Watford New Hope Trust

A big thank you to
Medtronic who raised £150 for us at their curry and quiz night recently. Medtronic's support of the Trust is an example of our increasing involvement with local and national companies and the mixing corporate responsibility with fun!

Medronic would also like to pass on thanks to SAE, Software Technics and Workspace Interiors for sponsoring the event

We're sad to say goodbye
to Julie Dunster, funding officer and Phil Hendy, Sanctuary manager and wish them well in their new jobs. Julie will be returning to the Building Research Establishment in Garston and Phil to the Salvation Army in Reading. All the best for the future and thanks for the amazing work they did for the Trust.

Help from Henry Smith
We have recently received a grant from Henry Smith Charity. It will cover the wages for the manager at The Haven day centre for the next three years. This is a great success for the Trust and congratulations to Julie Dunster, Joy Ross all others involved in the application of this grant.

Market Garden success
The Market Garden has reached record sales figures thanks to the production and sales of summer bedding plants during 2007. Congratulations to all the staff and clients for their hard work.

The Market Garden is also now selling winter bedding plants.

For a full list of available produce please visit the Market Garden shop

The Annual Report online
The 2007 Annual Report is now available to download online in a PDF format.

If you have any problems opening the report as a PDF please ensure you have the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader. This can be downloaded for free from the Adobe Website.

Young Hornet takes the plunge
The success of the abseil continues to be reflected with great publicity in the media. We would like to thank to Watford football club who ran this article on their website and Edwin Maldoom who was featured in it.

Read The Article

Online registration now available
We now have the facility to register online for events and news about the Trust.

There are a number of events available; from abseiling to the London marathon.  This service also allows you to pick exactly what communication you receive from us; from annual reports & news letters to our monthly prayer diary.

An Abseiling Success
‘It was a blustery day for Watford New Hope Trust's third sponsored abseil event last Sunday. Over 50 people of all ages completed the 90ft abseil down the side of the Harlequin shopping centre and made the event a great success.

Those taking part varied from a group of staff from Barratt North London, four hairdressers from local salon, 'Clipso', several colleagues from the West Herts Youth Offending Team, a trio from South West Herts Probation team and a vicar.

Several donned outfits including the youngest person, Kazia MacSherry a pupil at Maple Cross JMI, in a spiderman costume! Kazia completed the challenge with Ivy Webster who was the oldest person to abseil on the day. Ivy and Kazia, who had both never abseiled before, made a textbook descent’

Thank you to all who supported the event especially The Harlequin Centre, Wild Track and High Rise Scaffolding and for more details please visit our Press Releases page.

Please visit the Gallery for a selection of pictures from the event!

A Christmas thank you
to Rickmansworth Rotary Club for their kind donation of £500 in advance their fund raising quiz night. The money is greatly appreciated and will go towards Christmas meals for clients at a number of our projects.

The Manse ... open for business
‘The Manse’ (a three bed house) has now opened to provide additional Trust accommodation.

Located at the rear of New Hope House in central Watford it will be a valuable addition to the support the project currently provides. This will provide the next step for New Hope House clients as they move towards independent living whilst still being afforded access to support.

Funding for the conversion was provided through The Housing Corporation in conjunction with the Salvation Army Housing Association, (SAHA).

10th Anniversary Celebrations at The Haven
The Haven day centre celebrated its' 10th Anniversary this week with a barbeque for clients and invited guests. The Haven originally opened its' doors in July 1997 after more than100 local and international volunteers worked for 9 months on the imaginative and ecological self build project. Today, The Haven serves tea, coffee, cake and a hot meal at lunchtime to up to 75 vulnerable and disadvantaged people a day. The elected mayor, Dorothy Thornhill who attended the event said,

"There should be a Watford New Hope Trust in every town. They do great work and are good neighbours in the community."

The day centre offers far more than just refreshments there are also showers, clean clothes and laundry facilities available. Clients can attend any of the five different workshops including art, computing, and cookery, during the week as well as receive emergency housing advice and other services.

New Chief Executive, Mike Smith marked the occasion by thanking the staff for all their hard work. Joy Ross who is the Manager of The Haven said,

Entertaining Angels
To be published on 7 September, Entertaining Angels by Janet Hosier and Liza Hoeksma - Janet's story about the beginning of her lifetime's work with the homeless of Watford.

The book tells of how Janet and Sheila Meaning unwittingly start a journey that has, perhaps more than anything else, united the churches and statutory services of Watford to produce Hertfordshire's largest charity for the homeless. It tells of how two ordinary housewives used their faith to find a way to deliver a better future, building hope and self esteem for some of the most marginalised and vulnerable individuals of Watford. Starting with a handful of homeless guys being cared for once a week at St Mary's Church, moving on to meals and television in Janet's home, then to a café in coaches on a derelict town centre site, the work grows into a charity that now helps over 800 homeless people a year.

The book will rock the world of many of its readers.

Available from Watford New Hope Trust's Charity Shop in Queens Road, Watford or at Amazon UK.

Entertaining Angels published by Kingsway on 7 September.
ISBN 978-1-842913-33-8

All proceeds from the book go to
Watford New Hope Trust.

The Big 'Herts' Walk
This year we are proud to announce that Watford New Hope Trust will be one of the featured charities at The Big 'Herts' Walk.

It will be taking place on Sunday 16th September at Cassiobury Park in Watford. There will be a 3k or 10k walk taking place to cater for all ages and abilities.

Please more details please go to The Big 'Herts' Walk or call 0800 3766029 or email info@bighertswalk.org.uk

Harvest time
With Harvest on the horizon please take time to have a look at the new Harvest section of our website. Here you will find all the information that you need to help us during one of the most important times of our year.

"Identifying Our Skills and Qualities"
On August 8th 2007 3 day centre clients successfully completed a 4 week course in "Identifying Our Skills and Qualities - part 1". The course took place at the Haven day centre on Wednesday mornings and was run by ASCEND's Career Advisor / Guidance Worker, Morag Willsher. The course was a great success and Part 2 has already started!

A really big thank you to Morag for her amazing encouragement and support.

Please visit our Gallery for the photos!

Live on the BBC
BBC 2's show The Daily Politics was filmed live from The Community Home and The Market Garden earlier this summer. The segment of the show called Neighbourhood Watch with Giles Dilnot focuses on projects and organisations and the benefits they have on the local community.

It is now possible to view the show online!

Market Garden shop update
There is now an updated list of produce available at the Market Garden Shop including Courgettes, Spinach and a range of herbs.

Don't forget that there is a list of services and prices for the Wood and Furniture Recycling Shop also available.

Outward Bound
'We came back far more confident of our abilities, far more tolerant of each other... and really appreciated the fantastic time', New Hope House client. This summed up the success of the outward bound course at the YMCA National Centre in the Lake District. 10 clients from across the Trust as well as 2 staff and a volunteer spent a week there earlier in the year.

Events included Kayaking, rock climbing, Pico sailing and a high ropes course. Please visit the Outward Bound Gallery.

We would like to thank Watford Borough Council for part funding of the event.

Sponsored abseil coming soon!
We will be holding our next sponsored abseil on Sunday 16th September at the Harlequin Centre. Join us for this exhilarating 90 ft descent and help raise funds for the Trust. To sign up please email wnht.tickets@gmail.com or call Pete on 01923 227132.

For online sponsorship please use justgiving

Watford New Hope Trust
held it's Annual General Meeting on 10th July 2007. For full details of the meeting the minutes are available as a Word Document.

Download AGM Minutes

The Haven is 10
Congratulations and happy birthday to The Haven day centre. September will see the 10th anniversary of the construction of the centre when it replaced the coaches that were used for the first 7 years on the same site.

In this time The Haven day centre has provided for up to 70 clients a day; so potentially, a staggering 220,000 meals have been served over the last decade. We also wish the current staff all the best with such a challenging job to do.

If you would like to make any donations to The Haven day centre please contact Wade Dingle by emailing wdingle@wnht.org

11 clients, 4 staff, 1 week
The Tenancy Sustainment Team (TST) have recently returned from a weeks trip to the Lake District. An exhausting but very successful holiday took them to Dalegarth Guest House on Lake Buttermere. Activities include sailing, swimming and a steam train journey.

Thank you to Ramblers Worldwide Holidays who kindly provided the holiday for free.

Volunteers required at The Haven
We are currently looking for extra volunteers at The Haven day centre. Saturday positions are the most needed at the moment. Work will include helping out in the kitchen or spending time interacting with clients.

Please contact Sian Rolls on 01923 210680 or email srolls@wnht.org

Watford New Hope Trust
has appointed Mike Smith as its new Chief Executive.

For the last twelve years Mike has worked in the charity sector achieving considerable strategic and operational change, generated new income streams and developed new partnership arrangements. At Westminster Abbey he was Assistant Chief Executive responsible for the design and implementation of Recovering the Calm, an award-winning project that enhanced the quality of visitor experience and touched every part of the Abbey's life. He moved on to lead a North London charity committed to providing high quality support for those living with cancer.

In the commercial world Mike has led large management service teams with some of the largest names in the UK's leisure and retail sectors. He was a non-executive director with Ealing Family Housing Association (now part of Catalyst Housing Group), and formerly a volunteer at Open Door when it first opened its doors to the homeless in St Albans. By training Mike is a chartered accountant.

Mike and family live in St Albans. His wife Fiona is a teacher, Katriona has just finished her first year as a zoology at Bristol University, and Phil is a keen sportsman at Beaumont School. They worship at Trinity United Reformed Church.

Chief Executive, Basil Lazenby
Retired on Friday 20 July 2007 following more than ten years with the Trust. WNHT Trustees and Staff appreciate his dedication and hard work over this period, together with the support he gave to staff and clients alike. During his leadership the Trust developed services and expanded client support. We wish him well in retirement following his hard earned service. His friendship and sense of humour will be missed!

A New Trustee
We would also like to welcome Mike Jones who joins us as the latest addition to our Trustees. Mike is also a regular volunteer at The Haven day centre.

Drug Awareness Month
August at The Haven day centre will be drug awareness month. For information and support we would like to thank Turning Point Hertsreach and the Drug Interventions Programme (DIP) who will be working with the clients and Herts Young Homeless Group (HYHG) who will supply additional staff training.

Now open 5 days a week
We are please to announce that the Wood and Furniture Recycling scheme will now be opening on Fridays. This will enable the project to extend their support to clients to an extra day as well as improve services to the public. The opening hours will now be 10am - 4pm (lunch 12:30pm - 1.30pm) Monday - Friday.

Live on the BBC
BBC 2's show The Daily Politics was filmed live from The Community Home and The Market Garden this week. The segment of the show called Neighbourhood Watch with Giles Dilnot focuses on projects and organisations and the benefits they have on the local community.

Thank you to everyone at The Daily Politics as well as all staff and clients of the Trust who were involved in making this a successful day.

Coming soon we hope to have a streaming and downloadable version of the show available here!

3 Peaks Challenge to help the Trust
A group of six students from Watford will be attempting the 3 Peaks Challenge in early July to raise money for the Trust.

The 3 Peaks Challenge is a recognised trek that involves climbing the highest peaks in Scotland, England and Wales; Ben Nevis (1344 metres), Scarfell Pike (978 metres) and Snowdon (1085 metres) respectively, within 24 hours.

Katie Roby, Cathy Freeman, Megan Sanders, Chris Ambrose, Tristan Glenn and Sam Wells will be camping near Ben Nevis in Scotland on Friday 6th July before beginning their assent of the UK's highest mountain late on Saturday afternoon. They then plan to then travel overnight to the Lake District to climb Scarfell Pike in the early hours of Sunday morning before travelling to Wales to make it up and down Snowdon to complete the challenge by late afternoon - within the 24 hour time limit they have set.

To support us and the team please sponsor them
on justgiving!

Plants for sale at The Wood and Furniture
Recycling Scheme
With refurbishment work taking place on the outside of the Charity Shop (67 Queens Road), the Market Garden's plants have been moved to The Wood and Furniture Recycling Scheme (87 Queens Road). Work will be continuing until approximately the end of July. Please keep checking with Latest News for any updates.

Though there is work taking place, the Charity Shop it is open as usual.

Everyclick can help
On our website there is a link to everyclick. This is a search engine similar to Google or Yahoo but with an important difference!

everyclick allocates 50% of its gross revenue to charity each month. Each active charity receives a proportion of that sum equivalent to the proportion in which its supporters use the website relative to the supporters of other active charities.

So the more we use the more we make...simple

(It's also a great idea to set everyclick as your homepage)

New Sponsored events available
We now have available a range of regular local and national sponsored events including running and cycling. Please go to the Events page for all the details. There will be new events added all the time so keep and eye out!

Quiz night success
To help raise funds for the Community home's client's holiday there was a quiz night held recently at Bushey Baptist Church. The event was a great success with over £400 raised by the 70 participants in the event. This will pay for the entire canal boat holiday for the residents. Thank you to everyone who supported the event and we wish the Community Home a safe and enjoyable holiday.

Sponsorship with justgiving
Now available are 3 new fundraising events on the on-line sponsorship site: justgiving.  The events are the Sponsored walk, abseil and sleepout.

With justgiving, you can set up your own sponsorship or donations page to collect donations online from friends and family all over the world. They can sponsor you securely, quickly and easily with a credit or debit card.

Remember that justgiving allows you to set up your own sponsored event and not just enter one of ours!

A successful open day
We would like to thank all of you who attended the Market Gardening and Wood and Furniture recycling scheme open day yesterday. This proved to be great opportunity to meet some of the clients and staff that work at both of these projects. Sales of plants from the Market Garden and a range of products from the Wood and Furniture recycling we very successful and funds raised will help us to continue our work.

We would also like to thank the support of staff who were available to attend from other projects and departments across the Trust.

Market Garden Shop update
There is now a new selection of plants available from the Market Garden Shop. Please click here to see the latest range of produce that include Cucumber plants, Poppies, Marigolds, a selection of herbs and a whole lot more!

A gift from Three Rivers District Council.
We are extremely grateful to Three Rivers District Council who have awarded the Trust £2,500 from the Stronger Safer Communities Funding 2007/08.

This will help fund the extended opening hours at the Haven day centre and the night shelter

And a gift from Watford Borough Council.
We are extremely grateful to Watford Borough Council who have awarded the Trust £3,500 from the Annual Funding Programme 2007/08.

This will help fund an Outward Bound personal awareness course for clients from New Hope House and the Sanctuary

April 2007 news letter out now
Our latest news letter is on the way and now also available to viewor download from our website. Please click on the following link to open the letter as a PDF. For more details or to comment on any of the articles please email wnht.tickets@gmail.com.

April Newsletter 2007 PDF

An Easter thank you
For all the additional support and donations over the Easter period we would like to say thanks to the following:

• Waitrose
• The Co-op
• Marks & Spencer
• Soul Survivor
• GE Money, Home & Lending
• DH Mitchell & Sons
• Sainsbury's Watford

A Healthy Haven
Continuing the Healthy Haven year, April is the 'feet awareness' month. One of the most common ailments of homelessness is the lack of washing facilities, regular changes of socks and the availability of good quality shoes.  This results in many cases of athletes foot, bunions and dry skin. The Haven provides socks, washing facilities and there will be a chiropodist visiting to advise clients.

May will be focusing on dental and oral hygiene.

Donations of socks, shoes, foot and dental treatments are welcome at the Day Centre (4 Whippendell Road, Watford).

Thanks to the Harlequin
Thank you to the Harlequin centre for the kind donation of £250 to the Trust. The donation was specifically directed to The Haven day centre. The Harlequin has regularly shown an interest in the Trust and on Sunday 16th September we will be holding our annual sponsored abseil there. If you wish join us for this event please email wnht.tickets@gmail.com

A gift from Watford Health Trust
We are very grateful to Watford Health Trust who have awarded Watford New Hope Trust the sum of £250.

This grant has helped to purchase a much needed breathalyser for the night shelter.

The Gwyneth Forrester Trust
We are indebted to the Gwyneth Forrester Trust who have awarded Watford New Hope Trust the sum of £25,000.

This grant is in support of the magnificent work that Watford New Hope Trust do for homeless people

Going, Going, Gone!
Last Saturday night not only the moon disappeared in a spectacular lunar eclipse but over 40 generously donated items were snapped up at Watford New Hope Trust's auction, dinner and dance. More than one hundred and fifty people attended the charity event held at the Metropolitan Police Sports Club in Bushey, including Councillor Alan Burtenshaw and his wife Ellie. The auction was conducted by local auctioneer John Barraclough and raised over £5,000 on the night.

Chairman of the Trust, Tim Robson whose table of guests bid enthusiastically for several items said, "It's been a really enjoyable evening and a highly successful fundraising event for the Trust."

Later there was dancing to live music to round off the evening provided by 'Mid Life Crisis'.

We would like to say a big thank you to the following people and organisations that so generously donate items for the auction: Gordon Banks, Phil Bassett, Borders(London Colney and Watford) , Simon Brown, Cha Cha Cha, Glenn Coltmann, The Coronation Street cast, Peter Gardner , The Grove, The Football Association, Mick Hamilton, Harvest Mouse, Herts Hire , Hilton Hotels, The Kingsize Blues band, Lalbag Indian Restaurant, Peter Lincoln , Hugh Lloyd, Tony Lock, Vernon Maldoon, Lisa and George Miles , Our Price Records, Wendi Peters, Presence, Ramblers Holidays , Saracens Foundation, South West Herts Narrowboat Project, Roger Stewart,Gill Strevens, Claire Ward , Watford Football Club, Watford Palace Theatre, West Herts Golf Club.

Christmas designs for the Trust
Children from local schools helped to design a Christmas card for Claire Ward which was sold in aid of her chosen charity, Watford New Hope Trust last Christmas. Local Labour MP Claire Ward said,

"I chose Watford New Hope Trust because I wanted the children to think about the issues surrounding homelessness in Watford and how fortunate most of us are at Christmas."

The production of the card was paid for by seven local sponsors including Camelot, Medtronic, The Harlequin Shopping Centre, Saracens, Sigma Pharmaceuticals, Brasier Harris and Total UK. Claire Ward and her sponsors presented cheques totalling £2,100 to the Director of the Trust, Basil Lazenby outside the Charity shop in Queens Road last week.

Positions now available
There are currently several posts available at the Trust in a range of different job roles. 

Please click here for full details of our current vacancies.

Thank you to Dapper
A big thanks to Dapper in Watford who have donated a range of items to our Charity shop at 67 Queens Road, Watford.  There are approximately 25 grey Morning Suits (for £50 each), 20 dark blue and bottle green tailed jackets and 10 various coloured velvet jackets.  For more details and all prices please call Polly on 01923 236698 or pop into the shop.

To visit Dapper online click here

A bigger Haven
An extension to The Haven day centre has now begun construction.  The work planned will enable the project to improve the service to clients considerably by expanding office space and creating a new counselling suite. The project is due for completion in the middle of March. Funding has come from the Mental Health Supported Capital Expenditure (Revenue) MHCSE(R) budget of Hertfordshire County Council.

More beds soon
Planning has now begun on converting 'The Manse' (a three bed house) into additional Trust accommodation. Located at the rear of New Hope House in central Watford it will be a valuable addition to the support the project currently provides. Funding has come through The Housing Corporation in conjunction with the Salvation Army Housing Association, (SAHA).

A gift from The Fitton Trust
We are very grateful to The Fitton Trust who have awarded Watford New Hope Trust the sum of £300.

This grant will help support the Women's group at the Haven day centre.

A Healthy Haven
2007 is the start of a new monthly health promotion at The Haven day centre. January staff are finding ways to encourage and inform clients about healthy eating with posters, presentations and a serving of porridge each morning. February will look at the dangers of smoking and ways to stop. (Donations of porridge are welcome during January).

• British Nutrition Foundation
• 5 A Day
• Foods Standard Agency
• ASH
• BUPA

Homelessness Sunday - Sunday 28th January
'Homelessness Sunday is an annual event which has been run by the Homelessness Sunday Partnership for over 15 years. It is usually held on the last Sunday in January.

Homelessness Sunday brings together thousands of churches drawing attention to the devastating effects of homelessness.

Through prayer and reflection Homelessness Sunday offers an opportunity to listen to what God has to say about homelessness, and to consider what action we are being called to take.

Together, with faith, we can repair the hurt of homelessness and build both homes and lives.'

For more details on Homelessness Sunday please click here

A fond farewell...and welcome aboard
The New Year has seen several recent changes of staff.  We would like to wish Kirstin, Jon, David and Chris all the best for the future and thank them for all the time they have dedicated to the Trust.

At the same time welcome to Annette and Becks who will be joining the team at The Haven day centre, Sha at the The Sanctuary night shelter and Lucie the new funding team manager.

(If you are interested in getting involved with the Trust please check our Vacancies and Volunteers sections).

An Olive branch
A new company was launched this month and specializes in an exclusive range of luxury hampers and picnic boxes. Andy Kemp, a local businessman, has set up The Nascot Olive Company and this week donated one of his hampers and pledged a percentage of his sales income to Watford New Hope Trust.

Andy Kemp is a man with vision and a dream and is keen to encourage other like minded companies to share their profits with charities. He believes it would be a breath of fresh air if companies with means actively approached the charities instead of charities having to search for funds.

Stuart Singleton, Assistant Director of Watford New Hope Trust, who received the hamper said,

'We are always delighted when people support the work we are doing and this is a very generous donation.'

Apart from the seasonal Christmas fare there are also hampers for special occasions, sporting events, outdoor theatre and summer concerts. Two local charities including Watford New Hope Trust will benefit from the contribution of 10% of all sales.

The hampers are available now and can be ordered online at www.nascotoliveco.co.uk

Help from Watford Grammar School for Boys
Head teacher Martin Post at Watford Grammar School for Boys presented a sizeable cheque to the Watford New Hope Trust this week. In November the School held a week of fundraising events and raised over £1,400 for the Trust.

The Chairman of the school Christian Union, David Newton and the Deputy Head teacher Mark Allchorn co-ordinated a series of activities throughout the week including a fun run, busking and pavement painting. The school has a very strong tradition of debating and the society set aside their Thursday debate to discuss the issues around the causes of homelessness.

David Jamieson, the Community Funding Officer for Watford New Hope Trust, who spoke about the work of the Trust during the week and went to collect the cheque said,

'It's quite remarkable how much money has been raised. Thank you for all your hard work and support. It is truly appreciated by all of us who are involved with the work of Watford New Hope Trust and especially by our clients.

Thank you to local retailers
A really big thank you to:

• Dome roundabout Sainsbury's
• Dome roundabout ASDA
• St Albans Road CO-OP
• Hartspring Lane COSTCO

All of whom donated food for our Tenancy Sustainment Team clients' special Christmas meal.

A Sleepout Success
The Sleepout was a great success on the night as we had over 240 people who actually slept out over night in just their sleeping bags, plus 44 volunteers and the St John Ambulance to help with the overnight care, security and feeding of such an army of people. We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who took part or volunteered their time to make the event the success it was.

To see an exclusive video of the Sleepout please visit the Watford Observer website by clicking on the link below:

www.watfordobserver.co.uk/news/video/index.var.1549.0.0.php

A gift from Chelsea Building Society Charitable Foundation.
We are very grateful to Chelsea Building Society Charitable Foundation who have awarded the Trust the sum of £500. This grant will enable the Wood and Furniture Recycling Project to purchase a much needed radial arm saw.

A Harvest Thank You
Watford New Hope Trust would like to thank all Schools, Churches and Friends who have collected harvest for us this year. It has been a great success and the projects and their clients would like to pass on their appreciation.

Your harvest gifts and donations allow us to stock up for the coming year throughout all the Trust's projects and keep our bills for food and other necessities to an absolute minimum.

If anyone would like to get involved in the Harvest in 2007 please contact Jamie on 01923 210680, email jamie@wnht.org or write to Jamie at Watford New Hope Trust, 67 Queens Road, Watford, Herts. WD17 2QN.

Watford Sleepout hits the front page
Promotion of the Watford Sleepout was greatly helped  with front page coverage by the Watford Free Observer (Thursday, November 2, 2006 weekly edition).

Sporting a photograph of St Luke's Church  youth leader, Neil Brookes racing Jamie from Watford New Hope Trust in sleeping bags through the town centre the article continues to help raise awareness of the event.

The Watford New Hope Trust Sleepout, in which 350 people are expected to participate in, will take place on Friday, November 24, at St Mary's Church following the tree lighting and carol concert in St Mary's square.

Registration will take place from 8.30pm until 11pm on the night and the event will finish the following morning at 7am.

Watford New Hope Trust team up with www.everyclick.com

Every time you search or shop online you can now raise money for the charity, so please make www.everyclick.com your home page.

The more you use www.everyclick.com the more money you will help generate for Watford New Hope Trust.

Some of our supporters are helping us spread the word by adding a simple PS to all of their emails. If you would like to do the same - that would be great.

The Hertfordshire PVI Workforce Development Brokerage (Herts County Council) help the homeless.
A really big thank you to the The Hertfordshire PVI Workforce Development Brokerage who awarded Watford New Trust £7814.60.

This will fund skills development and essential training for frontline staff at Watford New Hope Trust, DENS and GROW in the following areas:

• Needs and risk assessment
• Security, health and safety
• Protection from abuse

Winter Pansies now available
Beautiful Winter Pansies are now available in mixed colours to brighten up your winter months at 50p per pot.  

Visit the Charity Shop, 67 Queens Road, Watford to choose your own or telephone The Market Garden Project on 01923 831923 to place an order, (please leave a message at the weekend).  Delivery service available.

Christmas Cards
It's that time of year again and we have three lovely designs for you to choose from.

Like last year the cards have been adapted and produced by Woodmansterne Publications Ltd, a Watford based family run company and long term supporter of the Trust. Each card design is pre-packed in groups of ten cards and still at last year's price of £3.50 a pack. These are available to buy at the Charity Shop or you can order them online by downloading the form and posting it to us: 

Christmas Card Descriptions
Christmas Card Order Form

Alternatively please ring 01923 227132.

Jamie takes the plunge from the Harlequin Centre
It was a glorious day for Watford New Hope Trust's second sponsored abseil event run by Wildtrack last Sunday. Over 50 people of all ages took part in the abseil and made the event a great success.

Those taking part varied from a group of hairdressers from local barbers, 'Headhunters', to several teachers, soap star Wendi Peters, a councillor, and two vicars.

Several donned outfits ranging from angel wings to a sleeping bag, hat and scarf!

Although it was a sweltering day David Jamieson,'Jamie' to his friends was on a mission as the only person to abseil in a sleeping bag with Wildtrack in their thirty year history. His purpose was to promote the first ever Watford Sleepout event taking place on 24th November at St Mary's Church Watford.

After completing the slightly tricky abseil a rather warm Jamie said,
"It was incredibly hot, but exhilarating. I seem to end up in some strange places in order to help the homeless. Today I'm trussed up in a sleeping bag dangling from a rope to publicise the Watford Sleepout in November."

Even the most nervous were able to overcome their fears and take the plunge. However one person who thoroughly enjoyed the challenge and raised over £1000 sponsorship was Polly Barton, the manager of the Charity shop who said,
"It was exciting and so much fun. I had lots of support from friends who made it an experience not to be missed!"

Many of the participants raised well over the minimum sponsorship and have helped to raise over £5,000 for the charity.

Director of Watford New Hope Trust, Basil Lazenby who also abseiled on the day said,
"I'd like to say a big thank you to all those who have taken part today. It’s been fantastic and helped to bring hope to the homeless."

Coronation Street star takes the plunge
Wendi Peters aka Cilla Brown from Coronation Street will be joining fundraisers on the roof of the Harlequin Centre in Watford on Sunday 10 September to take part in our Sponsored Abseil. Wendi is planning to make the 90ft descent at 3.00pm and to support others raising money for the Trust.

There are a limited number of places available is you would like to take part so please call 01923 210680 or email wnht.tickets@gmail.com to request an application form.

Recent changes to our Events programme
Please note that there have been several changes to our Events programme (click on Events for full details).

Our next Event is the Sponsored Abseil on Sunday 10th September, a 90 ft descent from the roof of the Harlequin Centre. Please contact us if you wish to take part and we will send out a registration form to you. Either call 01923 210680 or email wnht.tickets@gmail.com to request a form.

It is now possible to use Justgiving's online sponsorship forms to raise money for the Sponsored Abseil, click on the Justgiving logo below to set up your own fundraising page!

Hilton headquarters help homeless
From marathons, triathlons and 10km runs to quiz nights, picnics and auctions, staff at the Hilton hotel headquarters at Maple Court in Watford have been working hard to raise money for young people.  They have recently donated £1,500 to the Watford New Hope Trust, which provides help to homeless people in the town.

Simon Sheehan, the Director of the Foundation commented: "I am delighted that Hilton colleagues have chosen such a worthwhile cause to support in the local community.  Having a place to call home is such an integral part of life, and something most of us take for granted.  If young people at risk of homelessness or already homeless can be guided and helped then this is a very worthwhile cause".

Hilton hotels have their own dedicated charity, the Hilton in the Community Foundation, through which funds are granted to projects assisting disadvantaged young people in education and health.  Local links are a vital part of this.  Maple Court has also recently granted £2,800 to Breakspeare special school in Abbots Langley.

A gift from Yorkshire Building Society
Charitable Foundation
We are very grateful to Yorkshire Building Society Charitable Foundation who have awarded the Trust the sum of £600.

This grant has enabled New Hope House to purchase a much needed new pool table.

A Helping Hand From The Police...
We are extremely grateful to the Hertfordshire Police Authority for awarding the Trust the sum of £3,000 from the Police Authority Initiatives Fund.

This grant is to go towards the utility costs at the Day Centre and Night Shelter for providing extended opening hours.

...And A Gift From The Council
Our thanks also to Hertsmere Borough Council who have awarded the Trust a grant of £300 towards the cost of purchasing a much needed new PC for the funding department.

A Thank You To B&Q Watford
A really big thank you to B&Q Watford, who through their Better Neighbour Grant scheme kindly donated £100 of goods for our Market Gardening Project. We were absolutely thrilled with the bags of organic compost, gardening gloves and secateurs. Special thanks go to Paul Rowles from B&Q who orgainsed the grant and helped us load up our van!