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Each week I'd like to take a moment to celebrate and recognise the hard work of those who have done so much to help us get through this difficult and troubling time. Thank you to everyone who nominated their Gower Hero! Here is the third wave of Gower Heros. If you have someone you'd like to nominate, you can do so here This week's Gower Heroes are: Susan Rodaway Nominated by Edward Rodaway · Set up Volunteer support in Pennard Ward – 80 volunteers supporting 160 households with prescription and shopping collection and delivery, post office drop offs and phone befriending calls to prevent social isolation. Provided every household with newsletters to let residents know what support is available to them. · Coordinated meetings of all Community Councils to share best practice and ideas. · Set up Pennard Emergency Food and Technology Support providing food for people struggling financially in the ward as well as IT support, 4G routers/tablets etc. Collaborated with Digital Communities Wales to train community IT champions to provide IT support and training over the phone/internet as appropriate. · Coordinated regular meetings with local businesses and organisations to keep up to date with Welsh Government guidance and support the community through the changes Helen Hunter Nominated by Rebecca Fogarty Helen has done an amazing job all the way through lockdown of keeping spirits up by posting videos of her daily walks in the beautiful local environment, as well as singing videos in lieu of the Musical Memories choir getting together. These videos have been a window to the outside world for people who are shielding or self-isolating. She has used Facebook groups to reach out to people all over the area with these videos. She's clearly been thinking of others in the Mumbles area who haven't been able to get out of the house and who may be feeling isolated or shut off from the world. It's been really uplifting to see someone doing their little bit to try to reach out to fellow community members and bring a bit of light at this difficult time. Catherine Beynon Nominated by Richard Davies Catherine, together with husband Jason, are true 'community champions'. During the Coronavirus pandemic Catherine has gone 'over and above' even her existing exemplary community work. She has been collecting and delivering food, providing crisis management and supporting the general volunteer efforts in Pontarddulais and surrounding areas. Catherine and Jason are a formidable team and have been available permanently to offer a kind word or any help regardless of denomination or belief. Catherine tirelessly supports her husband Jason as well as the team of volunteers that do so much within the community. Her efforts have been an immeasurable support to the community she serves. Jason Beynon Nominated by Richard Davies Jason, together with wife Catherine, are true 'community champions'. During the Coronavirus pandemic Jason has gone 'over and above' even his existing exemplary community work. He has been collecting and delivering food, providing crisis management, supporting the general volunteer efforts in Pontarddulais and surrounding areas. Jason has been available permanently to offer a kind word or any help he possibly can regardless of denomination or belief. His tireless efforts have been an immeasurable support to the community he serves. Thank you. You are this week's #GOWERHEROES 
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Each week I'd like to take a moment to celebrate and recognise the hard work of those who have done so much to help us get through this difficult and troubling time. Thank you to everyone who nominated their Gower Hero! Here is the third wave of Gower Heros. If you have someone you'd like to nominate, you can do so here This week's Gower Heroes are: Swansea Bay UHB For the Love of Scrubs Nominated by: Lisa Parez I am nominating the whole group of Swansea Bay UHB FTLOS volunteers for their selfless acts of sewing, knitting, crocheting, delivering, organising, cutting, and everything else in between during this pandemic. They have all been amazing, completing and distributing over 26,000 items including more than 2000 sets of scrubs in the Swansea and Neath Port Talbot area. They are all heroes! Allun Harvey Nominated by: Richard Davies Allun has volunteered over the pandemic to assist Andrew and Alison Wilson to manage the Pontarddulais Area Foodbank. Allun has carried a huge amount of food products and associated goods into and out of the Foodbank and along with Andrew delivered the food parcels to their final destination. Without Allun the Pontarddulais Area Foodbank would have struggled to operate and his hard work has made a huge positive difference to the amounts of requests the Foodbank has been able to manage. All work has been done with a smile and nothing has been 'too much trouble'. Andrew Wilson Nominated by: Richard Davies Over the lockdown period Andrew has worked tirelessly, volunteering at Pontarddulais Area Foodbank. He has travelled across the county at short notice collecting supplies to maintain stocks, sorted and boxed supplies and delviered literally hundreds of food parcels. He has delivered out of hours emergency food support across the whole of the county and always works with a smile, nothing is too much trouble. The Pontarddulais Area Foodbank would not have been able to operate without him. Catherine Evans Nominated by: Richard Davies Catherine has worked tirelessly through this pandemic working excessive hours and taking queries out of hours, managing volunteer support for Pontarddulais and the surrounding areas. Catherine has taken the lead on many initiatives and has the ability within her heavy workload to take the time to personally support volunteers to carry out their work and members of the public who often ring just to talk as they are so isolated. She has met significant challenges with a calm, balanced and informed approach and has proved herself to be a true asset to the communities she serves. Alison Wilson Nominated by: Richard Davies Alison works in a voluntary capacity and has tirelessly supported the community efforts to mitigate some of the worst issues of the pandemic affecting our community, making hundreds of phone calls, collecting and delivering food, staffing the Pontarddulais Area Foodbank and delivering prescriptions. Any 'down time' is spent making face-masks and generally helping others. Nothing is too much trouble and she has worked evenings and weekends just to meet the huge amount of requests for support. everything has been done with a smile. Beryl Ellis-Davis Nominated by: Richard Davies Beryl or 'Bez' as she likes to be called volunteers at the Canolfan Pontarddulais. Bez has suffered significant health issues over he past few years and has lost a leg due to these issues. Despite her on-going issues she turns up to volunteer without fail and never without a smile. She diligently cleans the centre and cooks delicious food for the staff and members of the public and has become a 'stand out' figure that people love to chat to and get to know. She is the epitome of a volunteer, hard working, kind, generous and nothing is ever too much trouble for her. Helen Hunter Nominated by: Rebecca Fogarty Helen has done an amazing job all the way through lockdown of keeping spirits up by posting videos of her daily walks in the beautiful local environment, as well as singing videos in lieu of the Musical Memories choir getting together. These videos have been a window to the outside world for people who are shielding or self-isolating. She has used Facebook groups to reach out to people all over the area with these videos. She's clearly been thinking of others in the Mumbles area who haven't been able to get out of the house and who may be feeling isolated or shut off from the world. It's been really uplifting to see someone doing their little bit to try to reach out to fellow community members and bring a bit of light at this difficult time.  It was a very busy start to the week as I was lucky to be called to speak on a number of topics. I tackled the Secretary of State for Health on his Department’s appalling lack of correspondence with MPs during the Coronavirus crisis. On 26th June, the co-Chairs of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Medical Cannabis wrote to the Secretary of State regarding the desperate plight of those children with epilepsy who rely on medical cannabis to manage their condition. We had no reply. On 9th June, we wrote an urgent email to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health following a meeting, at the suggestion of the Secretary of State on the 2nd. We had no reply. On 22nd May, a joint letter was sent to the Secretary of State from 8 cross-party chairs of various All-Party Parliamentary Groups focusing on cancers about the urgent need for a national cancer recovery plan following the pandemic to deal with the backlog of patients awaiting life-saving treatment. We had no reply. I understand that this has been an unprecedented and incredibly difficult situation for those in Government to deal with, however, lines of communication between Government and MPs and the Government and the country must remain open. We are representing our constituents, some with incredibly difficult personal circumstances and we have to know that their concerns are being considered and recognised and the Government is taking action to support everyone through this crisis. I was pleased to join Macmillan campaigners this week on a virtual meeting (how else these days?!) to hear about their campaign efforts and to let them know what I am doing to ensure that #TheForgottenC is not forgotten and the UK Government listens to the experiences of those with cancer. For those facing diagnosis and treatment, or the diagnosis and treatment of a loved one during ‘normal times’ it’s a scary and sometimes lonely experience. For those facing cancer during a pandemic, I cannot imagine how they must feel. We have to have plans in place for how to manage their treatment safely and give them the best chances for recovery. I will keep fighting for the rights of cancer patients to swift and safe treatment because cancer doesn’t stop because there’s a global pandemic. The UK Government needs to recognise this and take action. I also tackled the Government Ministers for the Department of Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy on Swansea Bay’s Tidal Lagoon project. Charles Hendry said that the evidence is clear that tidal lagoons can play a cost-effective role in the UK’s energy mix – with new green jobs and inward invesmtment for Swansea, Wales and the rest of the UK. This is an oven-ready plan, something the UK Government is so fond of, and yet they are failing to back investment in schemes which could support local economies in the Covid recovery. We need green investment and we need skilled jobs to build up a green economy that will support both families and our environment. I’ve signed up this week to be a member of the new ExcludedUK All-Party Parliamentary Group. This group, with the support of third sector organisation #ExcludedUK, aims to represent the three million people in the UK who have fallen through the gaps in the Chancellor’s support packages and who have been left without any support. This has been an unprecedented situation, but it cannot be right that hard-working people, the newly self-employed, freelancers, those denied furlough and many others, have been left to fight for their businesses alone. We need these people to be active in our communities and economies – they contribute to the supply chain, they pay taxes, and they provide services in the local communities. They deserve the UK Government’s support just as much as the furloughed workers and supported self-employed. We need our local businesses and freelancers for our recovery and we need to ensure that they will remain part of the fabric of our communities for many years to come. You can keep up to date with Welsh Government announcements and information on their dedicated coronavirus page. If you have any issues or concerns to raise with me as your local MP, please get in touch by emailing tonia.antoniazzi.mp@parliament.uk or calling 01792 899025. My office is not open, my staff and I are working from home, but my email and phone are still being monitored and responded to. You may experience a slight delay in receiving a response from us as the demand has increased, but we will get back to you as soon as we can. Keep well and remember – keep washing your hands!  Tonia Antoniazzi MP is calling on Gower’s small shopkeepers to enter the Best Small Shops Competition, celebrating the successes of small shops and the central role they play in their local community, particularly in response to Covid-19. The Best Small Shops Competition is open to any small shop* operating in the UK. The competition is free to enter and all shops who enter will also be promoted to consumers through an online Indie Retail Directory. Shopkeepers can nominate their businesses until Friday 11th September 2020 via www.bestsmallshops.co.uk. A shortlist will be announced in October with winners announced in November. The judges will be looking for evidence of a small shops’ entrepreneurial spirit, ways that they have been innovative in their business and what they have done to have a lasting positive impact on their community. The shortlisted small shops will then be in with the chance to win one of five awards, including the newly launched award for small shops response to Covid-19. Tonia Antoniazzi MP said “From Clydach to Gorseinon, Mumbles and across the whole of Gower we have the best small shops in the country.” “They deserve recognition for their hard work and their contribution to the community so please go online and nominate your best small shop.” Submit your entry The entries for 2020’s Best Small Shop competition are now open. Submit your entry at www.bestsmallshops.co.uk. Entries close on Friday 11th September 2020. More entry guidance is available here.   Each week I'd like to take a moment to celebrate and recognise the hard work of those who have done so much to help us get through this difficult and troubling time. Thank you to everyone who nominated their Gower Hero!
Here is the third wave of Gower Heros. If you have someone you'd like to nominate, you can do so here This week's Gower Heroes are: Ruth Cronin Nominated by: Sara Keeton I am in awe of Ruth and her tireless work to help West Cross, Mumbles and Gower be an even better place! Many people locally in Mumbles know Ruth as an ardent campaigner for using refilable water bottles and free water stations in shops and restaurants (Refill Wales) as well as an advocate for drinking fountains locally. The picture of her was taken with Rebecca Evans AS at Mumblesfest 2019 giving out free refilllablevwater bottles. Ruth did not stop there though! Ruth set up the St David's Recycling Scheme that has seen her raise funds for the local primary school by setting up and processing (by hand herself, with her family and other willing helpers) Terracycle items including crisp packets and pet food pouches! When Covid-19 struck, Ruth temporarily closed the recycling scheme and offered her experience in the military to volunteer in the making of the FieldBay Hospitals in Swansea! After this, Ruth set up the Corona Lockdown Charity Flour Shop in West Cross selling flour, yeast sugar and eggs direct to the public raising over £1000 for Red Cafe Food Bank in Mumbles. Ruth is a Gower Hero as are her family all too for letting her be one! The Shared Plate Covid-19 Emergency Kitchen Nominated by: Carrie Townsend Jones The Shared Plate responded to the pandemic by opening the Covid-19 Emergency Kitchen. They provide hot cooked meals to anyone in the Mumbles area who needs one, no questions asked. They are run by volunteers, both cooks and drivers, and are reliant on donations and the small amount they received from people who can afford to pay for their meals. Fantastic people just quietly getting on with helping those in need. Mathew Williams Nominated by: Angharad Bendle This gentleman has transformed the lives of so many adults and children by teaching them martial arts. The children look up to him. All through lockdown he has continued to run weekly online sessions as well as lots of different challenges for the club to do to whilst unable to attend. He always goes the extra mile to help anyone who needs it and has made a huge difference to my son with special needs who has attended the club for a number of years. Lucie Rees Sudbury Nominated by: Paul Thomas In early March a team of volunteers met up in the Lamplighter in Bishopston to discuss how they would care for the vulnerable in their community, in what was likely to be the worst situation some had experienced in their lifetime. They acted quickly and established a core team of unpaid coordinators and became one of the first sets of [Covid/ lockdown] volunteers in the area. They set up a telephone line and called out for volunteers in the area. They made contact through their own networks and printed and delivered thousands of leaflets. They made badges for volunteers- Gower Isolation Support; set up COVID related groups on facebook; and, created a rota system to answer calls. It worked well and within a couple of weeks the group had connected with many vulnerable individuals. On about week 3 the group started undertaking door step collections for food bank donations. At week 5 they decided to set up a "Grub Club" and now have 10 families cooking in rotation. The group have answered over 200 calls for assistance, and have catered 35-40 meals every week- over 350 meals. The group of volunteers continue to shop; collect prescriptions; collect for the food bank and other donations; and to deliver home cooked meals. This has been a great team effort, set up (with assistance from local councilors) and facilitated completely by volunteers, and coordinated by Lucie Rees Sudbury. Volunteer Lucie has stressed this is a team effort, and also highlighted that the initiative has no links with politics or religion, and that it is completely community and kindness led. Gower Neighbourhood Policing Team led by Sergeant Christopher Dix Nominated by: Melanie Dix As the Gower Neighbourhood Policing Sergeant, Chris has worked relentlessly hard throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. Ensuring the safety of locals & protecting the Gowers beauty spots over lockdown urging people to stay at home, advising the council to lock up car parks until safe to re-open. Chris has been dedicated to keeping these places protected and free of any anti social behavour that has followed as the pandemic restrictions ease. He works tirelessly for those in need at this difficult time along with his amazing team of PCSOs and beat managers. They do a first class job of keeping the Gower safe. Thank you this week's #GowerHeroes |