Times have been tough over the last couple years, and that’s putting it mildly, so much so that new charities and community organisations have been started to offer a range of support to local residents.
One such community organisation, currently in the process of registering as a charity, is Walker With Us, set up by Shepway resident and mum-of-five Abby Walker.
We caught up with Abby to find out a little bit more about her project, how she’s acted as a crutch for local residents and what the soon-to-be charity’s goals are in the near future.
Speaking to us at CommunityAd, Abby explains: “In November 2021, I noticed there was a higher number of people struggling including family and friends, and one of the reasons was because of COVID-19 and I thought there isn’t enough help about or if there is it wasn’t advertised as such.
“People in and around Maidstone have struggled financially and mentally so I thought I would help my community by taking in donations of gifts at Christmas, wrapping them and sending them out to people less fortunate.
“I then decided that I would actually like to run my own community charity for Maidstone to help anyone in need. I then asked 3 lovely ladies to join me with the charity which are Rose Langlands our treasurer, Tarra Jones our secretary, and Tanya Willet our manager of events; they are also my trustees of this organisation. We are in the process of getting registered as a charity but in the meantime, we are running community support and events for all kinds of people.
“So far, we have done a 10 mile walk to raise money for an Easter event we have planned for the 16th April. The amount we raised for the walk was £310.
“We then held a fun day on Wednesday 16th February which was based at Shepway Youth & Community Centre Maidstone which involved arts and crafts, sports games and indoor picnic. At that event we had approximately 80 people which was a massive success.
“Our next major event is our Easter event which is on 16th April at Langley village hall from 12pm-4pm which will have an Easter egg hunt, fun fair games, food vans, knick-knack stalls and loads more activities.
“Every Friday between 10am and 11am we have parent and baby work out where parents get to work out whilst kids can join in or play, this is £3 a session. We also provide refreshments and baby disco.
“Please contact if you suffer with any sort of anxiety or loneliness as we are here to help and maybe you can join us in helping others overcome their fears.”
Abby also explained that in the near future they will be doing more events for every generation and provide support groups in different areas around Maidstone.