Beautiful blooms raise £210 for vital charity work

On Sunday 20th July Love Dereham held an open garden fundraiser on George Borrow road.

This gorgeous garden belongs to Anne and Mike, long time supporters of Love Dereham, and people who have a kind and loving heart for people in their community. As members of Dereham Baptist Church they have taken part in Open Garden events in previous years that the church has organised. It's a great way to spend an afternoon as you get to nosey about a pretty garden while chatting and enjoying the company. This year they had the idea to turn it into a way to raise money for our work supporting people in the local area who are facing food poverty and/or suffering loneliness and social isolation.

Local professional baker, Mari (on the right of the right picture), from Mari's Bakes generously donated freshly made cakes to the event which went down a treat! Further delicious donations were received from two young baking enthusiasts, and Anne (host, on the left of the right picture) whipped up batches of plain and cheese scones to add to the mix!

Visitors popped their pennies in the donation tin throughout the afternoon and a total of £210 was raised! An absolutely brilliant amount which will go straight to the front lines of our work, helping local people in need of food or social connection. While everyone can appreciate the awful situation of being without enough food to feed your family, it's not as obvious to realise the impact of loneliness on people. Mental Health text support service "SHOUT" say loneliness is one of the top five reasons people text their service, and that 33% of those say they had no one else to talk to about how they felt. We now know through medical research that loneliness can elevate stress hormones and inflammation in the body, increasing the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, and weakened immune function. Through our Community Lunches and our welcoming space called the 'hub', inside Green Pastures bookshop where the Community Fridge is, we aim to give people the chance to spend good quality time with others. ❤️

We can't thank everyone involved in the afternoon enough for helping to put on such a lovely event for our charity. Check out Mari's Bakes on facebook here: facebook.com/mari'sbakes and if you know anyone who could benefit from Love Dereham's support then please send them to our website for info and contact details so they can get the help they need www.lovedereham.org.uk