Thank you to this week's Gower Heroes! - Week 4

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







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