Winter Wishes

This winter families and friends from across the district will be joining in with the festive celebrations and spending valuable time with their loved ones. For some however, the winter months can feel lonely and to support those who need it most this winter, Newark and Sherwood District Council is launching its Winter Wishes campaign where residents can send warm messages of well wishes anonymously to isolated members of our community.

Winter Wishes cards are being provided to local schools and can be found in local independent shops in Edwinstowe, Southwell, Ollerton and Newark ready for residents to pick up for free. People are encouraged to get crafty and write or draw something that could make someone’s day and then post their card in dedicated post boxes across the district.

These dedicated post boxes are painted green and can be found in Southwell Library, Ollerton Library, Newark Buttermarket and Edwinstowe Crafts Centre.

Once the cards have been posted, they’ll be reviewed by the District Council and sent to  community groups who tackle loneliness.  Some will also be distributed to those living in some of the District Council’s Housing with Care residential schemes.

Residents have until Monday 18 December to post their cards in the dedicated post boxes.

There’s free car parking on weekends in Newark from Sunday 26 November until Sunday 31 December so it’ll be even easier to pop into your local high street store top pick up a card and post it.

Community group The Shed in Collingham played a key part in the campaign creating the dedicated green post boxes placed in a number of towns. They run a community workshop in the village to combat loneliness by providing residents a space to learn woodwork skills and to speak to others.  They offer sessions including staining glass, wood turning and carving, craft work, carpentry and jewellery making.

Spreading Winter Wishes across the District

As the temperature drops, the warmth of friends and family becomes even more precious. Discover some of the stories of our Winter Wishes campaign below... 

Spreading Winter Wishes in Sherwood with Nina

Spreading Winter Wishes in Southwell with Lucy

Spreading Winter Wishes in Newark with Ash

Spreading Winter Wishes in Ollerton with Steve