Welcome to the Autumn 2023 edition of The Nightingale Newsletter.

In our last edition I was delighted to introduce Nick Jacobs, our new CEO whose updates will become a regular feature in our newsletter. I am sure you will enjoy reading what he has been up to over the last six months, including organising our Summer Party.

We organise a Summer Party to say big thank you to all of our volunteers without whom we could not operate. We have over 100 people who help in every aspect of The Nightingale; our shops, centre, events, fundraising, the list really does go on. 

We have the best community of selfless volunteers who give so much hard work, dedication and time to The Nightingale. It was a pleasure to host a celebration for them and we are grateful to our sponsor, Hamberley Care Home who ensured we were not using charity funds to pay for it.

For those of you who visit our Centre you will be warmly welcomed by our new Centre Facilitator, Sue. Sue joined us in March and shares her thoughts on her first five months with us.

A golden thread throughout this edition is creativity. We see how creativity helps our clients through our new Art & Movement class and one of our clients shares a painting and poem that she created about her cancer journey. I am sure her message will resonate with many of you.

We have incredibly creative fundraisers who have danced the Charleston, used their green fingers to grow and sell plants and baked delicious treats. On page 12 and 13 some of them share what they have been up to and you can find more fundraising pictures and stories on our website. The money they have raised goes towards providing our wide range of services, all of which are completely free to our clients.

We know that not everyone has the time to hold their own fundraising events for The Nightingale but we have many other initiatives you may want to take part in that help the charity in the same way. In this edition you’ll find our Charity Shop Christmas Gift Guide (page 14) Letters from the North Pole (page 15), Christmas Raffle (page 15) and our Events Calendar (page 17).

As the days are getting colder and the nights are getting darker, wrap up warm, stay safe and remember that we are always here to help. Whether with a cup of coffee, a friendly chat or any of our wonderful services.

Take care.

Sam Seth, Chair of Trustees