helping others and reaching the success

that we have. We couldn’t have done it without the backing of organisations such as these…

See our website for all the organisations that have helped us over the years

We have recently been given a donation from Chorus Homes – to cover

out of pocket expenses that our members may incur by helping the

vulnerable people of PE19 stay isolated and to provide them with the

necessary things in life during the Covid19 Lockdown.

Would you like to become a TimeBank Helper?

Want to know more? Phone 07590 909057

If you wish to unsubscribe then phone 07590 909057 or Email: time.volunteers@outlook.com