Hope walking club

Part of the original vision of “Hope for Belper” when it was first launched last year was to organise things which people can invite their friends and neighbours along to and so build bridges within the community.

With this in mind we are launching a walking club this month under the Hope umbrella which we hope will be one small way in which we can do this.

We will aim to do five or six walks a year which will be a mixture of difficult, moderate and easy walking – a couple of hard slogs in the Peak District, some family-friendly rambles around Belper, and one or two like in between.

We know this won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but for those who like this sort of thing we reckon it will be a great way to build friendships.

The first walk will be on Saturday 9 May and will start from the junction of the A6 and A610 at Ambergate at 10,30am. It will follow a route up Crich Chase to the war memorial, back to Whatstandwell, across to Alderwasley and finally back to Ambergate via Shining Cliff Woods.

The route is eight miles long in all so including a break for lunch we would expect the walk to take 4-5 hours.

If that sounds like too much effort, the half-way point is the Derwent Hotel, Whatstandwell, so you are welcome to join us (or leave us!) at that point.

If you would like to come along, please email Paul at nottinghamroad@hotmail.co.uk. And remember to invite a friend!

More hope at Eastertide

Hope for Belper volunteers were out in force for the second year running at the town’s annual Good Friday “Walk of Witness” handing out hot cross buns to passing shoppers in King Street.

It’s a small gesture, but the feedback we got from members of the public certainly suggested it was appreciated!

We hope it showed something of God’s love for us on the day on which we remember how He demonstrated that love on the Cross.

Within the pages of a book a world of magic awaits

After the success of the screening of ‘Evan Almighty’ last year, Hope for Belper partnered with the local primary schools again this Easter in distributing free tickets to a showing of ‘Ink Heart’ at the Ritz Cinema.

The cinema was hired by Hope for Belper and free refreshments were also provided. Everyone who attended had a great time and children left we a bookmark by which to remember their visit.

Our thanks go out again to the Head Teachers who distributed the tickets.

Hope cleans up!

 

A young HopeforBelper volunteer takes part in the recent clean-up

A few brave souls from the Hope for Belper Team gathered in the Leisure Centre car park on Sunday 5 April.

After we got kitted out, a local youngster cycled by and asked if he could give a hand. There was a surprising amount of litter all around the perimeter of the car park and in amongst the shrubs.

After about two hours we had collected more than 15 black sacks full of rubbish and this made a big difference to the look of the area. Afterwards a drink and chips were enjoyed by all.

And The Basic Idea is….

Hope for Belper’s first project of 2009 has been designed with the credit crunch in mind.

Called The Basic Idea, the basic idea is to provide basic food and toiletry items to familes in financial crisis.

Boxes for collection of items are being put in local churches with the intention that those who would like to and are able to do so will purchase one extra item to put in them every time they go shopping.

We are also looking for volunteers to pack and deliver boxes as families are referred. We anticipate that this will not be a big commitment, especially in the first few months.

If this is something you may be able to help with, but would like more details, please contact ggandhg@aol.com  or  jo.lambourne@gmail.com.

There are some projects that just seem so timely and demonstrate God’s uncanny knack of spurring people in to action.

‘The Basic Idea’ appears to be one of those and it has got off the ground with a tremendous groundswell of support from congregations around Belper.

See the projects Page for updates on the progress of this project and contact details for finding out more and how you might be involved now or in the future.

Christmas memories

Hope for Belper people congregate in the Salvation Army Hall on the Market Place after handing out hundreds of mugs of hot chocolate on Christmas Eve, 2008 – the concluding event of ‘Hope 08.’ The initiative, now known as ‘Hope for Belper,’ will continue to carry out more random acts of kindness during 2009, starting with something called The Basic Idea – more details here very soon!