News

Our NEW Homeware Charity Shop is OPEN!

The doors are now officially open and we cannot wait to welcome you in. Selling all things homeware, from small furniture, to bric a brac, to electricals, we have a wide range of stock.

The addition of a second shop also means that we’ve been able to expand our clothing & fashion offering in the original premises. And the best bit, both shops and Buddys are situated in the same parade so it couldn’t be easier to pick up a bargain, followed by a well earned coffee and cake/lunch.

We do also need your HELP…..we’d be grateful for any donations you may have to help get us off the ground. We need help with:

• Textiles & haberdashery
• Easily transportable furniture
• Small, clean, working electricals

Finally, thank you Worthing & Adur Town Crier, Bob Smytherman for doing the grand opening honours at our Summer Fayre today and for always being such a great support and so generous with his time.

Thank you for your support and please do help us spread the word.

NEW CHARITY SHOP – GRAND OPENING SATURDAY 28 JUNE @ 111 SOUTH FARM ROAD

We’re excited to announce that our NEW Homeware Charity Shop will be opening at our summer fayre next Saturday 28 June. And the best bit, it’s just a couple of doors down from our current charity shop & Buddys so you can meet all your fashion, homeware & coffee/lunch needs in one hit.

The Summer Fayre is from 9:30am – 1pm @ 117-121 South Farm Road, Worthing.

We’ve asked the sun and blue skies very nicely to stick around too :)

Sport and Fun Day 2025, one of our favourite days and it just gets bigger and better every year.
To those that came along, we hope you had a great day.
THANK YOU to all the volunteers who helped out, without you it wouldn’t be possible.
And a big shout out to the students at Davison High School For Girls who volunteered today, you were all amazing and we hope you enjoyed it too.
For those that don’t know, sport and fun day is a FREE annual event fully funded by Worthing Mencap for people with an LD or autism. Bringing together the people we support, individuals, local schools, day centres & residential homes for a day of fun activities, laughter & friendship…oh and free ice cream of course.
Please do get in touch if you would like to find out more or get involved.

CHARITY OF THE YEAR
Tonight it was our absolute pleasure to accept the Worthing Community Awards for Charity of the year!

It was an honour to be nominated alongside so many worthwhile causes but to have won, wow, we are all completely overwhelmed and thrilled to pieces.

None of it would be possible without the hard work, support and dedication of our volunteers, members, staff and supporters who make up the Worthing Mencap family, thank you.

A VERY special congratulations and shout out also needs to go to our superstar longstanding volunteer and Trustee Janet who won the Judges Choice Award! So very much deserved Janet for your immense commitment to charity work for us and others in the local community. We are so grateful for all you do.

Lastly thank you to Melanie Peters aka The Social Media Rocket for recognising, supporting and celebrating all the great people, organisations and work within our local community.

We will well and truly be in jubilant spirits tomorrow so keep an eye out on our Facebook for more photos and celebrations.

Applications are invited for the position of Worthing & Adur Connects Support Co-ordinator.

Hours: 21 hours per week
Annual Salary: £16,139 PA (£14.78 ph)
Contract Type: Fixed term contract – Service funded until 30th June 2027, with the funder having an option of a 1-year extension.

We are looking for an enthusiastic, approachable, adaptable individual with excellent communication and interpersonal skills to join the Worthing and Adur Connects Information, Advice and Guidance Team.

The post holder will work within a team of other IAG staff members to deliver a comprehensive hub-based and outreach support service across the week, supporting adults with a Lifelong disability in the Worthing and Adur area. The post holder will work with people on a 1-1 basis to resolve particular issues, for example, benefits, housing, budgeting, health etc. The WAC team will work together to further develop Buddys as a hub of social activity, ensuring people in the community are not left isolated. A key part of this role is to organise and facilitate a programme of informal activities that bring people together at Buddys.

Please see attached Job Description and Person Specification for further information.

To request an application pack or if you have any questions, please contact buddys@worthingmencap.org

Closing Date: Midday on Friday 27th June 2025
Provisional Interview Date: Week commencing 30th June 2025

Support Co-Ordinator Job Description and Person Specification

A huge congratulations to 5 of our students who graduated from the Buddys 6 month training programme this week, a programme specifically for people with a learning disability and/or autism.

Watching their skills and confidence grow week on week over the last 6 months has been an honour. We’re so proud of them and can’t wait to see them progress in their future pursuits & adventures.

Graduating doesn’t mean they leave the WM family. Many of our student choose to stay involved with the charity whether that be coming along to our activities, volunteering or popping in as customers etc which we’re delighted about.

We also welcomed 8 new students to the programme this week so keep an eye out for their progress over the coming months.

We’re already recruiting for the next cohort, starting later this year so if you know anyone who may be interested in applying for the training programme, please find further information here or get in touch.

A huge thank you to Broadwater C of E Primary School for holding a bake sale in aid of Worthing Mencap after school today, raising a staggering £185.

We were truly blown away by the generosity, kindness and support of all of the pupils, staff and parents.

The cakes all looked delicious. We obviously had to try some of them out…just to make sure of course.

A huge congratulations and well done to Matthew who ran Worthing Runfest 10km in support of Worthing Mencap this weekend.
Matthew did absolutely brilliantly, finishing in under 55 minutes and raising almost £300.
We’re all so proud of his achievement and how far he has come in his running journey. Matthew also reached his 100th parkrun milestone this weekend. Incredible stuff!
If you fancy taking on your own challenge in aid of Worthing Mencap, please do get in touch. We’d love to hear from you and your ideas.

It was a pleasure to welcome Hayley from Tesco Durrington into Buddys today.

Hayley kindly presented us with a cheque for £1000 raised via the blue token scheme.

Thank you Tesco for selecting us as one of your charities and to all the customers who kindly chose to support us. The money will help local people in your local community.