WHO WE ARE

Evergreen Care Bexley is a registered charity that launched its first service in January 2014. Our work has been made possible by individuals, businesses and churches across the Borough of Bexley. We have come together with a common purpose in response to the needs of older vulnerable people living in our community. It represents a commitment to the resolution of the dilemmas of ageing, with God-inspired solutions that respond to local pressing and changing needs.

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Our history so far

The vision of Evergreen Care Bexley has been born out of our experience of working with older people, and seeing the desperate needs that are, sadly, very often not being met. We believe there must be a much better way to treat people as they grow older and become more vulnerable.

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In 2011, with 30 years’ experience of working with the elderly, 19 years of which as a Unit Manager in a residential care settings, I started my own homecare service in the Bexley Borough. Burdened by the need I saw in the community, I wanted to provide care and support that enriched each of my client’s lives, showing them they were loved and valued and to help them regain some self-worth. I was soon very busy and other needs quickly became apparent which prompted Peter to start his own service, covering gardening and the more practical needs as well as some caring.

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Our Minister at the time, Frank, originally sent us a link to Evergreen Care Trust in Stamford, Lincs. At first, the project seemed far too large for us to even contemplate replicating here in Bexley, but as we were unable to help more and more people, we decided to contact the founder of Evergreen, Louise Marsh, and visit them at their offices.

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The seed of a big idea.

After meeting with Louise and witnessing the unique care and support they provided to their clients, we felt compelled to reflect this level of care here in the Bexley Borough, and after much prayer, made the first steps towards forming Evergreen Care Bexley.

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In February 2013, we held a conference and invited as many church leaders from across the borough as we could. Not knowing what to expect, we were astounded when 111 people attended representing 35 churches.

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We are now in our fifth year of service to our community and have just welcomed our 400th client to the Evergreen family. We are now providing a range of services and have over 130 volunteers covering a range of roles within the organisation and now employ 50 members of staff. We proudly became a London Living Wage Employer in March 2017, something quite unique in the care industry, as we believe in looking after our staff as well as we look after our clients.

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This year (2018) we proudly won Best Charity in the Bexley Business Excellence Awards and also Best Community Care Organisationin the Bexley Caring At Its Best Awards

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Although the speed of growth we have seen in Evergreen has been quite amazing, we are fully aware that we are only scratching the surface of the needs of our older people in Bexley. There are so many more services we want to provide. That is why we have recently launched ‘The Lighthouse Project’, which encourages businesses and churches to stand with us in the work we do and help us to change the landscape of social care in Bexley. By becoming a Beacon Business or a Beacon Church, your support will help us to reach more older vulnerable people who not only need practical support, but need to be loved and valued and to have a special friendship with their Evergreen staff or volunteer.

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Together we will make a difference

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Diane & Peter Kot.

OUR VALUES

Respect

We believe in the inestimable value of every human being, without reservation.

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Justice

We aspire to exercise the Kingdom principles of truth, justice and equity.

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Service

We seek to nurture a care culture of service throughout the organisation and into the wider community.

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Training

We place great emphasis on training, equipping and supporting all members of the Evergreen team.