Town Team

Who we are 

The Team has three main areas of activity.
 
West Berkshire Community Hospital Therapy Garden.  We provide leadership of the gardening team, interacting with hospital staff.  The team (more than a dozen strong) was initiated by St Nic’s in 2013 and has developed the Therapy Garden into a space valued by patients, their visitors and hospital staff.
 
Sunday Stalls.  The Team maintains contact with local organisations (mostly CTNA affiliated) doing social / community work and organises their occasional pitch to congregations every couple of months.
 
Charity Coffee Mornings.  The Coffee Mornings have been running on Thursday mornings since the late 1980s.  They offer an opportunity for charities to raise funds and awareness, and they provide a meeting place with reasonably-priced refreshments for the community.  The TOWN Team oversees administration.

Contact us

We have lots to do; please get in touch:
Vivien Staunton    01635 48055   vivienstaunton@hotmail.co.uk
Andy Moore          01635 41026   andy.moore13@outlook.com

West Berks Community Hospital Therapy Garden We have been working hard to help create a garden at the West Berkshire Community Hospital.  The garden is beautiful to look at and provides a therapeutic function for patients with Alzheimer’s and other neurological conditions, as well as those in general convalescence, by involving them in tending the garden.  Plants are incorporated for sensory stimulation to help patients become more connected with the present as well as with past events. Our team of volunteers has grown as have our links with hospital staff and we are seeing the rewards of our work. Would you like to join us?  Email vivienstaunton@hotmail.co.uk or andy.moore13@outlook.com The Chef We have a well-established fruit and vegetable plot. The chef, Frances de la Cruz regularly harvests fresh produce to serve to patients – salad crops, beans and tomatoes. Fruit crumbles are very popular. At the end of the season he meets with Robin Elliott to decide what crops are most needed. Recently ginger and lemongrass were successfully added to the selection. Chrissie We work closely with “Chrissie”, Christine Stockwell, Creative Therapist who is constantly encouraging and inspiring us. She is passionate about giving patients the best possible experience of hospital encouraging them to get out into the garden or greenhouse to help their recovery. Several members of St Nics regularly visit patients and Sandra Reeves uses her specialist skills to help the Friday exercise class, providing valuable support. A new initiative This year members of the gardening team came together with OTs and Physios for horticultural therapy training with Thrive, a leading provided in this field. The staff have compiled a “Wish List” for 2018 to enable more patients to use the garden. We will be working with them to deliver this. A new garden We are also working with Newbury Cancer Care Trust, the Hospital League of Friends and Marks & Spencer to create a new “Rainbow Garden” transforming the view from two of the hospital’s suites. Click here to read testimonials from some volunteers at the WBCH Therapy Garden In June 2020 Berkshire NHS Volunteers (a very wide set of people which includes the Therapy Garden team) received the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service.  'This prestigious National Honour recognises outstanding contributions made to the local communities by volunteers devoting their time, skills and energy for the benefit of others.  It sets a benchmark for excellence in volunteering, with those awarded being judged of the highest standard'. Julian Simms, Chief Executive of Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust  The team was delighted that the Garden won the Green Space category in 2018's NHS Sustainable Health & Care Awards. Click here to read the article.  Please join us St Nicolas is responsible for providing volunteers, predominantly from our congregation, to care for the garden and to assist hospital staff with patient therapy.  We need people to offer occasional help in spring, to prepare, and in autumn, to clear, and others to come perhaps once a week for an hour through the growing season, weeding, planting and watering.  Those helping with patients will be specially trained and cleared and may spend half a day a week in this role.

Charity Coffee Mornings Each Thursday Morning in St Nic’s Hall we provide an opportunity for a charity to run a Coffee Morning to raise some funds for itself and awareness of what it does.  There is a regular clientele, who get modestly priced refreshments, including home-made cakes, and a chance to browse the Bric-a-Brac Stall and pick up a bargain.   St Nic’s provides the host to interface with the charity and a back-up team should a charity be unable to run the morning.   Why not join us?