The Co-operative Food - Minster, Monkton Road

Thanet's Families In Need is a non-profit, volunteer-led community organisation. We offer help in crisis to people and families all over Thanet including Ramsgate, Westgate, Margate, Broadstairs, Cliftonville. One thing we Thanet Families in need is hugely proud of is the strength given to us through the support in the community which in turn has made us grow as an organisation and be able to give so much back to the community in many other ways. Thanet's Families in Need Community Support Service set up a food bank for those in Thanet needing food donations originally in December 2012 when we done our first New years soup kitchen which became one of the services at the forefront of our organisation from April 2013 more so due to welfare reforms and cuts throughout leaving many more in server hardship not only for those on benefits but also those in employment facing unforeseen circumstances and hardship in Thanet. PLEASE NOTE: This organisation is not apart of the government funded voucher-only system. We assess each client by their own circumstances young or old, with or without family, on benefits and working all considered. Although we encourage people to use their budgets wisely to deter the use of food bank where possible unlike the government funded assistance, we do not limit clients' support to a maximum of three times per year where the help is genuinely needed. Because all of our donations come in from the community and so as to make sure we have enough stock in at all times to assist claim we donate a maximum of 5 days' worth of food a time applicable to the amount of people in the household. CLOTHING BANK We also provide clothing in all sizes as well as all usual donation services we other to the whole of Thanet with the general rule that anything unwanted, clean re-usable that can be passed on is gratefully received. We understand the urgency of needing food especially for the vulnerable and for children and aim to have your requests ready on the day needed from when contact is made. We do not have a lengthy claim process, rely on referrals or allocated workers for our food bank as do many of the funded organisations and authorities in Thanet do. Although we are an independently run (non government funded) we are now working closely with many local agencies who have been sign posting clients to us, with no other options available offering the immediate service we do with genuine donation requests honoured on the day. The number of requests is growing day by day as it stands and we are now also trying to address the problem the huge influx of homelessness and rough sleeping, why the systems set in place are not working, and how we have seen some of the most vulnerable suffer. We store and donate all essential items from food and clothing up to baby and toy equipment, household items including furniture and white goods where possible furnishing whole houses on several occasions now for those in real hardship.

We offer full day care for nursery children aged between 3 months to 4 years together with Breakfast and After School care for children in reception year through to year 6. During the school holidays we offer a holiday club for our school age children ,this club is very popular as there is always lots of fun activities for the children to take part in . We promote our children's independence ,self-confidence and learning to give them the firm foundations to take them forward on their life experience. To enable us to enhance the children's experience with us requires many varied resources including access to outside play areas Outside play is so important in a child's development, promoting skills in physical activities and risk taking ,to mention only two .Our outside areas are desperately in need of updating but this all comes with a cost, and being a charity funds are not readily available. In this regard we are currently trying to raise funds to fully update our outside play areas and any donations we receive would be very much appreciated by all the staff and children at Minster Day Nursery and Out of School Club.

We are a small fund raising committee attempting to raise £15,000 for the repair of St Mary’s church clock face in Minster in Thanet. The church is believed to date from Saxon times and plays an important part in the life of Minster village. In the 1860’s the church went through a major renovation including the clock and its face. There is a date of 1870 on the current clock face. The ravages of time have had a serious effect on the clock face and is in dire need of restoration. We know the clock face was present in 1790 as the famous painter JMW Turner painted the church as a 14-year old prior to entering the Royal Academy of Art. The restoration of the clock face is a specialised and expensive process, involving skilful work in its removal and replacement. http://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/minster-clock-face-restoration Facebook Minster Clock Face Renovation