Here at SLM, we are proud to play an important part in our surrounding communities. Nelson's Journey and The Sara Lee Trust are just some of the ways we contribute to the community. Read the stories below.
SLM Toyota are delighted to announce that Nelson's Journey have been awarded £5,000 following our nomination of the charity as part of the Toyota '20 for 2020' initiative'.
Toyota launched the '20 for 2020' initiative to help support people within our local community who have been dramatically impacted during this unprecedented period of COVID-19 pandemic. They have awarded grants of £5,000 each to 20 charities and organisations chosen from those nominated by Toyota centres across the UK.
Nelson's Journey is the only charity in Norfolk to accept open referrals for specialist support to all children and young people who have experienced the death of a significant person in their life. The COVID-19 outbreak has really emphasised just how essential this support is for local families. The charity is receiving a greatly increased proportion of calls to their Support Line linked to deaths, both COVID and non-COVID, including suicides. The current restrictions have led them to develop and deliver new services provided by phone or video call so they can continue to support children and young people remotely.
Nelsons Journey commented: "The amazing donation given to us through the Toyota '20 for 2020' initiative will help Nelson's Journey to support dozens of families who have experienced the death of a special person in their lives and have struggled to cope during 2020.
Our team of Bereavement Support Workers will be able to offer virtual 1:1 support to children who have experienced difficulties following the death of a loved one, either as a result of COVID-19 or impacted by the restrictions surrounding. Many children will be unable to say goodbye in the way they would've like and will have been unable to memorialise the person who died in the way they want.
This funding will also help provide youth groups for these children, bringing them together with others that have experienced similar circumstances and allowing them some respite too. The funding also provides guidance to parents, carers and professionals via our Support Line, staffed by our Child Bereavement Workers.
We are confident the intervention received from Nelson's Journey, at this critical time, will provide these children with the coping mechanisms and opportunities to talk that they need to more forward positively with their lives, never having to deal with their bereavement alone."
SLM Toyota have supported Nelson's Journey since 2018 and have donated a total of £7,018 by contributing £1 for every new and used car sold.
Jason Barlow Franchise director at SLM Toyota commented: "I'd like to congratulate Nelson's Journey on being awarded this initiative. Hopefully it will go some way to helping the charity provide this much needed support to children and young people. I would also like to thank Nelson's Journey on behalf of SLM for all the amazing work you do in these rather strange and tough times. We look forward to continuing our support in 2021."
To find out more about Nelson's Journey - www.nelsonsjourney.org.uk
Last Year SLM Toyota Lowestoft were able to support the James Paget Hospital Charity with a grant of £1,600 through the Toyota Fund for a Better Tomorrow. The grant of £1,600 will help fund much needed sensory play equipment in the children's waiting area of the Accident & Emergency Department.
We are pleased to confirm that part of the A&E Department is up and running and already being used by patients. It's a fabulous area which will allow the A&E team to work in much better conditions in these challenging times.
Work is still in progress in the children's area and meetings are in place to discuss a shopping list of sensory play equipment, the grant of £1,600, from SLM Toyota Lowestoft, will go towards this valuable equipment for the area. Visiting an emergency department can be daunting for patients - especially children who often feel scared and anxious. The area with sensory equipment will help children feel comfortable while they wait for treatments or for their siblings to be seen.
SLM Toyota Lowestoft are extremely proud to support such an amazing project and charity. We would like to express our thanks to the Hospital and all it's staff for all the fantastic work they do in such difficult circumstances.
Find out more about the The James Paget Hospital and the Raise a Rainbow Appeal here - www.jpaget-charity.org.uk/appeal/raise-a-rainbow
The Sara Lee Trust has continued to support local people affected by cancer and other life threatening illnesses throughout the year.
This exciting newsletter is an excellent example of the brilliant ways the charity has been helping others during such a difficult time for everyone.
Discover a whole host of remarkable stories, including the re-opening of the trust's services at Rye's Hub on the Hill.
Download the newsletter below.
The Sara Lee Trust has been providing specialist counselling and therapy care and support, for over 20 years, to local people who are living with cancer and other life-threatening conditions, along with their family and carers.
The Trust is also the dedicated provider of specialist counselling and complementary therapy services to patients of St Michael’s Hospice (St Leonards on Sea) and the Rye, Winchelsea and District Memorial Hospital.
All the directors and staff at SLM feel very proud to be involved in raising money for such a great cause that helps our local community. For every new or used car that we sell across the group, we will make a donation to the trust. So far, we have donated of over £16,000 to the charity, picture below is SLM's latest donation to the Sara Lee Trust.
We are proud to announce the remarkable milestone in our commitment to raising money for the deserving Sara Lee Trust.
Thanks to our dedicated staff members and customers, we were able to raise over, a staggering £20,000 to the Sara Lee Trust. With every vehicle sold over the past three years, SLM Toyota Hastings and Uckfield, SLM Vauxhall, Sussex Used Cars and SLM Nissan has donated £1 towards the trust.
This amazing donation has helped a fantastic 200 patients that use the Sara Lee Trust and SLM are exceptionally happy to have helped so many deserving members of our community.
The Sara Lee Trust is a charity which SLM have supported for a number of years and we are pleased to have made an impact in so many people's lives. We would like to thank our staff for working so hard to sell our vehicles and help raise this remarkable amount for the trust. We would also like to thank our loyal customers for helping us reach this goal and coming back to our dedicated family business, time and time again.
It wouldn't have been possible to raise such an impactful amount with all your help.
Here at SLM, we are excited to continue to contribute to our surrounding communities as much as we can and we look forward to continuing our support for the amazing Sara Lee Trust.
Dan Redsull, Chief Executive of the Trust is absolutely thrilled that St Leonards Motors have chosen to support their work. Not only will the partnership help improve awareness of and access to their care and support, it will significantly assist with their ability to deliver sustainable services in the future and meet the growing level of local need for their services.
Jo, a user of the Sara Lee Trust services, commented: "The Sara Lee Trust were a great support to me during my own breast cancer treatment by giving me someone to talk to and a time for me to be supported and helped through aromatherapy massage. I will always be grateful to them and endeavour now, to give them my time through volunteering in different roles, to try and help others going through cancer and other life threatening illnesses.
"It's wonderful to see St. Leonards Motors making such a wonderful and appreciated contribution to the work of the Sara Lee Trust helping others to benefit from their services - thank you so much."
For more information about the Sara Lee Trust, visit www.saraleetrust.org.
In 2020 St Leonards Motors Group, a family-run local establishment is celebrating its 60 Year anniversary. St Leonards Motors began life as the brainchild of father and son team Graham and Brian Wakeford, the Wakeford family still own the company. St Leonards Motors group is one of the largest local businesses in St Leonards on Sea, now also running several sites in East Sussex, Kent and East Anglia.
The coronavirus crisis has had a huge impact on everyone in the country, but perhaps none more so than people who are already unwell, isolated and vulnerable. Local people affected by cancer and other life threatening illnesses are now finding themselves removed from many of the people and services who support them.
The Sara Lee Trust is helping to provide support and respite for people in Hastings and Rother who may be seriously ill; and their families, friends and loved ones.
The Trust usually provides specialist counselling, complementary therapies and group support; but during the coronavirus crisis had to close down its face to face services.
Now, Sara Lee is instead providing safe, remote support which can be accessed from home. From telephone and video counselling to online yoga and carers’ support groups, The Sara Lee Trust is still there for people who need “A (Virtual) Hand to Hold” at this difficult time.
Counsellor Michael O’Rourke says, “Continuing this service has been met with much appreciation and thanks. It has allowed us to keep working with some of our most vulnerable and isolated service-users, and for them to feel valued and hopeful during a difficult time.”
Thanks to the generous support of our community, from mid-August complementary therapy services have now resumed at The Sara Lee Therapy Centre in Sidley, Bexhill for pre-booked appointments. To keep said services, covid-secure, pre-existing hygiene protocols have been enhanced whilst social distancing measures will now be observed at all times, to guarantee the safe wellbeing of both staff and service users alike.
Services at St Michael’s Hospice and the Rye & Winchelsea District & Memorial Hospital will begin again in the coming weeks.
If you feel you may need the services of the Sara Lee Trust, any medical professional can refer you.
Here at SLM East Anglia we are very proud to announce that from December 2017 we will be supporting local charity Nelson’s Journey.
Based in Norfolk, Nelson’s Journey helps to support children and young people up to the age of 18 who have experienced the death of a significant person in their life. As well as providing one to one support, they offer many opportunities and activities, plus the opportunity to meet other children of a similar age who have also experienced bereavement. Their aim is to ensure bereaved children can look forward to a positive future.
Across the whole of SLM East Anglia Group, we will be donating £1 to the charity for any new or used car sold. Everyone at SLM is extremely pleased to be able to give something back to the local community and help raise money for such a worthy cause.
SLM Group Director Jason Barlow commented: “We are very proud to be supporting such a great cause. After visiting the team at Nelson’s Journey, I walked out knowing that we had made a great decision to support this great charity that gives so much to the local community. I am really proud that we will now be giving something back to them and supporting the centre moving forward. All of our centre teams are looking forward to raising as much money as possible for them.”
Nelson’s Journey exclaimed “We are thrilled to have been chosen by SLM Toyota. As a growing charity we are in need of support from the local business community to help us deal with the increase in referrals that we are seeing year-on-year.
“This year we expect to receive around 1000 referrals for children needing our support after the death of a special person in their lives, and support from wonderful businesses like SLM Toyota will help us to meet the growing demand on our service and continue to provide our services free-of-charge. We are really excited about this partnership and can’t wait to work together more closely to bring back smiles to bereaved children in Norfolk.”
We will be providing updates in due course about our fundraising progress, so make sure you check our news section for more updates!
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