“Life was very challenging. I ended up through the pandemic being on my own getting very, very lonely. Sometimes the phone wouldn’t ring for weeks and I wouldn’t see anybody at all.” Sadly Mrs B’s experience of feeling lonely is more common than many of us might think. According to Age UK, half a million…
Kent County Council’s Corporate Parenting Team and The Young Lives Foundation (YLF) are hoping to raise £20,000 this year to provide each of our 2,000 care leavers with a £10 gift and bring them some joy this Christmas. For many of our young care leavers aged 18-25 years, it’s their first Christmas on their own…
Kent Trading Standards is urging the county’s shoppers to shop safely online ahead of the festive break. More than 28,000 customers were conned out of their money while internet shopping last Christmas, losing £15.4 million to copies of legitimate websites, or completely fictional ones, say Action Fraud. Around £4 billion is also lost to the…
Kent County Council is developing proposals to provide food vouchers to the families of children who are eligible to receive benefits-related Free School Meals ahead of the December school holidays. The scheme would be part of a wider range of measures to help the lowest income households with food and fuel costs over winter. Following…
Nursery children told the nativity story in a festive film as they put on a Christmas show with a difference for their proud families. Staff at Discovery Day Nursery in Park Wood, Maidstone, came up with the unique twist on the traditional festive celebration, which also saw the children using sign language while singing Christmas…
Council services Local tip opening hours Kent Country Park opening hours Library opening hours Adult education class openings Gateway opening hours Rubbish collection and other district council information Social services – report abuse out of hours information Help in a crisis You can access some services online Renew your library book Report a problem on…
A seven-year-old girl who longed to give presents to children who ‘won’t be with their mummies and daddies’ this Christmas has collected almost 800 gifts – with a little help from some special people. Lilly Osborne, who lives near Borough Green, came up with the heart-warming idea after enduring a tough Christmas herself last year.…
The family of a teenage passenger killed in a horrific car crash have launched an emotional video appeal in support of this year’s Winter Drink Drive Campaign. Brave Peter and Doreen Funnell fight back tears as they recall on camera the moment they heard their beloved son and grandson Will was dead. In the hard-hitting…
Creative school children are using their artistic skills to put the sparkle back into Christmas and help light up their town for the festive season. Herne Bay Junior School is auctioning off a piece of artwork, created by some of its pupils, to raise funds for the town’s Christmas lights fund. A selection of canvasses,…