News From Loose Ends
With the help of lots of generous donations from local businesses, many individuals via our Amazon Wish List and local organisations we were able to give small gifts to adults and children alike.
Christmas is always a busy time for us and this year was no exception. We had a Christmas feast with turkey and all the trimmings on Sunday 21st December for our Loose Ends clients. And on Monday 15th we had a party for our families where the children had a wonderful time helping us make their own Christmas tree pizzas!
Christmas 2025
Thank you to everyone who made our celebrations
such a success!
Bart Ingredients
Early in 2025 we were thrilled to announce a sponsorship agreement with Bart Ingredients. As well as providing valuable financial support employees were also encouragesd to volunteer with Loose Ends during their regular working hours. Throughout the year several Bart employees helped out at our Wednesday breakfast sessions which was much appreciated by us and also provided a great opportunity to show first hand what we do.
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In November our Trustee and volunteer, Alice Fogg visited Barts to give a talk about Loose ends as part of their Sustainability Week. This is what Alice had to say about her visit:
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"The group listened intently and asked some good questions both about volunteering as well as the general role of Loose Ends in the community. I used the talk as an opportunity to talk about Northcroft Kitchen and encouraged anyone with a family to come along and try it.
I felt very proud when the Bart’s employees who volunteer for Loose Ends, talked so enthusiastically about their experiences with us.
The staff at Bart’s are currently collecting lots of food and toiletry items to donate to us at Christmas. I said we’d be very grateful to receive this, as would our clients.
Both myself and Bart’s agreed that, thus far, the partnership has been positive for all."
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We were very pleased to receive a large donation of herbs and spices to spice up our meals!
A warm welcome was given to our Trustee, Alice Fogg on her visit to Barts Ingredients in November.
Our AGM - October 13th 2025
We held our AGM of Loose Ends Newbury Members and Trustees at the Newbury Cricket Club on 13th October. Before the start of formal proceedings a special presentation was made to Wendy Westall who recently retired from volunteering. Wendy helped found Loose Ends with her husband Richard Westall 35 years ago and continued to help and support Loose Ends over the years. Wendy received a bouquet of flowers and a resounding round of applause to thank her for the contribution she has made to Loose Ends.
The previous AGM minutes were formally approved with no matters arising.
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Our Chair Diana Lacey then gave her report. She felt that the year had been a very successful one with over 6,000 meals served during the year and 550 different clients being helped. She thanked all the volunteers who make up the Loose Ends team. Diana also thanked all the organisations for their ongoing support which we are heavily reliant upon. These include (but are not limited to) SOFEA, SEWA Day, Nando’s and The Food Bank. Special mention was made of the sponsorship agreement with Bart Ingredients who are providing financial and practical help.
Diana went on to highlight changes to the Trustee line up that had occurred during the year and then talked about the highlight of the year for Loose Ends - the awarding of the Kings Award for Voluntary Service.
Finally looking ahead Diana said that the training of volunteers would be a focus for the coming year.
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​Guy West, our Treasurer, presented the Accounts for the year and was pleased to report a small surplus for the year. Income, as usual, had been made up of generous financial donations through various sources such as individuals, Churches and companies. There was a brief discussion about how best to invest surplus funds. Overall Guy concluded that Loose Ends was in a strong financial position at the end of the year but we should not be complacent as indications were that while income for the year might be reduced operating costs would continue to rise.
Guy finished by thanking Ian Nichol for his excellent stewardship as the previous Treasurer, and to SJ Accountancy for their review of the Annual Accounts confirming their accuracy and compliance.
The Annual Report and submission of accounts was approved by the meeting.
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There followed the formal re-election of Diana Lacey as Trustee and the confirmation of Alice Fogg and Guy West as Trustees.
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To conclude the meeting there was a in-depth talk from Teresa Cottee from Two Saints about the work the charity does supporting the homeless and vulnerable. The charity aims to be a safety net for people in tough times and help individuals achieve a brighter future. There followed a discussion about the best ways both our charities could help those in need. Diana thanked Two Saints for joining Loose Ends for the evening, explaining their work and sharing their thoughts and aspirations for the future.
We wrapped up with a social gathering over drinks and nibbles.
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If you would like to read our full annual report for 2024/25 please follow the link
New Appointments
All Loose Ends volunteers are unpaid and some roles take a while to fill with the right person. We are therefore pleased to announce that Guy West has been appointed as our new Treasurer and Trustee. Guy has been a regular volunteer since June 2024 helping out at both Loose Ends and Northcroft Kitchen sessions. He is a Chartered Surveyor by profession and worked for 25 years in the Thames valley on building developments.
While we are very happy to welcome Guy as our new Treasurer we are also sad to say goodbye to Ian Nichol who did such a great job for us for a number of years. In particular he guided us through the process of moving to our new home in the Cricket Club and was also instrumental in setting up Northcroft Kitchen. It is, in no small part, down to Ian's hard work that we enjoy such a healthy financial position in 2025. THANK YOU IAN!
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We were also delighted that in November 2024 Alice Fogg agreed to join our team of Trustees. Alice has been a fantastic volunteer and supervisor since joining us in October 2023. Below is a bit about Alice in her own words.
Guy West -
our new Treasurer
Alice Fogg - Trustee
" I'm a Primary School teacher by trade but am currently taking some time out to pursue other interests and spend more time with my family. When I'm not creating various sweet bakes and savoury dishes in the kitchen, I enjoy participating in a variety of volunteering roles, including helping at Loose Ends.
​I find it very rewarding supporting the community in which I live and helping with the challenges of food poverty. As a Trustee I'm looking forward to helping Loose Ends maintain and develop its presence within Newbury to ensure those in need are assisted in the best way possible."
The King's Award for Voluntary Service
It was a very special day for us on 25th February at the Berkshire Lieutenancy Presentation Ceremony for The King's Award for Voluntary Service 2024. The ceremony took place in the lovely setting of Shaw House and along with five other charities we received a (very heavy!) commemorative crystal and a certificate signed by The King.
The award was presented to our Chair, Diana Lacey along with fellow Trustee and volunteer, Gill Downs, and our celebrated breakfast chef Barney Bardsley.
After the ceremony we enjoyed tea and cakes together with volunteers from the other winning groups, members of the Lieutenancy and Civic Dignitaries from across the County.
Many thanks to everyone involved in the process of selecting the chosen charities and for making it such a memorable day.
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The award is the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK and is the equivalent of an individual being awarded an MBE. The award acknowledges the contribution Loose Ends has made over 35 years to the homeless and vulnerable in our community and is a recognition for all those who have volunteered with the charity since Loose Ends was founded in 1990. We could not have achieved this without their hard work and dedication.
Photograph courtesy Stewart Tarkington Photography|South East England