Lidl Ystrad Mynach

Who we are, where we work from and who we help: We bring together our neighbours at the Ty Gwaunfarren older people’s social housing scheme, Merthyr Tydfil, through our Pantry and by cooking healthy meals in our communal kitchen and eating them together in our communal lounge. We collect surplus food from M&S and Lidl, which we share out amongst our neighbours. We also cook meals most days, including Christmas Day. Most of the residents here live alone so the meals bring us together to eat healthy food together as a community and it helps reduce loneliness and isolation.

Michael Climer Legacy Fund started delivering food to families in need at the end of 2019. In 2020 the pandemic changed everything; we noticed that the need was much greater, and we delivered food every week - never missing a week all through the several lockdown periods. We started with twelve families and today we look after over seventy Talking to our families each week it became apparent many needed help in other ways e.g. debt advice, housing problems and mental health issues. We put together information on many different agencies that could supply good practical advice, mainly local council agencies. Apart from helping our families with their weekly budget, it is important to us to reduce food waste as a part of our Eco Initiative. Collecting surplus food from local supermarkets serves this duel purpose in our community. The Charity has been fortunate enough to receive funding from our local council and other sources during the last eighteen months and this has allowed us to expand our outreach programme. We have set up a food co-operative one day a week at our church hall to allow families to access locally sourced fresh food. We supply recipe cards to encourage healthy eating and educate on the best ways to avoid food waste. It is our intention to set up a credit union collection point to encourage saving small amounts and provide information on safe lenders. There will be a tea and coffee corner free of charge for socialising and chat on any subject information is needed. Our weekly deliveries to families runs in tandem to this new project. As of the beginning of November 2021 our food co-operative has been running every Tuesday from the church hall. Recipients receive two bags of food for a payment of £2 50p. Ambient food such as tins and packets some toiletries and laundry products when available and fresh fruit and vegetables donated by local supermarkets. In November 18 to 20 families attended, this has steadily grown and now that food prices and energy costs have risen sharply we have 55 to 65 families each week receiving food from the co-op. In addition we deliver food supplies still to vulnerable people on Mondays. Our tea and coffee area is free of charge and very popular. Many tell us this weekly contact with others is their only escape from isolation. The chat is pleasant and it is a cheery area of the hall each week. We have agents on hand to advise on any concerns people would wish to enquire and many have received information to take their worries to a positive outcome. numbers continue to grow each week and we are grateful to all supermarkets and others that are willing to donate to our cause, We regularly have qualified hairdressers and beauticians attending offering haircuts blow drys and nail painting free of charge Since February 2025 we have changed our venue. We no longer operate from the church hall but have increased our food co op operation to two days each week, one at Llanbradach and one at Cefn Hengoed.

SWAN UK (syndromes without a name) is the only dedicated support network available for families of children and young adults with undiagnosed genetic conditions in the UK. It is run by the charity Genetic Alliance UK. It is estimated that around 6,000 disabled children are born every year with a genetic condition likely to remain undiagnosed. Without a diagnosis families have no idea what the future will hold for their child. Will they walk? Will they talk? How long are they likely to live? Families struggle to have their needs taken seriously and access the services and support that they vitally need. Many feel extremely isolated and alone. SWAN UK supports families in hospital and at home offering 24/7 access to support and information. We run regular events to bring families together and provide opportunities to make precious memories. We support siblings to make new friends who understand how difficult having an undiagnosed brother or sister can be. We educate professionals about the issues faced by families affected by a syndrome without a name to help families receive high-quality coordinated care and appropriate testing or treatment. Our Big Ambition is that all families who have a child affected by a syndrome without a name get the support they need, when they need it. We know there are so many families out there who still need our support, which is why we are aiming to double our membership and help families feel less isolated and alone.