Charter Tax Principal, Mark Howard, has lived in the village of Rotherfield for more than 25 years, where he is very much part of the community, and is a trustee of both Rotherfield St Martin and Rotherfield Village Hall.
Rotherfield St Martin was set up to tackle loneliness among older residents in the village. Since the onset of Covid-19, the organisers have relocated from the Memorial Institute to set up offices in their own homes. The regular clubs have had to be cancelled and the team is working hard to provide friendship calls to members to combat total isolation.
Its art group is continuing on Zoom, giving everyone the chance to paint and draw together. Members have said: “It’s the only day when I don’t have to remind myself which day it is!” and “It was lovely to do something normal”.
The Covid-19 pandemic has meant that it is not just older residents in Rotherfield who need support, so Rotherfield St Martin is now driving a village-wide initiative for all members of the community called Parish Pals (endorsed by Rotherfield Parish Council). It has been created so that anyone in the Rotherfield community ‘knows how to safely ask for and receive help and volunteer’.
According to Rotherfield St Martin: “As well as our usual fabulous volunteers, we are delighted to be able to work with the incredible army of volunteers who have come forward from every corner of our community, to help. None of us know what the next few weeks will hold but what we do know, is that we are stronger together.”
Sharon Howard, also part of our Charter Tax team, has been getting involved with Parish Pals in a very practical way. In April, COOK in Tunbridge Wells got in touch to offer free meals once a week to the elderly and other people affected by the lockdown – which was very much appreciated, as the Rotherfield St Martin weekly Lunch Club for older folk has been temporarily closed.
This offer came as part of the COOK Kindness Fund – which was set up for any charity to apply if they represented those in need. By the middle of July, the company will have donated an incredible 100,000 meals across the country, which is an amazingly generous act in this time of particular need.
Since that kind offer, Sharon has been organising a weekly trip to COOK to collect 90 frozen meals, which are then distributed by a team of volunteers to both vulnerable people in Rotherfield and to the key worker parents of children still attending Rotherfield Primary School and Pre-School.
Sharon said after the first deliveries: “I’ve had such a lovely morning delivering the meals and meeting so many nice people.”
She adds: “COOK in Tunbridge Wells has been really supportive and the team is so friendly; they even offer us choices, which is appreciated as we are supporting a variety of people of different ages and needs.”
Adds Mark Howard: “Rotherfield is a fantastic village and nobody is surprised at how the community has come together at this time to support Parish Pals. I am very proud to be involved with Rotherfield St Martin and know that the work it does makes a real difference to the lives of people in our community.”
