 Each week throughout the summer I've wanted to celebrate and recognise the hard work of individuals and groups in Gower who have done so much to help us get throughout the Coronavirus pandemic. Community spirit and solidarity has kept us together and I believe it's important that we celebrate the best of us. This will be the last week of Gower Heroes so I wanted to say an enormous thank you to everyone who nominated and everyone who was nominated.
Here is the final week of #GowerHeroes: Alan Cramm Nominated by: Sally-Anne Rees Alan runs the food bank in Clydach and during the lock down, demand increased significantly. As well as his many other commitments to Ty Croeso, Alan knuckled down and dealt with the rocketing demands admirably. Alan and his team made sure that the residents of Clydach and the surrounding areas had access to food and necessities during a very uncertain and stressful time and I know many residents are very grateful for his support. Adrian Harries Nominated by: Sally-Anne Rees Adrian is a key member of his community in Craig Cefn Parc. During the lock down, Adrian got in touch because the bus service had reduced and stopped in some areas, which was impacting people being able to access their local food bank in Clydach. Adrian was seeking advice of how to set up a food bank for his area, however there was a lot of red tape to get through for a small demand. As Adrian runs some of the CCP Facebook groups and is well known and respected in the community, he used that platform to ask for local donations and started collecting food and necessities from his neighbours. He then delivered them to families in need in a discreet and respectful manner. Adrian is a wonderful example of a street champion who has real initiative, motivation and the best interests of his community at the forefront. 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: Ros Evans Nominated by: Helen Hunter Ros Evans has been the choir leader of Musical Memories Choir since we began 6 years ago. We are choir with a purpose created to bring connection and colour to the lives of people living with dementia and carers. At the start of lockdown we sadly had to suspend our choirs but Ros sprung into action and started recording daily sing at home sessions from her front room in Penclawdd. She has been incredible in recording these sessions, enabling our choir members to stay connected and keep singing. She is going to be recording the 100th session on 25th August and we would love her to know how appreciated she is! You can see her in action on our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/musicalmemorieschoir or website musicalmemorieschoir.co.uk Belinda Gardener Nominated by: Sally-Anne Rees Belinda has always been there for her community in many ways, however when Covid struck Belinda rallied around. She has spent the last few months regularly checking in on lots of people who found themselves even more isolated than before. Belinda has also kept a close eye out for people who were struggling and needed extra support. She's even completely renovated the community Men's Shed that she set up last year! Belinda is a true champion for Clydach and the community is so lucky to have such a hardworking, committed and caring lady. Matthew Bailey Nominated by: Sally-Anne Rees Matthew is the chairperson of Clydach Community Council and as soon as the lock down began, he threw himself straight into helping. Matthew set up a volunteer scheme to ensure residents were supported to get shopping, prescriptions and many other requests. He also got leaflets made and delivered so that everyone had access to a volunteer if they needed one. Matthew's knowledge of his community allowed him to work closely with pharmacies and local restaurants and this helped greatly with people getting their prescriptions and ensuring vulnerable people had a hot meal. Matthew worked extremely hard for his community and the volunteer scheme has been a life line for many people at this time. Thank you. You are this week's #GOWERHEROES I must admit that even after the last three years as a Member of Parliament, I still consider myself a teacher at heart. When I was in education I always agonised in the days and months before results day, and truthfully this year has been no different. In June I wrote to Qualifications Wales, the WJEC and to the Minister for Education in Wales, Kirsty Williams MS, to express concerns that students might unjustly be awarded a lower calculated grade. I was assured that ‘a fair and robust approach to issuing grades to the summer 2020 cohort of GCSE, AS, Alevel and Welsh Baccalaureate Skills Challenge Certificate learners is adopted, which includes determining the approach centres must follow in arriving at judgements of their learners’ attainment standardisation of centres’ judgements and ensuring an avenue of recourse is available for those learners who do not believe that the process has been followed correctly in issuing their grades.’ I appreciate that coronavirus has forced us to find a new solution to how we move our students forward into their next stage of learning without sitting exams, but I do not believe that what we’ve seen from Governments of all stripes within the United Kingdom has been good enough in dealing with this issue. I’ve been through the turmoil and stress with my A level and GCSE students in the past. I’ve spent years working through coursework, mocks, and exams and I know the pressure this puts on our young people and at the end of the road we expected them to be fairly rewarded for their work. Sometimes a student can have an off day or a bad exam, but they always had the opportunity to re-sit and put the situation right themselves. However, for many of our young people this year, through no fault of their own, this hasn’t been the case. The sense of fair play and the belief that a student can make of their life what they wish has been completely smashed to pieces. I can only imagine how crushing that must be for a young person who will have worked hard for 18 months, only to have the rug pulled from under them, first by coronavirus and then by an unaccountable algorithm. The situation we find ourselves in is flat out unacceptable and well-being of our young people must be the key focus going forward. To do that I believe we can’t leave the fate of their future up to a computer. We need to listen to the people who know their potential the best. Therefore, I am adamant we should accept teachers’ predictions for A Level and GCSE results this year for every student in the UK. This is an exceptional year and regardless of “grade inflation “students should be awarded grades their teachers think right. Colleges and employers will appreciate the uniqueness of this academic year, and kids in less affluent areas will not have been shut out from an education achieved by high attainment because of an unjust algorithm. We need action in hours not days or weeks. I implore the First Minister and the Prime Minister to right this wrong.   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: Julie Jones Nominated by: Eleanor Jones During the unrelenting chaos that has been brought by COVID-19 into our local and somewhat isolated communities, Julie Jones was one of the very first people to think about others in her area and set about creating the Gower isolation support group we see on Facebook and around Bishopston village. Whilst Julie had both her young children, her partner, her mother - who is in the group most vulnerable to COVID - and a business unable to close due to the essentialist of the company’s work all to take care of and support during the crisis, she still continued with the Gower isolation support group and led the way in helping the more isolated and most vulnerable people in the village stay connected and acknowledged when they had an issue. There were occasions when Julie, on an early Saturday morning, had to go relive the past of her social working days in helping and assessing the needs of vulnerable elders in the area. There were times when she would have to personally go to shops during the peak of the pandemic and deliver shopping to locals shielding or simply unable to leave their homes due to their field of work. There were also occasions where Julie would be still up on her feet in the kitchen at 10pm peeling potatoes and other vegetables for her portion of the grub-club that she also helped to found. Julie has been and has continued to be a beacon of good-heartedness and kindness during such unprecedented times. Whilst others have enjoyed spending time with family without the need of heading out to work, Julie has sacrificed part of her time at home with her children and family to look after others and revive the true community spirit of helping each other during crisis’. Richard Harris Nominated by: Joanne Edwards This is to say a great big thank you to Richard and the other members of Gowerton RFC and Cricket club. Richard was instrumental in coordinating the amazing response from club members in collecting and delivering prescriptions, food shopping, and carrying out telephone calls to check in on those who were shielding. Richard along with other members organised the delivery of over 500 Sunday dinners kindly made by Nomad bar and grill. I have been in regular contact with Rich throughout lock down and he has been a fantastic support to both myself and many residents of Gowerton. Thank you. You are this week's #GOWERHEROES 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: Anna Rees Nominated by: Richard Davies When the Coronavirus hit, Anna stepped up as the 'community champion' for Tircoed. Village, Penllergaer. Anna has as worked tirelessly coordinating volunteers as well as personally providing support with food, prescriptions and many many other issues. She has worked with the Local Area Coordinator, highlighting issues where appropriate and has supported the broader work of the Pontarddulais Partnership in providing community support. Anna has run a social media page for her area and regularly posts significant and appropriate information, which takes up a huge amount of her time. Anna is always available to offer support and advice. Jack Kelleher Nominated by: Catherine Evans At the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, Jack was one of the first people to get in touch to offer his help with our food bank. He carried out a deep clean of the centre and also loaned us a vehicle for a 6-week period in order that we could deliver food parcels to the most vulnerable members of our community. Richard Davies Nominated by: Mark Mathias Richard, who is employed by the City and County of Swansea Council as Local Area Coordinator for the Pontarddulais and District area has been fundamental in establishing and running the Pontarddulais Community Response to the Covid 19 crisis. Well before it became the policy for the LAC’s to be involved in such activity, Richard stepped in at the very beginning showing leadership in what needed to be done to support to what ended as nearly 200 people who were self isolating. He supported and advised on numerous matters which safeguarded all concerned and brought about huge benefits to the community at large. But perhaps what stood out more was his very hands on approach, carrying out numerous tasks himself many of which were in his own time (Richard spent hours on Good Friday BH travelling around a number of Pharmacies to obtain the right drugs for a person who needed help and then did the same thing on Easter Sunday!). There is no doubts at all that there are many ,many people, both those who needed help and those who assisted in helping them, will always be grateful for Richard’s knowledge, skill ,demeanour and commitment to the wellbeing of people and the community at large. Thank you. You are this week's #GOWERHEROES   Tonia Antoniazzi, MP for Gower, has urged local charities and good causes to apply for funding from one of four trusts funded by players of People’s Postcode Lottery.
Applications are open from Tuesday 4th August until Wednesday 19th August. Organisations can apply for grants between £500 and £20,000. Interested organisations can apply to one of four trusts, which each support projects focussed on different themes:
Good causes should apply to the trust that best supports the aims of their project. Short funding guides and an eligibility quiz can be found on each trust website to help applicants. Tonia Antoniazzi MP said: “The work of good causes in Gower during these difficult times has been nothing short of inspirational – the amount of good they do for the most vulnerable in our community cannot be overstated. “I encourage any interested organisations to take the eligibility quiz then apply for the trust that best fits their needs. Players of People’s Postcode Lottery have already raised over £500 million for good causes and I would love to see some more successful applicants from Gower.” Laura Chow, head of charities at People’s Postcode Lottery, said: “Over the past few months we’ve seen the important role that grassroots good causes play in communities throughout Britain. “I’m delighted that players of People’s Postcode Lottery are able to support these organisations with this funding opportunity. Nearly £7 million will be awarded in grants, so I urge smaller, local good causes and groups to visit the trust websites, see where their project would best fit and get applying.” A minimum of 32% of each ticket goes directly to charities. Players of People’s Postcode Lottery have raised more than £500 million for 7,500 good causes across Britain and internationally since 2005. For more information, to view the funding guides and apply visit the trusts’ websites directly: www.postcodeneighbourhoodtrust.org.uk www.postcodetrust.org.uk www.postcodelocaltrust.org.uk www.postcodecommunitytrust.org.uk e to edit. |