Minister visits Pembrokeshire food bank charity / Gweinidog yn ymweld ag elusen banc bwyd yn Sir Benfro

Minister for Communities and Tackling Poverty Jeff Cuthbert today (23 January) visited PATCH (Pembrokeshire Action to Combat Hardship) to see the impact of its support from the Welsh Government’s Communities 2.0 programme.

The scheme works to get more people and organisations to make the most of the internet. The Minister visited the charity to learn more about the work it does supporting people in need in Pembrokeshire and how it uses social media to gather donations.

PATCH is a charitable organisation aiming to relieve the effects of poverty for individuals and families within Pembrokeshire. It gives food parcels, clothing, and other items to people in financial difficulty. The charity has a team of up to 60 volunteers and runs depots in Milford Haven and Monkton.

Communities 2.0 has supported PATCH in developing a social media strategy which has resulted in a Facebook group with over 1000 friends and followers. The charity uses this to make urgent requests for food donations.

The project has supported the redevelopment of PATCH’s website from understanding the web specification through to managing the delivery of the site. The Communities 2.0 support has ensured that the organisation’s staff can improve the website themselves, without hiring expensive contractors. Communities 2.0 has also delivered short workshops on improving the organisation’s use of Excel & Word to allow it to better manage its accounts, volunteers and business as a whole.

The Minister said:

“I am really pleased to see how Communties 2.0 support is helping PATCH use the latest digital technologies to improve the excellent service it provides people in difficulty. Our support enables PATCH to reach more people, more quickly, and increase community involvement.”

Tracy Olin is PATCH Co-ordinator. She commented:

“The support from Communities 2.0 has helped us improve communication to our supporters and volunteers and to manage the process of getting food and clothing to the people who need it efficiently and effectively. We feel much more confident using the technology knowing that support from Communities 2.0 is available and we feel it has made a practical difference to people in need in Pembrokeshire”.

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Bu'r Gweinidog Cymunedau a Threchu Tlodi, Jeff Cuthbert yn ymweld â PATCH (Gweithredu yn Erbyn Caledi Sir Benfro) heddiw i weld effaith cymorth rhaglen Cymunedau 2.0 Llywodraeth Cymru.

Nod y cynllun hwnnw yw ceisio annog mwy o bobl a mudiadau i ddefnyddio'r rhyngrwyd. Aeth y Gweinidog i weld yr elusen i ddysgu mwy am ei gwaith yn helpu pobl anghenus Sir Benfro, a'r ffordd y mae'n defnyddio'r cyfryngau cymdeithasol i gasglu cyfraniadau.

Mae PATCH yn elusen sy'n ceisio lleddfu effeithiau tlodi ar unigolion a theuluoedd yn Sir Benfro. Mae'n rhoi parseli bwyd, dillad ac eitemau eraill i bobl sydd mewn anawsterau ariannol. Mae gan yr elusen dîm o hyd at 60 o wirfoddolwyr, a chanolfannau yn Aberdaugleddau ac yng Nghil-maen.

Gyda chymorth Cymunedau 2.0 mae PATCH wedi datblygu strategaeth cyfryngau cymdeithasol, ac wedi sefydlu grŵp Facebook sydd bellach â dros 1000 o ffrindiau a dilynwyr. Gall yr elusen ddefnyddio'r grŵp i apelio ar frys am gyfraniadau o fwyd.

Hefyd cafwyd cymorth Cymunedau 2.0 wrth ailddatblygu gwefan PATCH, a bellach gall staff y mudiad wella'r wefan eu hunain, heb orfod talu'n ddrud i gontractwyr. Mae Cymunedau 2.0 hefyd wedi cynnal gweithdai byr ar wella defnydd y mudiad o Excel a Word, er mwyn caniatáu iddo reoli'r cyfrifon, y gwirfoddolwyr a'r busnes cyffredinol yn well.

Dywedodd y Gweinidog:

“Rwy'n falch iawn o weld sut mae cymorth Cymunedau 2.0 yn helpu PATCH i ddefnyddio'r dechnoleg ddigidol ddiweddaraf i wella'r gwasanaeth ardderchog mae'n ei ddarparu i bobl sy'n wynebu anawsterau. Gyda'n cymorth ni, gall PATCH gyrraedd at fwy o bobl, yn gynt a chynyddu cyfraniad y gymuned."

Tracy Olin yw Cydlynydd PATCH. Dywedodd:

“Diolch i Cymunedau 2.0 rydyn ni'n cyfathrebu'n well gyda'n cefnogwyr a gwirfoddolwyr, ac yn rheoli'r broses o gael bwyd a dillad i'r bobl sydd eu hangen yn gyflym ac yn effeithiol. Rydyn ni'n teimlo'n llawer mwy hyderus yn defnyddio'r dechnoleg gan wybod bod help ar gael gan Cymunedau 2.0. Yn ein barn ni, mae wedi gwneud gwahaniaeth ymarferol i bobl anghenus yn Sir Benfro."