17 Dec Sharing that warm feeling – community awards & warm spaces

NOMINATIONS continue to come in for the Torbay Community Champion Awards, but we look forward to receiving more.

Deadline for nominations is midnight on Sunday, January 4^th, but don’t leave it until the last minute, as Christmas and New Year might mean you forget.

So far, there is a good spread across the nine categories, though we would like to see more in the Emergency Worker of the Year Award, which was last year won by Angie Manning from What’s Your Problem. However, it is a broad category and could well feature someone from the RNLI, coastguard, ambulance, fire service or the police, that is up to you.

We could also do with a few more nominations in the Volunteering Team category, where there must be potential winners turning out every week, not least in the hundreds of amateur sports clubs across the Bay. It was won last year by the H.M. Toray Coastguard Team, so again it is wide open.

Many thanks to all our sponsors – Wollens – Full Spectrum Law, Steve Darling MP, South Devon College, Cantina, Torbay Council, the Torbay Weekly and Steve Barriball.

The most important thing is to go to the Torbay Communities website as soon as you can to make sure that the special volunteer or VCSE worker gets the thanks and praise that they deserve.

SEEMS hard to believe, but we are fast approaching the shortest day of the year, and it is onwards and upwards thereafter. Probably.

We still fondly associate Christmas with plunging temperatures and even snow, but in this part of the world, that is highly unlikely, particularly given that, as I write, temperatures have only briefly dipped below 12 degrees.

Nonetheless, we need to put plans in place for the colder days that lie ahead, even if that might not apply this year to Christmas Day. Thankfully, people will not be choosing between a meal on the table and putting the heating on.

But we know those days will surely come as Winter finally shows its true colours, and again this year there will be designated Warm Spaces across Torbay where people can be sure of a cosy welcome, accompanied by some hearty food.

Funded by the award of grants to community partners, warm spaces are free to use and will provide hot drinks for visitors. They may also provide food or activities, too, and may be able to signpost people to other support if they need it.

The Warm Spaces Charter outlines what visitors can expect.

The charter promises:

• Visitors will be welcome, warm, and all will be treated equally
• Warm Spaces are safe places – venues will have safeguarding policies and follow hygiene rules
• It doesn’t matter why you visit a Warm Space – you won’t be judged
• We won’t tell anyone you visited a Warm Space

Find out more by visiting the Warm Spaces webpage.

Austerity has been with us for many years, and COVID certainly made matters much worse, further exacerbated if that were possible by soaring energy bills caused by the war in Ukraine.

Most people can struggle through when the days are warm, but a food shortage accompanied by plummeting temperatures can bring untold misery and set off a catastrophic spiral of debt.

The Torbay Community Helpline is there for those who need it, and our friendly call handlers are there to help, to provide the signposting as well as the practical advice that is needed. All delivered without judgement, so make the call today – 01803 446022.

Sadly, the foodbanks are still at full stretch, and the Warm Spaces are a helpful extension of those ensuring everyone has a hot meal inside them no matter what their circumstances. They also provide a great meeting point to pass the hours away from freezing homes and cold, unforgiving streets.

You or someone you know might not need it yet, but we all know that a cold snap is just around the corner, and it is as well to know where your closest warm space is, along with its opening hours.

If in doubt, check the website, call the Torbay Community Helpline on 01803 446022 or get in touch with your local Community Builder.