Berkhamsted charity wins 'Outstanding Achievement' plaque at Hertfordshire Care Awards

A care team in Dacorum has been recognised for their outstanding achievements during the COVID-19 pandemic at the tenth annual Hertfordshire Care Awards.

Sunnyside Rural Trust - a charity and social enterprise - were awarded an Outstanding Achievement plaque by HCPA, for the fantastic work that they, their team, volunteers and trainees have all been doing in these unprecedented times.

Sunnyside Rural Trust offers training and work experience for vulnerable people, they also train people with learning disabilities to acquire skills in a number of rural activities.

Through the annual Hertfordshire Care Awards, the Hertfordshire Care Providers Association (HCPA) celebrates and rewards the successes of care providers within the county and showcases why care in the private, voluntary and independent sectors in the county is outstanding.

CEO Keely Siddiqui Charlick said: "This year has been full of challenges and opportunities; we are so pleased that we have been able to remain open and continue to offer our services and support to those that need it most in our community.

"All our sites, teams, trainees, volunteers, shops and cafes have constantly adapted to the changes required to keep us well, operating and safe and we have been able to work closely with others in the local community."

Sunnyside Rural Trust has three main sites across Dacorum - Hemel Hempstead, Berkhamsted and Northchurch - and a smaller base at Tom and Sue Stuart-Smith’s home in Bedmond, Three Rivers District.

They offer training and employment services to young people and adults with learning disabilities, to build their self-esteem and skills.

In all of these activities, there is a strong focus on sustainability and care for the environment.

It is important that vulnerable people with learning disabilities continue to receive their vital services.

They have strict protocols around social distancing, hygiene practices, cleaning schedules and sticking to working “bubbles’’, enabling them to operate a safe service.

They have continually reviewed and updated their systems in line with government guidance and good practice as changes have been required.

This help has included valuable respite for parents and carers, outreach support to people’s homes and ensuring service users have understanding about how to stay safe.

HCPA chief executive Sharon Davies said: “At a time when our care providers have been stretched and tested to their very limits, we felt it was more important than ever to celebrate and reward all of the excellent work they and their teams have been implementing across the county.

"The Hertfordshire Care Awards go some way to recognising their achievements. They also enable us and our partners to show our appreciation for all of the sacrifice and hard work that they have made throughout 2020.”

Sunnyside Rural Trust remained open and operated a full service throughout the year, in addition to the usual services they also ran food bank deliveries and engagement/ activity kits with their partners.

They also worked with the children’s centre to offer kits to vulnerable children in Dacorum.

South Hill Centre and DENS became an essential partnership at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic and this continues with food bank deliveries.

They have also built strong partnerships to make the most of resources during difficult times and received fantastic support from Hertfordshire County Council.

A huge amount of support was also received from their customers and contracts during Covid 19 including the parish councils, where they carry out warden services, to the gardening contracts and to people in the local community getting the supplies and treats from the two farm shops.

Keely said: "We continue to plan and positively respond to the current crisis. We all feel very proud of the work we do and how we have sustained our creative and innovative response reflects our commitment to our community."

Looking forward, they are again growing beautiful perennial plants for Tom Stuart-Smith’s RHS Hampton Court garden design in July 2021, and they continue to grow Dacorum Borough Council’s bedding plants.

The Activity Centre will be developing a new community growing project to enable everyone to learn how to grow vegetables, herbs, fruit, and salad.

The Hemel Food Garden site has plans for a community bakery, offering therapeutic courses and bakery goods for the café and farm shops.

The Northchurch site will be busy running animal therapeutic courses for a wide audience, to help people manage their wellbeing and open up opportunities.

The new farm shop will be full of produce grown on site including our popular veg boxes, honey, jams, apple juice and eggs from the Sunnyside hens.

Keeley added: "We look forward to helping our community grow in the years to come."