Support Chesham House in West Sussex

Your gift keeps our lunch clubs, volunteer transport and dementia support groups running for local people who'd otherwise face life alone.

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A volunteer, walking with the aid of sticks, with a client outside our community hub, Chesham House in Lancing.

Help us deliver life-changing support when it matters most

Royal Voluntary Service (previously WVS and then WRVS) has supported the people of West Sussex in various ways since 1959. Through delivering Meals on Wheels (which later became our Lunch & Community Clubs) to Community Transport and Dementia Support – our staff and volunteers have been on hand to help and support local people for over 65 years.

And our central hub – Chesham House – is right at the heart of the work we do, providing a warm, safe space for the community to come together and support each other.

Without our services, many people in our community would struggle to cope alone. Through their battles with illness, disability, mental health or loneliness, so many people tell us that without our help, they just couldn’t survive.

From Chesham House, Royal Voluntary Service offers a Community Centre and Vintage Tea Room, the Adur and Worthing Transport Service, a Lunch & Community Club, and The Lancing Dementia Support Group. We’re also able to link with national Royal Voluntary Services such as Calls with Care.

The work we do in local communities is life-changing, but none of it is possible without donations from people like you

Adur and Worthing Voluntary Transport

Our Transport Service operates from Chesham House and they have provided assisted journeys to help locals retain their independence for over 15 years. Our team help hundreds of people get to vital medical appointments, do their shopping, and meet friends & family.

Our volunteers provide a safe & secure door-to-door service, and the drivers stay with clients offering companionship and reassurance as well as assistance at hospitals and with shopping.

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A Royal Voluntary Service driving volunteer supporting a client into the back of a car

Dementia Support

Our Dementia Support Group is run out of Chesham House and supports residents of West Sussex living with dementia, and provides much-needed respite for carers.

The groups meet regularly to undertake person-centred activities suited to those who are living with dementia, such as memory games, singing, and peer support sessions.

The Dementia Support group also offer additional activities such as Move It or Lose It sessions, which comprise of chair-based exercise classes delivered by the Dementia Support Team and volunteers, all of whom have undertaken specialised training in this field.

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Angela’s Story

12 years ago, aged just 53, Angela’s world changed forever when she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). After a lifetime of working as a hairdresser, shop assistant, and foster carer for teenagers in West Sussex, she struggled to cope with her new situation. As appointments for diagnosis, treatment, and support filled her calendar, Angela felt she had become defined by her condition.

"I needed there to be more to life. I couldn’t spend all of my time at the MS centre, but it had become the only reason to leave the house." – Angela.

Everything changed when Angela discovered Royal Voluntary Service in Lancing. With its community transport service, lunch club, dementia support group, and popular Vintage Tea Room, Angela decided to get involved.

Today, Angela is a regular at the centre, and on days she’s not volunteering she accompanies her uncle, Ray, who lives with dementia, to our Lunch Club and dementia support group three times a week and greatly values the time she gets to spend with him there.

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A Royal Voluntary Service volunteer wearing a branded tshirt having a chat in a outside setting while enjoying a hot drink with a client wearing a summer dress

Lunch & Community Club

Our Lunch Club at Chesham House takes place three times a week. At each session, a dedicated team of volunteers prepares and serves a hot lunch and dessert to around 30 people, offering far more than just a meal.

For many older and vulnerable people – including people like Ray, who lives alone with dementia – the lunch club provides a vital opportunity to eat in the company of others, helping to reduce loneliness and ensuring that not every meal is eaten alone.

"It’s changed my life coming here. I love it and I just don’t know what I’d do without it. It’s just a shame that there aren’t more centres like this in every town and village throughout the country as it’s so important and helps so many people." – Ray.

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A Royal Voluntary Service volunteer serving meals to a couple of clients at a lunch club

How your donation could help

Lunch - £5

A gift of £5 could cover the cost of a hot, nutritious lunch for an isolated older or vulnerable person our volunteer-run lunch club in Chesham House. This could give someone the only opportunity to eat a meal in the company of others this week.

Vital Community Transport - £10

A gift of £10 could help us to safely transport local people to and from their vital medical appointments at hospitals and surgeries. Often this is to receive life-saving treatments.

Dementia Support - £40

A gift of £40 could help towards the cost of a support session for someone living with dementia at one of our specialist groups.

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