Its our way of saying thank you to customers old and new for their business so far in 2012.

Happy shopping.

In early April 2012 Harlow Foodbank has fed over 5,000 people in crisis with emergency food since it opened in April 2009. It has also collected over 23 tonnes of donated food from the community and distributed 22.5 tonnes, through its referral system working in partnership with 42 front-line care professionals. The foodbank now feeds an average of 201 people each month (129 adults & 72 children) and referrals this year have increased by 30% in comparison to the same period last year.

 The foodbank collects donated food from its partners in Harlow and the surrounding area, who include 72 churches, 38 schools, 3 supermarkets (ASDA, Sainsbury’s & Tesco’s) and many individual people across the town. Great Parndon Parish and LOKnSTORE in Harlow provide FREE storage space for all of the donated food. St Paul’s Church in Harlow Town Centre provides a central location for the foodbank satellite service, based in the Upper Room, and Harlow Salvation Army provides cover for the foodbank service on Wednesdays at their Tendring Road location. The foodbank has a team of 59 local volunteers working at their warehouse, satellite centre and with supermarket collections.

The main reasons for people using the foodbank are: Benefit Delay, Low Income, Homelessness, Benefit Cuts, Refused Crisis Loan, Debt, Unemployment, Domestic Violence, Sickness and Delayed Wages. Over 60% of referrals to the foodbank are due to some form of benefit change or delay.

 Gary Knott, Director of Community Services says: ‘We have been overwhelmed by the support we have received from the local community, who have really got behind the foodbank project and provided us with enough donated food this year to feed all the people in crisis who are referred to us. We would also like to thank our community partners and volunteers who work so closely with us, which is invaluable. We know from current projections that many more people will use our service this year, so we would continue to ask for food donations to ensure we meet this growing need in Harlow.’

APPEAL – Harlow Foodbank would like to work in partnership with a local Harlow-based community-focused business who could provide warehouse space for the project, so if anyone can help please ring the MRCT office on 01279 724515

Notes to the editor:

People wishing to donate food to the Harlow Foodbank should contact Gary Knott or Joshua Asir on 01279 724515

Foodbanks actively involve the local community in helping those in crisis in their midst.

Clients are referred to Harlow foodbank by frontline care professionals who are best positioned to identify people in crisis. Care professionals issue their client with a foodbank voucher which can be redeemed for three days of emergency food.

Foodbanks also provide signposting to agencies that are able to help provide longer term solutions to any problems, for example, debt counselling.

Clients are referred to foodbanks for a huge variety of reasons, including: redundancy, benefit delay, unemployment, illness, debt, an unexpected bill, or bereavement. Most people who use the foodbank are not homeless.

Harlow falls into the top 30% of most deprived authorities in England

22.45% of children in Harlow are living below the poverty line

For more information visit: www.mrct.org.uk/foodbank

Harlow Foodbank can be found on Facebook & Twitter @harlowfoodbank

Michael Roberts Charitable Trust (MRCT) 

The Rainbow Centre, 2 Wych Elm, Harlow,

Essex CM20 1QP

Tel: 01279 724515

www.mrct.org.uk

 Registered Charity Number: 1065006

Registered Company Number: 3439299

(Registered in England & Wales)

ontact Details:

]]> http://4theworkplace-blog.co.uk/archives/236/feed 0 http://4theworkplace-blog.co.uk/archives/234 http://4theworkplace-blog.co.uk/archives/234#comments Tue, 17 Apr 2012 13:29:06 +0000 admin http://4theworkplace-blog.co.uk/?p=234 Continue reading →]]> Having been part of the original team that set up the Harlow Foodbank we have now been called back in to assist with the expansion of the facility, to supply and install more longspan shelving.

MRCT officially opened the Harlow foodbank on Monday 20th April 2009 and works in partnership with churches, schools, supermarkets, businesses and front-line professional care agencies to provide this valuable community resource.

In our first 3 years Harlow foodbank has provided food to over 4,995 people.

As the birth town of our MD Steve Swallow – the charity can always count on the support of 4theworkplace.co.uk

In Charge™ lockers provide a secure and safe solution to clients who require charging facilities for valuable laptops, tool batteries or mobile phones during the day or overnight on construction sites, in schools or public reception areas.

In Charge™ Lockers are CE certified, which is a declaration that the product meets the requirements of the applicable European Directive. In Charge™ lockers provide a convenient and safe solution to your customers charging requirements.

• Available in a range of different sizes and door configurations.
• Metal to metal earth straps fitted to each individual door.
• Single or double standard UK 3 pin sockets in each compartment, dependant on door configuration.
• Power lead is supplied with fitted RCD plug. Lead plugs into the In Charge™ Locker enabling replacement of lead if damaged.
• All doors and side panels are perforated to aid ventilation and reduce the risk of heat build up
• Choice of tough durable powder coated colours with BioCote© anti-microbial protection.
• Fully welded steel door frames
• Fully reinforced compartments with in frame locking

Are you having a bad day at work ?, Are you bitching about a former employee ?, Supplier giving you grief ?, Things not going to plan ? Letting things get on top of you ?

Perhaps your computer is playing up ! or even your favourite jeans are not washed.

Its really not that bad is it ? We spend too much time bitching about others and moaning about things that really in the grand scheme of things are not that important.

So why dont we just get on with life and treat it as it should be treated – PRECIOUSLY ! We dont know how long we have left on this planet, or even what fate awaits us around the corner.

Spend more time enjoying life and getting on with living it – and stop the bitching and moaning – it really is not good for you.

Keep strong Fabrice, Get well soon.

Arrested and charged for being a grumpy old man with a brain that works in overdrive, Steve was later released after producing over £500 in bail money.

The arrest was amongst 20 made by police across Norwich in the early hours of Thursday morning – Well starting at around 9 when most of the “Fugitives” were at their desks.

Minding his own business on the putting green, Steve was arrested by Norfolk Police as the warrant for his arrest was read out by the City Crier, just when he was producing some wonderful long range putting.

The “dawn raids” culminated in over £12,000 being raised for Norfolk Hospice

For further details on the arrests and subsequent release please visit  the Eastern Evening News Website

A great day was had by all the Fugitives, raising a good amount of money for a very worthy cause into the bargain

• School Lockers provide students with a space of their own. They’re held accountable for its contents and it’s their job to care for and maintain that space. Memorizing locker combinations help students gain a sense of responsibility; if they want to get what they need, they’re required to know the combination and be able to open it. This serves as practice for other things they’ll have to preserve and be able to access later in life (i.e., safety deposit boxes, pin numbers and alarm codes).

Effects

• Another advantage of lockers is how they teach students to respect other people’s property. A student’s locker tends to contain things that are valuable to them and that they need, like pictures, books, homework and other belongings. A locker is supposed to be a safe place for students to store items without having to worry that they’ll be stolen or ruined. Given that students want to be confident that their locker’s possessions are protected, odds are they’ll show consideration for their fellow student’s lockers.

Features

• Additionally, lockers are temporary and belong to the school; hence, students are required to obey all locker rules that are implemented. Lockers are a privilege that provide students with ease and accessibility. Every book is not needed for every school period and school supplies can be heavy and hard to cart around. If a student misuses her locker or breaks a rule, her privilege is revoked and she will have to suffer the consequences. The same system applies to diverse situations that students will inevitably encounter.

Function

• Lockers provide students with a key life skill–time management. Students have a designated time period in between classes when they can retrieve their supplies. They need to think ahead and plan how to manage their time so they won’t be late. It’s their responsibility to create a system that works for them. The ability to constructively manage time is relevant in all areas of life, including careers, relationships, homework and studying.

Benefits

• A major advantage of lockers is the social environment that surrounds them. Lockers are where a lot of public interaction takes place. This teaches students about social responsibility and etiquette. Regardless of whether or not they are friendly with the students who have lockers next to them, they need to respect them. In school (work and other social settings), you may not know everyone around you or even like them. However, lockers present students with a chance to converse with different types of people outside a specific peer group and form new relationships.

Read more: The Advantages of Lockers in Schools | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_5052427_advantages-lockers-schools.html#ixzz1n7F2y5Ug

The research paper compared the seven most common drying methods in public toilets and concludes that paper towels and warm air hand dryers have the highest environmental toll – generating 70% more carbon emissions than the newest technology on the market, the cold air-driven hand dryer from UK manufacturer Dyson, which also commissioned the paper.

The study could also help conumers in comparing the environmental impact of products by distinguishing greenwash and making it easier to interpret the growing number of environmental claims. Last year Dyson and US paper towel corporation Kimberly Clark were involved in a row over research, which suggested “significant hygiene risks associated with jet air dryers and warm air dryers”, which Dyson dismissed as false claims.

MIT’s new research looked at the entire life cycle of various competing products from cradle to grave – materials, manufacturer, use and end of life – including use of transport, dispenser, waste bins and bin liners. Previous scientific studies into hand drying have tended to focus on the spread (and usually increase) of bacteria, amid growing concern about infection control and the impact of superbugs on public health.

Consumers typically perceive recycled paper towels to be better for the environment. But the report’s researchers found that the environmental impact of recycled towels equals that of virgin paper towels in a number of environmental measures, including CO2 emissions and and water consumption. In the US, 2% of total landfill consists of paper towels. Recycled and virgin towels were both found to generate over three times more carbon emissions than the Dyson Airblade hand dryers, creating waste, consuming more energy and also using more water.

By contrast, the environmental impact of warm air hand dryers occurs during use. Energy-heating elements and inefficient motors tip the sustainability scales, making warm air dryers up to 80% less energy-efficient than the Dyson Airblade hand dryer.

Sir James Dyson, the billionaire founder of Dyson and inventor of the bagless vaccuum cleaner, claimed the findings were an independent endorsement for his product, which is now available in 34 countries worldwide, with sales growing by nearly 70% last year. He commented: “Paper towels and warm hand dryers – like vacuum bags – are from a byegone era. Technology has moved on. People want to dry their hands quickly, competely and without damaging the environment .”

The Dyson Airblade was launched in the UK in October 2006, when it was heralded as more hygienic, more energy-efficient and more than twice as fast as any conventional electric hand dryer on the market. In the UK, it has gained a Carbon Trust rating, reflecting its green credentials.

MIT’s paper has been peer reviewed and the work will soon be submitted for publication in a leading academic journal.

Source http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/nov/11/paper-towels-drying-hands-energy

We have now introduced www.4thelockers.co.uk a site dedicated to the vast range of lockers we have available, including school lockers, workplace lockers, indeed any locker you may need for your workplace.

The site is packed with low prices, high quality products, around 98% of which is manufactured here in the UK.

Please feel free to visit the site, and any comments are always welcome – good or bad !

• British manufactured PVC
• Colours available Clear Red Blue Black & Green
• Stainless steel hanging rails and hanging plates
• Fabricated to order promptly.
• Standard grade for ambient temperature environment.
• Use: Pedestrian doorways, warehouse doorways, cold room or freezer doorways
• Strips available include 200mm x 2mm, 300 x 3mm, 300 x 3mm ribbed and polar grade for freezers / coldrooms

If you are not sure what size you need and what type pvc strip curtain you need for your doorway, drop me an email for some advice steve@4theworkplace.co.uk