The Suffolk Award

The Newmarket Day Centre has been delivering fresh cooked, hot meals to the community for many years.

When lockdown first hit us, nobody knew what to do, the nation was in turmoil. We, as a business had to close our doors in order to protect both ourselves and our clients. We furloughed 3 members of our very small team because without clients, there was not much work to be done. This included 2 members of our care team and the Hairdresser.

However, we soon learnt that we could help the community throughout these unprecedented times. We advertised, relied on word of mouth, joined forces with others. We used every platform we could find to let the people of Newmarket and surrounding villages know that they were not alone.

It did not take long for news to spread and the number of people we were supporting to grow. We prepared, cooked, and delivered meals to an average of 80 people per day. We made regular telephone calls to vulnerable, lonely people. We sent food parcels to anybody in need. We promoted the importance of self-care around mental health.

As numbers rose, we reintroduced our furloughed staff.

We were not expecting any kind of recognition for this work, we only wanted to help.

So, imagine our surprise when we were visited by Edward Creasy, The High Sheriff of Suffolk and were presented with this amazing award. Which we are so proud of achieving.