Our blog - Sept '22
Last month we launched our first-ever edition of Dean’s blog and now it’s my turn. My name is Sophie Dobson and I’m the Facilities Lead and Administrator for the centre. You can find out more about me in my team profile on the website. For now, I’m really excited to be able to bring you the latest from us at CVL.
Dean’s last blog spoke about the great work going on at Galloway Gardens and this month we’re proud to announce the team picked up a Level 3 Advancing award in the “It’s your neighbourhood” category.
It was great to spend the day at the Northumbria in Bloom awards ceremony and to see the beautiful work going on around the North East. We are so proud to be able to celebrate what has been achieved by the volunteers and everyone who engaged so positively with the project, and to receive this accolade was even better! To find out more about this amazing award, you can read our Great Gardeners blog coming soon.
In other news, we have been busy behind the scenes planning some new projects. There’s been some changes to our team since our fabulous operations director and arts leader moved on to pastures new in the Summer. Not only will you be seeing some new faces around the centre, but we also thought this was a great opportunity to challenge ourselves, so Dean and I have been taking on some new responsibilities, with the aim being to bring you some new opportunities. The first installment includes two new activities, which will launch next week called Sheroes and Community Hugs.
As part of our plans to grow our youth provision, Sheroes will offer a safe space for girls aged between 8 and 12 years old to take part in activities every Tuesday at 3:30pm, to help them grow, learn and feel inspired. The launch event next Tuesday 4 October runs from 3:30pm to 4:30pm and will be a chance to meet and talk to local women in vital community roles, including nursing and policing. There will also be a taster of the type of activities you can expect in the weekly sessions, so whoever you are pop by, say hello and find out more.
Community Hugs is something we’ve created based on your feedback and launches next Wednesday 5 October at 12:30pm as part of the International Older People’s month. Since Coffee and Catch Up started in 2020 we’ve had the privilege of welcoming lots of new faces, some regulars, some drop in and out, but one thing they all say: ‘it’s like being wrapped in a hug’. So, we’ve partnered with Independent Age to not only extend but also update the existing session and bring you a new, improved version.
The aim of the new session is to provide access to a warm space, advice and support, our new eco-shop, free hot drink and cake and lots more. The group has become an important part of reducing isolation for people of all ages and backgrounds, and we know how important it is to listen to the needs of our community, so we hope this will help more and more people.
The launch events and all following sessions are drop in, so we can’t wait to see you! If you’d like to visit us at any of our weekly activities, you can find out more on our ‘Get involved’ page, or you can contact us on Facebook or 01642 989 254.