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years ago and spent seven and a half years, prior to her return in 2013, setting up and running Make a Difference (MAD) in Murcia, southern Spain. Now, the 53-year-old former es-


Making a difference to homeless How you can helpMADM


THE founder of a new charity for the homeless, vulnerable and socially isolated is looking for premises and volunteers to help “Make a Difference” in Maidstone.


Amanda Sidwell left the town 30


tate agent and PA wants to weave some of the same magic into the patchwork of organisations that al- ready exists in the county town to help addicts, the homeless and dis- advantaged discover a new life without dependency. Amanda has set up MADM – Making a Difference to Maidstone – a Christian charity which aims to fill some of the gaps between the existing providers. She said: “MADM has been built


to fill in the gaps of what is already superbly in place. It has been high- lighted that more is needed – espe- cially God’s presence and healing.” Amanda turned to Christianity in


the aftermath of 9/11 in 2001 and followed her calling five years later, leaving the UK for the sunny climes of Southern Spain in May 2006. There, she set about working with the poor and disadvantaged in her community. She said: “Someone once de- scribed me in business as a pit bull terrier – and that’s what I am; a pit bull for God. “It’s not the most glamorous of jobs, sitting amongst what many


Driving up hospice funds


A CHEQUE for £10,000 has been handed to the Heart of Kent Hospice at Aylesford by Maidstone company Motorline Group. The donation was part of a £30k


gift to three Kent hospices – the oth- ers being in Pembury and Canter- bury. The presentationwasmade by Motorline Group chairman Glen Obee at the company’s showroom in ParkWood. The Heart of Kent Hospicewas es-


JOHN


MUNSON SHOW TIME


The Vicar of Dibley The Chandeliers, Hazlitt Theatre, Maidstone IT is setting a drama group a hard task to reproduce a successful tele- vision show on a local stage. Behind the TV show is a huge workforce: professional camera-


30


tablished 25 years ago and has 10 inpatient beds for adults. It relies heavily on donations to care for about 350 families fromMalling and Maidstone every week. Mr Obee said: “Motorline was


founded in Kent and although we now cover other parts of the UK, we feel it is important we give some-


thing back to our community. ” Becky Beard, the hospice’s com- munity partnerships manager, said: “We aim to make every day precious for our patients and their families, and it is thanks to the generosity of our local community that we are able to provide expert support to over 1,000 patients every year.”


Dibley lost in translation


men, script editors, film editors... With this production what


slowed the action down was the number of scenes needed to tell us the story. There were 22. The set was good, the costumes were ex- cellent, lighting and sound effects were excellent. The choir that sang during property changeswere con- vincingly garbed and tuneful, but with all the changes between the village hall and the vicar’s room, the pace of the storywas lost.


Maidstone Town September 2015 I have never seen the television


show so I can‘t say whether Geral- dine Boorman was a good Rev- erend Geraldine. The other characters were all suitably rural. Clara Shaw as Alice stood out as the crazy romantic, totally consis- tent with voice and body language. I enjoyed Martyn Mitchell, Adrian Cheeseman, Simon King, Jordan Lee, Sandra Stanley and Roger Boorman and they all did wonders with a pretty creaky script.


MADMalready has an abundance of donated items spread over three garages and has donated bedding, toiletries and household items to various supported housing schemes and individuals. Amanda would like to hear from


anyone who can support MADM in any way. She said: “If anyone wants to


walk the road with us, please get in touch.”


Amanda can be contacted on mad_amanda@hotmail.com or 07769 268962


see as the lowest of society. But this is what I have been called to do and it’s hard to explain, but I do love these people. “I believe it was my calling to


move to Spain, in the same way I have been called to return.” Amanda never intended to set up


a humanitarian Christian charity in Spain, but before she knew it, she was in charge of two shops, more than 50 volunteers and 650 clients. She said: “It wasn’t easy – espe-


cially when my Spanish was poor and the locals were very untrust- ing, but doors eventually opened – I have never worked so hard in my life, but it was God’s love which


compelled me to do it and reach out – itwasn’t me!” Amanda’s family still lives in Maidstone, which helped draw her back, and it was only a matter of weeks after she returned that she found herself getting involved in voluntary work here. She has since volunteered with


the Maidstone assertive street out- reach programme, the winter shel- ter scheme, homeless feeding at the Baptist Church and SalvationArmy and CRI Maidstone (theWest Kent recovery service for drug and alco- hol abusers), and is known among the soup run teams and other or- ganisations and charities.


She said: “We are living in the


21st century –we shouldn’t be see- ing women on the street in this day and age. So many women (and men) are broken through their ex- periences of life – deprivation at home, abuse, domestic violence, bereavement, job loss etc. I want this charity to really ‘Make a Dif- ference’ to people in my home town.” Now thatMADMis in the throes


of obtaining charitable status, Amanda is ready to move the proj- ect forward and is seeking premises for its first charity shop. The United Reformed Church in


Week Street has allowed her to hold a pop-up charity shop throughAugust and volunteers are needed, as well as donations of goods. The shop is open from 10am to 5pm, possibly later on Thurs- days. She is also hoping for the services


of an accountant, solicitor, IT and social media expert, commercial landlord, web designer, PR/sign- writing – indeed any profession which might be able to help further the cause. She said: “I came back to England


for a quiet life and have fought against doing this, but I have come to realise this is my path and des- tiny. Everything I do is voluntary; I givemy time and rewards come in differentways.”


for council MAIDSTONE Council’s cost sav- ings from solar panels has proved so successful that the scheme is to be extended. Renewable energy technology


was installed at the council’s Park Wood depot as a trial in March and has exceeded all expectations in terms of projected energy savings, memberswere told. The council has looked at five


other possible sites and agreed to install further panels at Lock- meadow Market Hall, Vinters Park Crematorium and Magnolia House in Cripple Street, at a cost of around £125,000. The council would also like to see


solar panels on Maidstone House and the Gateway building in King Street – but these are owned by Capital and Regional. Subject to site surveys and agree-


ment from Capital and Regional, a company could install their own solar panels on the roof and the council would then buy the elec- tricity generated, not only reducing the council’s costs but delivering CO2


emission reductions. Solar success


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