Hemel Hempstead – 31st October 2022: Dacorum Mencap held its 70th Annual General Meeting recently, and was able to reflect on a positive year of progress after the difficulties presented by the pandemic. The charity, which supports people who live in Hemel, Berkhamsted, Tring and the surrounding villages who happen to have a learning disability, has been able to restore all of its in-person activities during the last 12 months, and is now supporting more people than ever.
Chair David Josephs paid tribute to the people who make the charity tick. He said:
“We have a small but brilliant team at Dacorum Mencap, and I’m so grateful to each and every one of them for what they do. Some people think that because we carry the Mencap name we are a big, well-funded charity, but this isn’t the case. We receive no funding from Mencap, and have to do it all ourselves.
“We’ve had a good year in that respect, despite the tough economic environment. We launched our Corporate Heroes Index earlier in the year, where we appealed for businesses to join the Index in return for a donation. The response has been great, and I’d like to thank amongst others local Hemel company Emico, and Shoe Zone. Indeed we will be telling you more about our relationship with Shoe Zone soon.”
Dacorum Mencap aims to expand the support it offers people with a learning disability in the months and years ahead through its friendship schemes and recreational programmes. The charity is keen to recruit more volunteers to join its growing team, and would be happy to speak to local people who have a few hours to spare who would be interested in helping with various aspects of its work, including befriending, fundraising and driving. Please contact Carol Walls on 01442 247675 to discuss opportunities.