We are thrilled to welcome Sarah Neighbour to our team as Community Engagement Manager as we expand into Bedfordshire. This is a hugely exciting time for us and we are grateful to The Fore whose support is enabling us to grow and extend our reach into a new area. The problem of loneliness, social isolation and the struggle faced by so many older people to keep warm in their homes is certainly not unique to Hertfordshire.

Sarah plays a very active role in her community and will bring a wealth of experience to the team.  We are delighted that she will now be working to build and manage relationships with organisations and individuals within Bedfordshire in the voluntary, corporate and statutory sectors. Our hope is that we can begin to distribute Warm in Winter gift bags this coming winter.

On joining our team, Sarah commented “I am very happy and excited to be starting my new role with Small Acts of Kindness. I feel very grateful that I've been given this opportunity to join a wonderful team and charity who are doing such worthwhile work.

I have followed Small Acts of Kindness for about 3 years and wanted to contribute to making a difference to older people’s lives in Bedfordshire the same way they have  done in Hertfordshire. I feel very passionate about helping communities that may be isolated and playing a part in making connections to improve individuals’ health and well-being.  This coming winter, more older people than ever are going to be facing very hard times with the cost of living crisis, fuel increases and I want to play a part in making a positive difference to their lives.

I’m looking forward to achieving our initial goal of distributing our first 500 Warm in Winter gift bags to isolated residents in Bedfordshire by the start of next year.  That will be the foundation we can build upon to reach more people in the coming years.”