Five community groups have been awarded a total of £7,969* following the Letchworth Community Forum recommendations on 5 June.
Respair Therapy has been awarded £2,060 towards a movement-based support group for new parents to help reduce loneliness and increase mental wellbeing. The group is called Babe Club and is the UK's only silent disco support group for new parents and their babies. Run by a dance movement psychotherapist, the sessions use dance and movement as a therapeutic approach to improve mental and emotional wellbeing.
Creative Chefs has been awarded £1,951 towards providing fun cooking sessions for approximately 200 local children aged four to eight years old. Kids are encouraged to touch, smell and taste ingredients, and learn the importance of making healthy food choices. They take home a healthy main meal as well as a family-friendly recipe booklet, with the aim to help reduce health inequalities in the area.
Army Cadets has been awarded £1,750 towards new ‘adventure’ training equipment and replacing some old/damaged items. Some of the activities they provide to young people include outdoor climbing, mountain biking, paddling and navigation exercises. These help build resilience, encouraging members to push themselves physically and mentally in a safe and fun environment, and help develop skills including teamwork, communication and self-confidence. Their HQ is in Icknield Way, Letchworth, and they have detachment locations in Letchworth, Hitchin and Royston, as well as other areas in Herts. The Army Cadets are helping to fill a gap in activities for young people, with places accessible to families on low incomes.
The Sadie Centre has been awarded £1,500 towards the design and delivery of a 10-day training programme for trainers in the award-winning ‘positive movement’ technique. Positive movement is a gentle exercise approach for older people with mobility problems or who are living with long-term conditions. They want to create a team of teachers equipped to train new tutors, to deliver the programme widely in the local community. Evaluations of positive movement show that 80-90% of participants experienced reduced anxiety, stress and fear of falling, improved self-confidence, increased energy, and a greater ability to look after themselves in their own homes.
Letchworth Men’s Shed has been awarded £708 towards a ‘Lathe Lads’ project for older men to learn skills in wood turning affordably – to help keep brains active with mindful activity and develop the potential to earn income to sustain the Men’s Shed in future. Operating from premises at Standalone Farm, the Men’s Shed bring men together for purposeful activity, which has shown to have a positive impact on physical and mental health outcomes.
Jeanette Thompson, North Herts Council’s Service Director for Legal & Community, said: “These groups are providing important services to our communities, benefitting children and young people as well as new parents and older men, showing the wide range of services our voluntary sector offers which we are proud to help fund.”
The next Letchworth Community Forum will take place on 18 September.
*subject to completion of the necessary formalities
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