The Buchanan Centre receive a further donation of £1,500 from the Asda Foundation

The Asda Foundation first supported this centre earlier in the year by donating £10,000 to repair the kitchen roof and fit out the kitchen with new tiling, units and sink.

It was founded by Rev Tom Jarvis 40 years ago and served six of the elderly residents in the centre – they now serve 120 people with a three course meal, five days a week!

They have 36 volunteers who deliver the food to the local residents. Sally Clark (pictured above – left) has worked in the Buchanan Centre for the past ten years and is delighted with the support the Asda Foundation has given. She said that with the old equipment and small sink she has suffered backache and her job was harder, it is now a pleasure to come to work and not worry about health and safety and is thrilled with the new kitchen.

Anne Dempster (pictured above) runs the centre. Also pictured is Minister Colin Strong, GSM George Robertson and Irene King, Community Life Champion.

Anne was overwhelmed with the further donation of £1,500 to help the centre out with food purchases over the festive period. With the energy bills soaring they were getting a bit worried as to how they would manage over the two week period – but they will now be able to relax with the knowledge that all their users will have decent meals over Christmas.

The Asda Foundation donates a fantastic £155,200 to fund Breast Cancer Care's newest resource

Over the last two years The Asda Foundation has helped fund Breast Cancer Care’s newest resource, the Moving Forward pack, by donating a fantastic £155,200 to the project.

While completing treatment for breast cancer is a time of relief for many people, the legacy of their breast cancer and the treatments for it can be quite overwhelming.

Whether it’s managing the ongoing side effects of treatment, getting back to work, or coming to terms with changes to your body, finding a ‘new normal’ after breast cancer can be a real challenge. Breast Cancer Care has developed a Moving Forward resource pack to help people approaching life after hospital-based treatment has ended.

The Moving Forward resource pack includes information about managing the side effects of treatment, returning to work, body confidence and relationship issues, the psychological effects of the disease, and worries around cancer returning. The pack also suggests diet tips and includes a popular fitness DVD ‘Getting Fitter, Feeling Stronger’ to help people regain strength after surgery.

Thanks to the hard work and dedication of Asda colleagues, over 23,834 copies of the pack have been ordered, helping to support more people with a diagnosis of breast cancer than ever before!

Snober, 68, from Derby, has been a peer-to-peer support worker for Breast Cancer Care since her diagnosis 12 years ago and was featured in Breast Cancer Care’s Moving Forward pack. She said, “The Moving Forward pack is, I think, very empowering. When you are faced with a life threatening illness like breast cancer, it is best to have as much information as possible; to know exactly what is going on in your body, not just with treatment but also everything on the periphery, such as lymphodema. It is absolutely brilliant that Breast Cancer Care provides this resource.”

Samia al Qadhi, Chief Executive at Breast Cancer Care, said “We are so grateful to the support of Asda staff and colleagues for helping us turn the Moving Forward pack into a reality. Without the generosity of Asda, we wouldn’t have been able to provide this pack to the thousands of people who needed it at the very difficult time of finishing treatment. So a big thank you to The Asda Foundation and everyone involved.”

Visit the official website to find out more about Breast Cancer Cares Moving Forward services or order your free copy of the resource pack here.

Call Breast Cancer Care’s freephone helpline on 0808 800 6000 to speak to a nurse today.

The Asda Foundation funds launch of new Tommy's guide to help support parents with premature babies

As part of Tommy’s pledge to support parents who have experienced a pregnancy complication or loss, they’ve put together a new guide for parents who have had – or are at risk of having – a premature baby.

Developed and produced with a grant from the Asda Foundation, the new guide provides parents and parents-to-be who are at risk of pre-term labour with the information and advice needed during their pregnancy, birth, time in hospital and early days at home.

The guide combines advice from health professionals and tips and stories from parents to help mums and dads going through similar experiences.

Louisa, whose son was born at 28 weeks and was in special care of eight weeks, was one of the parents who helped to develop the book.

She says: “I think that the guide is brilliant. It is so comprehensive and I would have loved to have had a book like that as all the ones I read left us wanting.”

The guide is free to order online on the Tommy’s website now.

Asda raises the roof at Throstle Nest Riding School

A long-running RDA (Riding for the Disabled Association) in Pudsey, West Yorkshire, has been given a new lease of life with help from the Asda Foundation.

Throstle Nest Riding School, a small family-run centre, holds its own on-site RDA running group and individual riding sessions for people with disabilities – giving them the opportunity to learn new skills and improve their health, wellbeing and confidence.

The centre was previously limited by their open riding arena – which meant that lessons often had to be cancelled when there was bad weather.

Volunteers at the school managed to raise £25,000 towards a new roof above the arena which would allow lessons in wet or cold weather – and the Asda Foundation’s donation of a further £20,000 helped the centre to complete the construction, giving more members in the community the chance to experience riding for themselves.

For more information on a Riding for the Disabled Association near you visit the charity’s website.

Asda Foundation helps to support cycling club for young people with disabilities in Ayrshire

Asda Foundation, in partnership with CTC – the UK’s National Cyclists’ Organisation, Youth Scotland and ContinYou, funds Bike Club, a non-profit initiative that aims to make cycling part of children’s daily lives by offering support and advice to local youth organisations.

The Ayr Carrick Eagle (A.C.E) RaceRunning group is the 200th Bike Club to be set up in the United Kingdom, allowing young people with restricted mobility to experience the joy of cycling using a specialist running bike with three wheels and no pedals.

Everyone is welcome to attend the group and the running bike is easy to use independently and gives the user a sense of freedom which many of the club’s members, including young people with disabilities, have been unable to enjoy.

With the support of the Asda Foundation and funding from Bike Club, A.C.E RaceRunning group recently purchased a trailer which allows them to expand their “Come and Try” mobile service – introducing more young people to cycling. “Come and Try” events are organised in visit schools and community groups in Scotland throughout the year and the group also offers help to clubs looking to introduce the running bike into their activity program.