Double delight for Wisbech community manager

The Salvation Army community manager in Wisbech said she is delighted having won two prestigious community awards in the town.

Kristyna Mansfield was nominated for the Wisbech Community Hero and Judges’ Award at Wisbech Town Council’s Unsung Heroes Awards and took home both prizes. After she was supported by The Salvation Army back in 2016, she began volunteering and went on to lead the toddler group before taking up her current role.

The church and charity works across the town from providing hot meals to vulnerable people and running lunch clubs and baby groups. A section of the church and community centre at John Thompson Road has been recently adapted to provide washing facilities while washing machines are also available while Employment Plus, a service to help people become job-ready, is available regularly.

Kristyna and her team also cooked over 70 Christmas Day meals last year and handed out hampers to 178 families.

Kristyna, who took over the role six months ago, hailed the efforts of all at The Salvation Army.

She said: “It’s amazing considering the short amount of time I’ve been doing the job. It’s not been easy. We’ve excelled at the community side of our work, which is thriving. Our toddler group runs for two days a week, every seat is taken at our Over 60s luncheon club and we run an outreach service three nights a week offering rough sleepers and vulnerable people hot food and support.

“We also try to signpost people to other organisations for further support and also offer showers and washing facilities.”

Kristyna praised the partnership working in Wisbech and said the awards were testament to how effectively the different organisations worked together.

She explained: “We work with the local authorities and police and we are all trying to get to the same result – helping to support our community. We’re all passionate about helping people and what we have achieved shows anything is possible and anyone can do it. I wanted to thank everybody for their continued support. My job isn’t a job – it’s a blessing and a calling.”

For more information on The Salvation Army in Wisbech, search The Salvation Army Wisbech on Facebook or call 01945 461 416.