My name is Judy Saxby and I am Marchwood’s representative on the Dibden Allotments Charity which was formed in 1995 after the sale of the allotments at Applemore.

The investment monies achieved as a result of that sale are still used to help people in need, and also local organisations, from Calshot to our own parish of Marchwood.

I and my fellow eight trustees, representing all the Waterside parishes, meet every month. We make decisions at this full meeting on the grants requested over £900 on individual applications, occasionally deal with appeals on previous grant decisions and also requests for monetary help from other local organisations and charities (it is within our remit to make a gifted grant for example towards running costs.)

There are other meetings throughout the year to discuss policy and financial issues.
Each week three of us will deal with grants from individuals and are able to give help up to £900.

Each application receives careful consideration and is dealt with in a sympathetic and compassionate way. Currently most applicants cannot ask for help within two years of an earlier request but nevertheless each application is still perused and judged on its own merits and obviously sometimes this rule may be waived. Nothing is written in stone at Dibden Allotments!!

The charity gives clothes vouchers to needy families, (BHS, Tesco, Adams and Asda will accept these) food vouchers are also given, the amount depending on whether it is a single person, a couple or a family.

A new idea is to provide an actual food parcel (from the DAC larder!) instead of vouchers, of course if things such as nappies or toiletries are needed, then vouchers would be more appropriate.

Around £25,000 a year goes on food vouchers, but as the food donation is a more economical way of dealing with people’s short-term hardship problem, next year’s spend may be less.

Some clients do find themselves temporarily in desperate circumstances with no funds for food or gas and electricity, could be moving into new accommodation, with no furniture, carpets or basic home requirements, or in rare cases even homeless.

DAC makes hardship grants to the local schools, primary and secondary for uniforms and school trips so that no child should ever feel left out, whatever their home circumstances. The schools also hold £25 shoe vouchers available to families on reduced incomes to help with the cost of decent school shoes. Of course should any child need shoes and be under school age these are available from the office.

Quite often clients cannot afford to replace broken or unusable white goods, so the charity provides these, but they do remain the property of DAC and are subject to a yearly inspection.

Well, you may ask what has the Dibden Allotments Charity done for us? (Marchwood and Pooksgreen, that is)

Some organisational grants do cover the whole of the Waterside area including Marchwood, such as Relate, Cussens Day Centre, and Oakhaven Hospice also the Theodora Trust and the Honeypot Foundation, the local charity that provides holidays for children from all areas countrywide, including our own, young carers for instance and also children from very deprived family homes for whatever reason.

An exciting “electronic” event in the village happened last summer when a grant of £1300 towards a computer suite was made to the Mulberry Community Centre.

This initiative, now up and running, has proved to be hugely successful and has provided a free computer link for soldiers and their families and also the wider village community who perhaps do not have internet access themselves. It has become an essential communication device for our new village members, enabling the many nationalities who now live here to be able to contact their partners and relatives abroad.

The Marchwood plan has as one of it aims, that elderly people should be supported in various ways to remain in their own home. This is where Dibden Allotments Charity is able to help as well, by providing a gardening service for those who feel unable to cope with their gardens any more.

We have seven people in Marchwood who are currently helped in this way, they pay according to means but the service is free if you are over ninety!!

The New Forest Ki Society was also granted money this year to continue their sports club at the village hall, where children and adults learn the martial art Aikido.

The Handy Trust and therefore Derek Hawkins, our local youth worker is also supported by the charity. Derek and his fellow youth workers in the Waterside are part funded in their invaluable work by an annual grant.

Our local teenagers get terrific support from Derek and his helpers and know that they are able to approach them with any problem.

Candy Huxham, Derek and the other youth workers are also heavily involved with Sports in the Park, which is also financially supported by DAC and others. This summer event is staged at various venues in the Waterside and happens in Marchwood at Lloyds Recreation Ground, it provides good fun things for the young people to do, during what can be a long school holiday.

The Charity works closely with Hythe CAB, SSAFA and the local doctors’ surgeries, as every application must have professional support, and is of course means tested.

Dibden Allotments Charitable Trust is a unique entity. The numerous ways in which it supports so many people within our local parishes are immeasurable and I am so proud to be part of it and our village’s representative.