MADS Group Celebrates Five Years

Well what a month we had. The preparations for the Syston Summer Fayre were a success.
We celebrated five years of the MADS Group and now we look forward to finding more ways to help the group and to raise more funds.
Syston Summer Fayre
The Syston Summer Fayre was fantastic and it was such a turnout and we raised £280 (Our most raised at the Syston Summer Fayre yet) with the amount still rising from selling our excess Summer Fayre Bric a Brac elsewhere. By the time we are finished, we will have raised over £300 if not much more for our group which is incredible. The support and donations from the community have helped us reach this incredible milestone and we couldn’t have achieved this without all of your thoughtful donations. We want to say a big thank you to all of you who have supported us and continue to support us through our journey.
MADS Group turns five
Our first session officially started on Wednesday 9th September 2020 and at this point we were worried if the group was even going to be successful or not due to the COVID-19 pandemic just hitting us but the Syston Community Centre allowed us to keep running our sessions under government guidelines as it was understood that people would still need help and support through COVID and it turned out everyone needed it more than ever. We never thought that after the pandemic it would become what it has become today. Chairwoman Bev Johnson said “What I thought was going to be a coffee morning to help people for a short while has amazingly turned into five years.” Both Bev and Vice Chair, George Blount, have said “Thank you to everyone who attends and also thanks for all the support and donations over the years”
One of our volunteers have also said “You have all done an amazing job helping so many people.”
I myself am so incredibly proud of what my mum and George have created and to see this group grow from strength to strength is incredible to see.
To have an amazing team behind us makes it so much better and I want to take a moment to thank our volunteer team. Lillie, Emma, Suzanne, and Biba. All of our volunteers are a very crucial part of our team and without all of you, we couldn’t do what we do today and I want to thank you for all the hard work you have put in and continue to put in.
On Wednesday 10th September, we all celebrated five years of MADS together with a lovely spread of food prepared by Carl Petch and some music. A lot of long time members were sat trying to remember and reminisce when they first joined the MADS Group. Everyone had a fantastic time and it was lovely to see everyone laughing, talking and having fun as we enjoyed the atmosphere.
We all had a lovely group photo together before the end of the session. This is only a handful of the members we usually have. Some of them couldn’t make it, or just didn’t want their photo taken. (Due to safeguarding and their circumstances, some members have their faces blocked out with a cute little smiley face.)
To reach five years is a huge milestone for us and we are so happy to have the chance to provide a safe space like this for the community of Syston and long may it continue.
Written by Deanna Johnson – Media and PR for MADS Group
[DISCLAIMER: We are not medical or healthcare professionals. We just want to provide a safe space for those who need the help to take that step into reaching out for the correct professional support which we can signpost members to.]

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