Charlton Athletic Community Trust’s (CACT’s) mentoring team in Thanet have been supporting those in need as a result of the current lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
CACT has already teamed up with the Royal Borough of Greenwich in helping vulnerable residents, and has now expanded its response to Thanet, where CACT’s mentoring programme delivers important work throughout the year.
Our Kitchen Project has been buying food from Ashford-based company Foodshare, and with the support of the Town Clerk, Richard Styles, the food is now being collected daily by Ramsgate Town Council staff and redistributed to foodbanks and other organisations across Thanet on a daily basis.
CACT mentor Becky Wing (pictured above) has teamed up with the Ramsgate Food Banks to help the families of the young people she is mentoring, a number of whom are now short of food.
So far, Becky has delivered 27 food parcels to the families of the young people she works with.
Becky said:
“There are lots of vulnerable people, those self-isolating at home and those who now have no job and no income are now in desperate need of food but are not on the Government’s shielded patients list.
“As a result, local food banks are overwhelmed so I came up with the idea of using Ramsgate Town Council’s Radcliff House and our fabulous town staff to get much needed food into Thanet. By linking up, supporting and expanding the existing services, which do a great job all year round.”
CACT’s mentoring programme, which falls under its Early Help & Prevention strand, sees staff promote social inclusion, working to steer hard-to-reach young people in Ramsgate, Margate and Broadstairs away from crime and anti-social behaviour and raise aspirations. For more information, email Paul.Robinson@cact.org.uk.