24/07/2026
Last week, we held our very first Sussex Support Service Summer Celebration
Team members and volunteers from across all areas of the service came together for a wonderful evening of food, drinks, games and, of course, plenty of laughter!
A huge thank you to everyone who joined us and to everyone who helps make Sussex Support Service such a special place.
Margaret (founder of SSS) gave a short speech celebrating some of the incredible achievements from the past year:
Good evening, everyone.
I would like to take a moment to say a heartfelt thank you to every member of staff and every volunteer who has supported Sussex Support Service over the past year.
Your kindness, commitment and hard work make everything we do possible. Together, our volunteers have given an incredible 3,900 hours of their time, representing a social value of £60,450. The true value of those hours, however, can be seen in the friendships created, the confidence built and the difference made to people’s lives.
This includes our amazing Repair Café volunteers, who have contributed around 780 hours of their time. Through their skills, patience and enthusiasm, they have repaired and restored so many treasured and useful items, saving them from going to landfill and making a significant contribution to our local community and environment.
We must also acknowledge the very sad and recent loss of our friend Tim. It is still so hard to believe that he is no longer with us. Tim was a valued part of the Repair Café, and his friendship, knowledge and contribution will be greatly missed by the entire team. Our thoughts remain with everyone who knew and cared for him.
Over the past year, we have provided 2,080.5 day breaks for carers, giving them valuable time to rest, work, attend appointments or simply recharge, knowing that the person they care for is safe, supported and enjoying their day.
Our Uckfield Community Café welcomed 140 visits, and we received 46 referrals to our day care service, showing just how important our services are within the local community.
Our Arts for Wellbeing programme has grown from two days to three days each week, while our Youth Arts programme continues to develop. We are now exploring additional sessions, including activities during the summer.
As Sussex Support Service continues to grow, we are looking towards the future and hope to become a registered charity by the end of this financial year.
None of this would be possible without you. Thank you for your energy, compassion, flexibility and belief in what we do. You should all feel incredibly proud of the difference you make every single day.
Thank you.
