Mutual Aid Road Reps CIC

by Kate Belmonte in Gillingham, Medway, United Kingdom

Total raised £719

raised so far

20

supporters

MARR's core aim is to bridge the gap of isolation with simple friendship and kindness. Protecting People, Communities and the Planet.

by Kate Belmonte in Gillingham, Medway, United Kingdom

We're still collecting donations

On the 27th February 2023 we'd raised £47 with 2 supporters in 42 days. But as every pound matters, we're continuing to collect donations from supporters.

Mutual Aid Road Reps (MA|RR) was set up in March 2020 when we leafleted every home across Medway. We quickly became the largest volunteer group in Medway, with over 270 volunteers who were on-call supporting the elderly, vulnerable and self-isolating households. Helping to collect and deliver food, prescriptions and supplies.

We launched our befriending service at the same time, allowing those in isolation to speak to others in their community via the telephone.

Some quotes from service users have been

‘Thank you so much for your help & kindness.  It is a wonderful thing you and your band are doing at this difficult time.'

‘Want to give a big shout out of thanks to MA|RR.  What a fabulous bunch of people, they got me some milk, bread and potatoes last week as I have been shielding for the past 3 weeks as a vulnerable person… I can’t thank them enough for their kindness during such a tough time.   Well done guys, stay safe.’

‘Our community is undergoing a rapid transformation and where once we passed each other on the street, without even a smile, we are now virtually embracing each other, day after day.  Mutual Aid Road Reps is providing the tools to help our neighbours so that we can bridge the gap of isolation through simple kindness and friendship, reaching out beyond our front doors. I feel like we have launched a revolution, against the status quo and are rediscovering how to support ourselves, by working together.   We call on everyone in Medway to join us on this amazing journey and fight the fear with love and compassion’ Kate Belmonte - MA|RR Director

We have raised thousands through Crowdfunding, NGO grants and with the help of Coop who have chosen us a Local Community Fund for 2 years running.

We are now looking to cover our operating costs, staffing costs for the next 12 months. Please give what you can and be part of the solution.

Rewards

This project offered rewards

£7 or more

Buy a tea and a cake for a vulnerable person

Our Coffee, Chat & Connect sessions welcome those within our community who are experiencing loneliness and isolation. We provide free tea, coffee and biccies or cake at all of our events.

£10 or more

Help us stay insured

Each year we pay in the region of £240 to ensure that all of our operations and projects are fully insured protecting both our beneficiaries and our volunteers.

£15 or more

Help us pay staff

As a growing initiative we are now having to look at our sustainability and this means paying for staff. Whilst we have fantastic volunteers their availability is not always inline with when certain tasks, such as funding applications and administration is needed. If we are to survive we need to be able to pay wages.

£20 or more

Keep our phone line running for an extra month

We use a VOIP system to ensure that individuals can contact us no matter where we are. Our team could be shopping or attending a coffee, chat & connect session but if someone needs to contact us we are available 5 days a week between 10am and 5pm. The VOIP system also stores voicemails left at times when we are not available ensuring no one misses out.

£72 or more

Buy coffee and cake for 10 vulnerable people

Our Coffee, Chat & Connect sessions welcome those within our community who are experiencing loneliness and isolation. We provide free tea, coffee and biccies or cake at all of our events.

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