May 2025



In this month's issue, we look forward to Volunteers' Week, celebrate some fantastic fundraising, reflect on this year's foodbank statistics and appeal for new Trustees to join our Board...

Helping local people make a real difference

Dear Dominique,

Hope Nottingham's vision is to 'Inspire and Grow Communities of Hope across Nottingham' - places where people in need can receive holistic support in a compassionate and caring environment. We have always been clear that the way we achieve this is through the commitment, actions and skills of local people.

Our volunteers come from a huge range of different communities across our city, displaying a dazzling array of backgrounds, experiences, talents and passions. However, one thing that unites them all is their desire to make a real difference to the lives of people living in their local communities.

As we look forward to Volunteer's Week and celebrating all they do, we also want to thank supporters like you for being part of the Hope story and enabling this work to continue.

Thank you for your continued support.

“Volunteering is the lifeblood of our communities. It’s not just about giving back; it’s about giving forward, and creating a better world for all of us.”

Michelle Obama

A HUGE thank you to all our fantastic volunteers!

Monday 2nd - Sunday 8th June marks Volunteers' Week - a chance to celebrate the incredible contribution the volunteers make across the UK and to thank them for everything they do.

Volunteering is a key part of the society we live in and provides huge benefits to an incredible range of sectors, making a real difference to lives right across the UK. Volunteering also brings immense benefits to volunteers themselves - providing opportunities to meet new people, learn new skills, keep active and give something back.

Here at Hope Nottingham, our volunteers are at the heart of all we do. Local people supporting their communities is central to our vision of Inspiring and Growing Communities of Hope. Our volunteers serve in locations right across Nottingham, providing food, resources, befriending, prayer and much-needed hope - to local people in need.

We want to take this opportunity to publicly recognise and thank every single one of our wonderful volunteers for all they do. It's something we say a lot, but we simply wouldn't be able to do what we do without their ongoing dedication, perseverance, skills and willingness to serve others.

So whether you've been volunteering with us for years or just a few weeks; whether you're front of house or behind the scenes; whether you volunteer once a month or several times a week, whatever role you volunteer in, we want to say a heartfelt thank you to you all.

Focus on Trustees

As a charity, Hope Nottingham relies on volunteers in order to achieve our vision of Inspiring and Growing Communities of Hope across Nottingham. This includes how our charity is governed and run - a job overseen by our Board of Trustees.

What is a trustee and what do they do?

Trustees are unpaid volunteers who give their time and expertise to lead charities and decide how they are run. They decide on the overall vision and direction of the charity and how it goes about its work. They also make sure the charity complies with legal requirements and has the policies and resources it needs to function effectively.

Who can be a trustee?

Anyone can be a trustee, regardless of ethnicity, class, gender orientation, sexuality or any other difference. Boards of Trustees work best when they have a diversity of skills, knowledge, age and experience amongst their members.

Why do people become Trustees?

First and foremost, becoming a Trustee is s a great way of contributing to causes you care about. In addition, surveys show that 96% of trustees said they had learned new skills through the role and 84% said being a trustee made them happier!

Who are Hope Nottingham's Trustees?

We are very fortunate to be blessed with a dedicated set of Trustees who have an excellent range of knowledge, skills and experience. You can read about them here.

How could you get involved?

Hope Nottingham is currently looking to expand its Board of Trustees. We would particularly welcome potential Trustees with experience of charity finances, human resources, fundraising, bid-writing or donor support. See below to find out more, or contact us to arrange an informal chat with our CEO.

Foodbank use: the wider picture

Last week, Trussell released their End of Year Statistics for 2024-2025 giving a snapshot of foodbank use across the UK. The figures show that people were helped with emergency food parcels nearly 2.9 million times at Trussell foodbanks over the year. Whilst this represents a modest decrease on last year's all time high figure of 3.1 million parcels nationally, the long-term trend is still worrying with this year's figure equating to a 51% increase from five years ago and a 156% rise since 2014.

Particularly concerning is that this year marks the third year in a row where over 1 million parcels have been given to support children - indeed those under 16 continue to be disproportionately supported by foodbanks (36% of recipients) compared to their relative population in the UK (19%).

Locally, across Hope Nottingham's foodbanks, the data tells a similar story. Whilst we have seen a decrease from last year's figures in line with the national picture, the number of parcels provided remains significantly higher than five years ago, with the proportion being given to children remaining at 37%. You can find out your area's local figures via the Trussell website here.

Hope Nottingham firmly believes in Trussell's vision for a UK without the need for foodbanks. We understand that hunger is just one symptom of poverty, and that the reasons for this are complex and varied. This is why we work closely with Trussell to provide advice provision in our foodbank centres and also with our referrer's to ensure our guests receive relevant and sustainable support to help address the causes of crisis. Our current funding for advice across 7 of our foodbanks ends in March 2026, and this will require tens of thousands of pounds to continue.

Our supporters are a vital part of this work. Every pound raised, every tin of food donated and every conversation raising awareness of the need faced, makes a real difference. We hugely appreciate your continued support in working towards a more hopeful future.

Thanks to our fantastic fundraisers

We are hugely grateful for the continued generosity of donors and supporters to fund our work. As well as food donations to keep our foodbanks stocked, we rely on financial donors to help cover our costs - paying our staff team, keeping the lights and heating on, keeping our van on the road, maintaining our buildings, providing guests with hospitality, buying additional food supplies and much, much more. That is why we so appreciate the efforts of all those who fundraise on our behalf.

The team from AMB Running Club braved the recent unseasonably hot temperatures to complete an astounding 415km (83 laps of the five-kilometre loop) over 7 hours in their Run for Hope event. The event raised over £2600 - a fantastic fundraising effort!

A huge thank you to the 16 runners involved and to everyone who sponsored them.

Our friends at Everyone Can Sing, the Phoenix Signing Choir and local band Jelly staged a fantastic charity concert at Hope House in Beeston. Receiving rave reviews ("The best concert I've ever been to") the event raised over £400. We're already looking forward to their next performance!

West Bridgford Social Singers and Everyone Can Sing held a charity marathon event with participants walking, running, rowing and cycling to raise money for Hope Nottingham and other local charities. Again, our sincere thanks go to all involved!

Has this inspired you to fundraise for us? If so we'd love to hear from you!

Come along and be one of our 'Star' supporters!

It's just under a month to go until The Star Inn in Beeston hold their all-weekend Summer Festival on 27th-29th June to raise funds for Hope Nottingham. It promises to be a fantastic event - we're super excited about it! Do come along, show your support and enjoy the fun!

View from a volunteer

This month we hear from Malcolm who is one of our long-serving volunteer van drivers, working behind the scenes to keep our foodbanks supplied.

How long have you been volunteering?

Getting on for six and a half years. I started about a year before COVID - time seems to have flown! I first started when I was approaching retirement and had a chat with someone from Hope when I worked in a local supermarket. I asked if they needed any help.

What roles do you volunteer in?

At first I was a driver's mate on the van - mainly helping moving crates of food. When COVID hit, other volunteers were shielding, so I got involved in doing the driving. During the pandemic, when a lot of foodbanks were closed, I was really busy delivering food parcels to people's homes every day. We were delivering up to 60 parcels a day at one stage, some as far away as Mansfield. Now, I deliver food stocks to the different foodbanks around Nottingham as well as collecting donations from schools, businesses and supermarket donation points. I have noticed there's been drop in donations at supermarkets with the cost of living increasing over the last couple of years. I used to be collecting 6 or 7 crates of food a day from the big stores. Now it's only 2 or 3.

What do you enjoy about volunteering?

It's a really pleasant place to be and I get to see and talk to lots of different people right across Nottingham. When I've delivered parcels or visit different foodbanks, I've seen it makes a vast difference to people's faces when they see the food parcels - so it's good to feel part of that. On a personal level it's kept me healthy. Being active has really helped me.

Our sincere thanks go to Malcolm, the rest of our van team and to all our volunteers across all our activities, for the time, dedication and commitment they give.

Happy Birthday Hope!

This coming July marks the Hope Nottingham's 15th birthday - and we're keen to mark the occasion by celebrating with all our friends, supporters and volunteers. We are planning a celebration event on July 12th 2025 - more details to follow - so do save the date!

If you have any 'Tales of Hope' - recollections, memories or stories to share, we'd love to hear from you - please do get in touch!

Join our volunteer team

We couldn't do the work we do without the dedicated effort of hundreds of volunteers.

At present, we are especially looking for volunteers to help with general Office Support on Friday mornings at Hope House in Beeston. Tasks may include answering the phone, taking volunteer references over the phone, accepting food donations, data entry and supporting with other projects.

We are also in need of volunteers on Wednesday mornings to help at our Arboretum Foodbank based at Covenant Restoration Assembly church in Radford and a Volunteer 'handyperson' at our Carlton Community Hub.

Our volunteer vacancies change regularly so please do see our volunteering webpage for more opportunities.

Final thoughts...

This months reflection comes from Andy Thomas, our Bookkeeper, who reflects on what the current spell of sunny weather might tell us about the nature of God. You can read his reflection here.

Hope Nottingham | 0303 040 1110 | www.hope-nottingham.org.uk