We are delighted to announce that our CEO & Founder Julie Budge is the recipient of the Women of the Year 2020 - Woman in the Community Award. Julie Etchingham, President of Women of the Year announced: For more than sixty years Women of the Year has recognised and celebrated the rich diversity of women from across the UK who have inspired us all. A select few Awards are presented to exceptional women who have each proved an inspiration to others through their courage, selflessness, and dedication both in the UK and globally. Julie Budge said “To be recognised as a Women of the Year Award Winner is an accolade and I am immensely proud to be chosen. Without a doubt, the journey setting up the Women’s Centre from my kitchen table to what it is today was only possible because of the support of literally hundreds of women; those brave women that access our services who keep me inspired to continue, the staff, the volunteers and our devoted Trustees. And not forgetting, of course, my close family” We hope that such an award will open new opportunities which will help sustain and grow the Centre for the future; attracting new investment & commissioning and new Trustees to ensure our Governing Body reflects a broader range of skills, and includes representatives of those with a stake or interest in our charity’s work. Dianne Smith, Chair of My Sisters’ House Women’s Centre said “I and fellow Trustees are delighted and thrilled that Julie’s outstanding work on behalf of the vulnerable women in our community has been recognised with this incredible award. Julie is an exceptional woman. Her vision, passion and understanding of the depth of the need for the women in our community inspires and motivates us all. It has been an immense privilege to have been able to support the first 5 years of the My Sisters’ House journey. Our strategic plan charts the next stage of the journey which under Julie’s transformational leadership will see My Sister’s House reaching out to more and more of the very many women who dearly need our support and help”. Julie Budge said “We want to do more to support those with a history of multiple issues ; addictions; childhood sexual abuse; domestic or sexual violence; sex-working; and women with a pattern of relapse linked to forming unhelpful relationships by widening our service offer to include more local drop-in’s across the coastal West Sussex area, and work toward our long-term vision for a Women’s residential treatment house”.

Hello, As supporters of My Sisters'House Women's Centre we thought you might like to know we were featured in prime time BBC1 Panorama yesterday evening. Victoria Derbyshire visited the centre last month and we have had hours of filming. But we were very much featured last might - here is the link for the program https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000lwkz/panorama-escaping-my-abuser We are so pleased with the coverage and they even showed the centre frontage which was pretty amazing considering it was prime time TV. We continue to operate and finally reopening drop in 3 evenings from 24th August, and from Sept Saturday mornings again 9-12. We will carry on with live chat and continue with all social media as usual. Thank you as always our lovely supporters. kindest regards Julie B

Thank you so much for supporting our crowdfunder on Spacehive! We were so delighted to reach our target and we’re already putting the plans in place to extend our opening hours. From August we will open for walk in's Monday / Tuesday evening 5-8pm . We can make the total even bigger, and do more to help local women, by claiming Gift Aid on eligible donations - this is money we claim from HMRC, and won’t cost you anything, but could increase your donation by 25%, which would be amazing. In order to claim on your donation, we require a declaration from you. HMRC are happy for this to be done via email but it needs to be in a specific form and include at least your first name, surname, first line of your home address and postcode. The easiest way of doing this is to copy and paste the text below, complete your details, and send it to us at [email protected]. If you would rather have a paper form to complete, or have any questions, please email [email protected] Thank you for your ongoing support of My Sisters’ House, we really do appreciate it. Sample Gift Aid Declaration by Email I, [first name, surname], whose home address is: [address, postcode] confirm that: • I would like My Sisters’ House CIO (Registered Charity No 1188070) to reclaim the tax on this and any other eligible donations or membership subscriptions that I may make in the future or have made in the past 4 years. I understand that I need to pay enough Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax in each tax year to cover the Gift Aid claimed on all my donations otherwise it is my responsibility to pay any difference. • I understand the charity will reclaim 25p of tax on every £1 that I give. Notes: • Please let us know if you change your name or home address. • To maximise your tax giving, your Gift Aid declaration will be automatically backdated 4 years as permitted by the Gift Aid Scheme. If you have begun paying taxes more recently or would prefer not to backdate the declaration for any other reason, please email [email protected] • Please let us know if you no longer pay sufficient tax on your income and/or capital gains. • You may cancel your declaration at any time by notifying us. • Higher-rate taxpayers may claim further tax relief on donations made under the Gift Aid Scheme. • Corporate donations and those made from Charitable Trusts or Foundations are not eligible for Gift Aid.

We are so humbled, delighted and happy that you have trusted us and made so many pledges! It made everyone very happy to see us reach the goal. We will be advertising a post shortly (so that's great too for our community) and will get ready for opening our doors when we finally have walk in's. In the meantime , please sign up for news and more via our website www.mysistershouse.info and look out for our post lock down celebration open day as soon as we can have it .... kindest reagrds Julie Budge Founder CEO & a very happy soul today!