Welcome back after the summer break. I was delighted to see another very good attendance at the September General Assembly and to welcome several new members, as well as the excellent speakers from Cancer Care Javea. Jeannette and Jayne not only made a very informative presentation of their own valuable services but importantly also explained how they work with other charities in our area, to the benefit of all.
This year we made several changes to our previous summer routine. We issued a single summer edition of this newsletter to fill the otherwise long gap between June and September, and we continued to hold our monthly coffee mornings every month. Both initiatives were well received, and we are therefore likely to do something similar in future years.
We have also been busy behind the scenes. Linda Burns and Klickhere (our external service providers) have been working hard on a refresh of our website which has now gone live. In addition we will be launching a public Facebook page to sit alongside our existing private Facebook group for members only. We are very conscious that for many new arrivals in our area Facebook will be the first place they look for information on local groups and activities. The new page can therefore serve as our shop window.
We continue our efforts to develop the Sharing and Caring group and its activities. Brigid has recently attracted two more volunteers to her team, and we are also compiling a comprehensive booklet of information which should help any of our members facing different challenges. This will soon appear on the website and we will also make hard copies available at future meetings. We have learned from experience that some of this important information is not easy to find and therefore believe that the new booklet should save members both time and worry.
Finally, we have also decided to rename the group as the Friendship and Support team, which best describes what we strive to offer to our members in need, while avoiding any suggestion that we ourselves can provide hands-on care.
Kind regards Chris