Tag: Hampshire

Tree blessing and fundraising in Fareham

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Celebrants, colleagues, clients and friends gathered in Fareham last week for an open day at The Co-operative Funeralcare branch in Trinity Street.

The branch was filled with festive scents with mulled wine and homemade festive treats including gingerbread biscuits, sausage and cranberry sausage rolls and an abundance of mince pies.

A raffle was held for The Rainbow Centre which supports children and adults affected by neurological conditions. The total amount raised from the raffle was £172.

Rev Sean Blackman also attended and blessed the branch’s tree, which is adorned with twinkling stars.

Gosport remembers as new war memorial plaque is commemorated

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Andrea Witham with Cllr Dawn Kelly

Gosportarians gathered together yesterday to remember those who suffered during the enemy action of World War II after a replacement plaque has been sited in Stoke Road.

Marking one of the worst nights of World War II for those living in Gosport – 10/11 January 1941, the replacement war memorial plaque is located on the newer Marina Buildings which were destroyed in air raids.

Yesterday’s commemorative ceremony was organised by Councillor Dawn Kelly, who arranged the replacement plaque thanks to funding from Southern Co-op and its funeral care branch in Stoke Road, after the previous plaque became weather-worn and difficult to read.

The plaque now states: “Marina Buildings. This stone was laid as a memorial to the people of Gosport who lost their lives due to enemy action. Here on the night of 10/11 January 1941 Marina Buildings were destroyed in air raids. Rebuilt December 1947. Architect Ernest I. Thomas FRIBA, Builder John Hunt Ltd, Owner George Brigden.”

Dawn Kelly said: “The previous plaque started life in St Edwards Road and over the years it was moved and had become very weathered. The stone was so hard to read that it made reproducing the text a challenge.

“It needed replacing so I was very pleased when Southern Co-op offered to do it for free via their stonemasons. It is a mark of respect for people who put their lives on the line so it is only right for it to be restored and a commemorative ceremony to mark the occasion.”

During World War II, a total of 114 people lost their lives in Gosport as a result of air raids.

According to Gosport Heritage Open Days, Gosport experienced 1,591 alerts, 61 raids, it was hit by more than 400 high explosive bombs and over 10,000 incendiary bombs were dropped.

Andrea Witham, Funeral Co-ordinator at The Co-operative Funeralcare in Stoke Road, Gosport, said: “With war in the forefront of our minds, it seems even more poignant than ever to mark this occasion and commemorate all those who have lost their lives over the years.

“With many of the people who lived through World War II no longer with us, it is important for the rest of us to take up the baton and ensure their experiences continue to be remembered.”

Special thanks also to Haven Memorials and The Queens Hotel.

Remembrance windows honouring our fallen servicemen

Posted on by ashleymarsh
The Co-operative Funeralcare – Cowplain

The importance of Remembrance Day is being brandished in the windows of funeral homes across the south of England thanks to help from children, communities and colleagues.

To mark 100 years of the Royal British Legion, Southern Co-op is making a donation of £5,000 and is encouraging its funeral colleagues to mark the anniversary with bold window displays.

At The Co-operative Funeralcare – Cowplain, children from St Peter’s Catholic School in Waterlooville have painstakingly painted 930 memory stones to remember the 930 people killed in Portsmouth during the Blitz. A further 2,837 were injured and more than 6,000 properties were destroyed.

The Co-operative Funeralcare – Widley

Jackie Duthie, Cowplain Funeral Co-ordinator, said: “The children from Year Six have created the beautiful poppies that we have cascading down on the outside of the window. Out of lots of small crosses the children have also created this wonderful large cross, which looks so poignant and so effective.

“They will be coming along to the branch on Wednesday at 11am to hand out their memory stones to the community in Cowplain. Remembrance Day gives people the chance to remember those who fought and lost their lives during the war and to honour their memory.

“With fewer and fewer living survivors, it’s even more important than ever to remember the sacrifice’s these people made for our country. Teaching our children about the importance of Remembrance Day will keep the memories of these soldiers and brave individuals alive now and in the future.”

At The Co-operative Funeralcare – Widley, Mayor of Havant Councillor Rosy Raines helped to judge the poppy pictures created by children at Purbrook Junior School aged seven to 11 years. All of the children received a certificate for their efforts.

The Co-operative Funeralcare – Peacehaven

Linda Docherty, Widley Funeral Co-ordinator, said: “I am truly blessed to have such wonderful children help me in my display. I have also had a lady knit a poppy wreath for me and another lady made a cross with a poppy helmet which is absolutely amazing.”

At The Co-operative Funeralcare with Caring Lady – Peacehaven, Funeral Co-ordinator Kerry Tester incorporated the original helmet of her grandfather.

Kerry said: “The tin hat is original and was my Grandad’s from the Second World War. I am very proud to be able to display my late grandfather Harold Roberts’ hat in our window as my earliest memories of him were when he would get us to ‘build’ the poppies that he brought home from The Royal British Legion in September ready to sell in time for Remembrance Day.”

At The Co-operative Funeralcare – Farnborough, they have been overwhelmed by the artwork they have had in from the local infant, junior and nursery schools

Anne Whitehouse, Farnborough Funeral Co-ordinator, said: “We designed various simple poppy posters and sent out emails to local infant, junior and nursery schools asking if they would like to colour, paint or collage them for us to display in our window.

The Co-operative Funeralcare – Farnborough

“We had no idea what a fantastic response we would get! The window shows all the amazing posters that have come back to us, so many that they had to be displayed back to back, which just means we get a fabulous wall of poppies to look at on the inside too.”

Southern Co-op’s colleagues will be marking the important day with a minute’s silence including at its local retail stores.

To find your nearest Southern Co-op funeral branch, visit www.funeralcare.co.uk/our-funeral-directors/location-map/.

 

UK’s first fully electric Tesla based hearse lands in the south of England

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Funerals are about to get greener in the south of England as the UK’s first fully electric Tesla based hearse is delivered to a regional, co-operative funeral services provider.

Southern Co-op, which operates just under 60 funeral branches across Berkshire, Dorset, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Somerset, Surrey, Sussex and Wiltshire, has taken delivery of the new, ground-breaking Wisper based on the Tesla Model S.

The hearse will be available at all of The Co-operative Funeralcare branches run by Southern Co-op and will enable families to say goodbye to their loved ones in a more environmentally responsible way.

With state-of-the-art technology and equipment, the entirely silent hearse is zero-emission with full electric operation, measuring around 5.8m in length and has a 220-mile single-charge range capability powered at Southern Co-op sites using electricity from renewable sources.

Steve Pearce, Southern Co-op’s Chief Operating Officer for End of Life Services, said: “This day has been a long time coming with delays caused by the pandemic and waiting for it to be approved for use on the UK’s roads. So this is definitely a time to celebrate and we won’t waste any time in getting it on the road.

“There is only one other existing electric hearse in the UK which is much more compact so we hope this will offer people an elegant alternative which echoes a more traditional appearance. It will also compliment an existing range of other eco-friendly products we offer as we all work together to tackle climate change and make a difference to our environment.”

As well as the hearse, delivered through funeral vehicle provider Coleman Milne, Southern Co-op is also the first funeral business in the UK to take delivery of two new hybrid Mercedes E-Class Limousines and two new converted E class Mercedes hybrid hearses.

These six-door models offer style and comfort with high tech accessories and an electric vehicle powertrain with the ability to run the vehicles in full electric mode for an entirely silent funeral procession.

Mark Smith, Chief Executive at Southern Co-op, said: “It’s important that we all work together to tackle climate change, so we are delighted to now be able to offer our customers the choice of a more environmentally favourable funeral fleet and to take the next step on our sustainability journey together.

“The appetite for change is there within our communities so, by making it easier for loved ones to make more informed choices, people can play their part in making a positive difference to our environment and our communities.”

Southern Co-op is currently working towards its ambitious science based targets to cut direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions from its business by 2030, supported by a climate action pathway of planned activity and an initial investment of £5.8m.

To view Southern Co-op’s long term strategy including its commitment to climate change and responsible business, visit www.thesouthernco-operative.co.uk/our-plan/.

Purbrook mum is on a mission to help local families in need

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After collecting stacks of donated uniforms to help struggling families, a Widley funeral co-ordinator is now turning her hand to food donations.

Linda Docherty has been working at Southern Co-op for over two years and recently moved to its branch of The Co-operative Funeralcare in Widley.

She had barely got her feet under the table before she started encouraging local groups to apply for funding available which led to Purbrook Mother and Toddler Group receiving a £500 donation.

In a thank you letter to Linda, the group said it will help towards rent, insurance, equipment and snack costs and enable them to keep running the group for local families for many months to come.

But Linda wasn’t content and soon paired up with Care and Share Waterlooville – a drop off/pick up point in Waterlooville for essential items that people struggle to afford in difficult times.

Rachel and Jamie from Care and Share Waterlooville said: “Thanks to Linda at the Widley branch of The Co-operative Funeralcare, she helped us at a time when we were super busy with our normal workload of help bank requests by becoming a drop off point for used and new school uniforms.

“The uniform items kindly delivered to us by Linda have been made available for families with children struggling, not just to afford the items, but also to find them with shops and local outlets running out of many items during the post COVID-19/Brexit driver shortage.”

Linda has now turned her attention to food and has set up a donation point in the branch in London Road to make it easy for people to drop off in the local area.

Linda, 54, said: “What an absolute achievement the uniform donations have been. People actually went out and bought uniforms to donate them.

“Being Purbrook born and bred, I want nothing more than to help those less fortunate than myself. I have been less fortunate than others as a single mum of three – now with two grandchildren.

“When you’ve been there and been in that situation then you know what it’s like not to have enough money for uniform or not enough food in the cupboards.

“Working for Southern Co-op has given me more of an opportunity and it’s the icing on the cake that the co-operative like you to help your community. People are always behind me whatever I have come up with which is amazing and I hope it is bringing some life back into Widley.”

Care and Share Waterlooville is currently looking for donations of tinned beans and sausages, hot dog sausages, coffee, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, washing up liquid, bleach and scouring pads. All donations are gratefully received.

To get in touch with Care and Share Waterlooville regarding support, email careandsharewaterlooville@outlook.com or via its Facebook page www.facebook.com/Care-and-Share-Waterlooville-107127284558223.

Or for more information on funding from Southern Co-op’s Love Your Neighbourhood programme, visit www.thesouthernco-operative.co.uk/love-your-neighbourhood/.

Online tributes provide essential place to remember loved ones during 2020

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With fewer people able to attend funerals in person in 2020, more donations than ever were made online in memory of loved ones, according to figures from a regional co-operative.

A total of £450,766 was donated in 2020 via the free online tribute pages offered by Southern Co-op, which helps support grieving families in Berkshire, Dorset, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Surrey, Sussex, Somerset and Wiltshire.

Despite only a slight rise in the actual number of funerals arranged, this was an increase of over 35% in online funeral donations when compared to the previous year.

The independent co-operative, which operates branches of The Co-operative Funeralcare and Caring Lady Funeral Directors, believes the increase is down to more awareness of charities needing extra support as well as fewer people being able to attend funerals in person.

Steve Pearce, Chief Operating Officer for funeral services at Southern Co-op, said: “Just under 300 charities received donations through our online memorial tributes. The majority of these will have been hit hard by the pandemic so the support is likely to be invaluable.

“Sadly, a lot of the families we supported last year were also affected by the pandemic. It‘s difficult to describe the effect it has had on so many but our funeral co-ordinators have done everything they can to lighten people’s burdens and our bereavement care colleagues have been on hand to offer free counselling which has been vital.

“The fact that people are continuing to think of others, despite their own grief, is remarkable and shows the strength we have as communities working together in times of need.”

There were a total of 11,211 individual donations made in 2020 – an increase from 7,455 in 2019.

People made an average of £40 per donation via the online memorial feature which also allows friends and family to set up a personal tribute page, to light virtual candles, share memories, stories, photos and videos of loved ones.

The top three charities to which people donated the most were Cancer Research UK, Rowans Hospice in Hampshire, and Alzheimer’s Society.

Other local charities in the top ten were Phyllis Tuckwell hospice care in Surrey and Hampshire, which received £23,774 of donations; St Wilfrid’s Hospice in Chichester which received £12,909 of donations; and Mountbatten, end of life support on the Isle of Wight, which received donations of £7,812.

Jonathan Davies, Chief Executive of MuchLoved, the bereavement charity that provides the online tribute platform, said: “2020 was an incredibly difficult year for everyone, not least those bereaved and the funeral industry working tirelessly to care for them.

“We are delighted that Southern Co-op branches were able to use the MuchLoved platform to help those families, and that so much has been raised for such worthy causes.

“Since the start of our partnership together, over £1 million has been raised for charitable causes, which is an incredible milestone to have achieved. We look forward to working together to continue this success in the future.

“Our charity was founded to support bereaved people and help them cope with their grief, and working with Southern Co-op means we can offer this support and care to more people at the most difficult of times.”

For more information about online tributes, visit www.funeralcare.co.uk/tributes-and-donations.

 

Voucher donation boosts Portsmouth partnership

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A donation of vouchers to a Portsmouth charity has helped people affected by the pandemic to stay independent.

With more than 7,860 requests for support in a 19 week period between March and July, HIVE Portsmouth has been helping vulnerable people to stay safe and fed during lockdown.

Funeral colleagues in Portsmouth heard how hard HIVE and its partners had been working and wanted to do something to help. The area’s Sector Operations Manager, Sue Mawson, rallied support from eight of Southern Co-op’s funeral branches and donated £700 worth of the co-operative’s retail vouchers.

Sue said: “The pandemic has had a horrendous impact on so many people’s lives. There have been people who’ve worked their whole lives and have been suddenly made redundant and are in need of help. The vouchers were our way of helping people to get essentials which they were no longer able to afford such as toothpaste or plasters.

“We also collected up school uniform from our colleagues and donated them to HIVE’s swap shop. It was all in a good condition just grown out of and hopefully helped a lot of families in the area as they prepared to go back to school. Thank you to our colleagues in Copnor, Rowner, North End, Eastney, Southsea, Fratton, Paulsgrove and Somerstown who have helped.”

HIVE Portsmouth’s initial emergency response was based around helping vulnerable people to stay safe at home, through the provision of food parcels, essential medicines, prescription collection and welfare check calls.

In conjunction with many partner organisations, HIVE oversaw the provision of over 6,000 hot meals, 3,000 food parcels, 4,500 prescriptions and 15,000 well being checks to those that were anxious, scared or lonely.

Julie Hawkins, Strategic Partnership Lead at HIVE, said: “The vouchers have been wonderful in keeping aside and making easily available when needed. In a couple of cases they’ve been used to obtain shopping for people who were unable to get out. We have concentrated on families to date requiring support and the vouchers have enabled people to remain in control of the food they choose to buy which is important for self esteem and independence.

“We have been overwhelmed by the generosity of others, and it has really felt that the whole city has been supporting the response. We are very grateful for everyone’s contributions and support and know that the recipients of the vouchers will have valued being able to choose their own shopping, which represents a return to ‘normality’ which is great.”

To support HIVE Portsmouth with its online development, Southern Co-op has also made a donation of £10,000.

With national headlines continuing to focus on the economic down turn, HIVE Portsmouth is welcoming further donations to help support those worried about job security, debt, bereavement or shielding.

People are invited to get in touch via www.hiveportsmouth.org.uk or to make a financial donation via Paypal through a button on its website.

For more information on Southern Co-op’s commitment to support local communities, visit www.thesouthernco-operative.co.uk/love-your-neighbourhood/.

Sleeping bags and toiletries needed for Havant’s homeless

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Residents are being asked to dig deep into the backs of their cupboards and donate any unwanted goods to help the homeless.

Help for Havant Homeless is a non-profit organisation currently collecting donations to help support the homeless in the Havant borough council area.

To help with the donations, Southern Co-op’s funeral branch in Leigh Park has set up a collection point which colleagues hope to keep open throughout the winter and into 2021.

Help for Havant Homeless is looking for donations which will help the homeless through the cold months such as sleeping bags, toiletries and torches.

Charlene Price, a community volunteer, said: “So far the public have been fantastic. We’ve had lots of donations and are needing help in keeping the donations coming in, especially items such as tinned food and petrol as it involves a lot of driving around. It’s been a real team effort with founders Lisa and Jason Martin and Rio on social media.

“We have local business people helping and the kindness and generosity of people have been amazing such as Heidis in Emsworth which donates food it is unable to keep for the next day.

“If anyone is aware of a homeless person in the Havant Borough Council area it would be great for us to be notified, then we can go out and have a chat with them to see if we can help in any way, even if it’s just to hand out food to them. We will soon be working alongside Two Saints which supports people who are homeless, vulnerable or at risk of becoming homeless.”

Help for Havant Homeless delivers a hot meal three times a week plus anything else they need, such as a tent.

Petrol can be donated via Tesco gift cards and goods donations can be made Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm at The Co-operative Funeralcare – Leigh Park, at 224 Dunsbury Way.

Rachel Cast, Funeral Co-ordinator at the branch which is part of Southern Co-op – the regional co-operative, said: “I wanted to get involved to help out in our local community and actually to make a difference to someone who needs it.

“The donations will be really positive and hopefully help the people who need it most.”

Specific requests for Help for Havant Homeless are currently put on its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/Help-for-Havant-Homeless-115572733622637/ or questions can be emailed to helpforthehomeless@outlook.com.

Remembrance Day display in Cowplain

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Thanks to the creativity of local school children, artwork is on display in a funeral branch’s window to recognise the importance of Remembrance Day.

More than 60 children aged nine and ten helped to draw, colour and craft artwork for the window at The Co-operative Funeralcare – Cowplain.

Funeral Co-ordinators, Jackie Duthie and Lesley Alison, contacted St Peter’s Primary School, in Waterlooville, in the hope they would be able to add some meaning to their window for this year’s Remembrance Day.

Arts Teacher Nina Pearson was more than happy to get involved and each child in Year Five received an invitation stating they had been commissioned to do a piece of artwork.

Each piece of artwork includes a red poppy and was influenced by the poem In Flanders Fields by John McCrae.

Nina said: “It’s important to talk about this commemorative event and our history, otherwise we just get caught up in the current moment. This makes you think about the sacrifices which were made.

“We might think we have a few liberties being taken away from us right now but look at the sacrifices that were made 100 years ago.”

The artwork is currently on display in London Road at the funeralcare branch which is part of Southern Co-op – the regional, independent co-operative.

Oil and chalk pastels, pens and colouring pencils were all used in the creation of the display alongside coloured cellophane.

Funeral Co-ordinator Lesley said: “Doing the Remembrance window display is very important to us and we thought it would be lovely for one of our local schools to help us.

“We would like to thank each and every child who took part. They have helped to strengthen the importance of Remembrance Day and we have been really impressed with everything they have created.”

Funeral Co-ordinator Jackie said: “We need to keep the younger generation involved as it is very important for them to remember our past, present and future military personnel and what they have sacrificed for us and what they will sacrifice for us in the future. This should never be forgotten and we should always remember them with great pride.”

Southern Co-op’s colleagues will be marking the important day with a minute’s silence including at its local retail stores.

Colleagues get back to nature during lockdown

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Pam Beeby based in Fareham

Funeral colleagues in and around Portsmouth have walked, run and jumped nearly 1,000 miles in a bid to beat the lockdown blues.

The area’s manager at Southern Co-op set the challenge for her colleagues to take them outside of their comfort zone. But even she was surprised at how far they could push themselves.

Nine colleagues, based at local branches of The Co-operative Funeralcare, took part and the winner was Sally Cornwell who walked 123 miles in June compared to just four miles in March.

To celebrate their success, a donation of £200 will be made to Portsmouth in the Community – Sally’s charity of choice and two £50 donations will go to two other local charities for the runners up.

Julie Feist with Jeanette Battersby-Wilcox

Sally, who works at branch in Fratton, said: “Not only do I feel better in myself, I also got to spend a lot of time with hubby and boys as they joined me on most walking occasions which was wonderful. I shall continue to do what I have done in June as its much better than going to the gym.”

Even the area’s Sector Operations Manager, Sue Mawson, got involved and exhausted herself by running 180 miles.

James Smith, who works in Rowner, went from walking 10 miles in May to 90 miles in June.

James said: “We have made friends with some dog walkers (and a particularly energetic little terrier), been attacked by spiky bushes, and learned the days that the local mental health facility does its own walks around and about.

“It has definitely helped keep me and [my partner] Dan sane during June to be getting out and about and we expect it to continue, at least while the weather is nice.”

Sue Mawson Sector Operations Manager

Other colleagues who took part were Julie Feist, based in Southsea – who walked 36 miles with her dogs to every single local branch, Pam Beeby, based in Fareham – who completed 131 miles doing 47 different activities and reducing her alcohol intake to zero, Sharon Whitford, based in North End – who walked 150,000 steps, Stacey Wilson, based in Fareham – who dropped a dress size, Jo Pitman, based in Southsea – who walked 100 miles, and Kyela Trivet, based in Gosport – who walked a total of 361,725 steps.

Claire McGinty, Regional Operations Manager at Southern Co-op, said: “All of the participants are winners in my eyes. We all agreed that everyone did amazingly, not only by participating in the challenge, but for doing something out of their comfort zone.

“It was so lovely to read what each colleague did as part of the challenge and to read that friends were made with local dog walkers, families spent more time together and that the local wild life was explored! We are still in uncertain times so to see that this challenge has helped colleagues feel better is just incredible.”

For more ideas on improving your health and connecting with nature, visit www.thesouthernco-operative.co.uk/love-your-neighbourhood/how-you-can-help-your-local-community-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/.