Two free weekly community get-togethers which aim to help tackle social isolation in a County Durham town are set to grow thanks to new funding from a regional employer.
The Jubilee Fields Community Association in Shildon runs a Monday morning session at the community centre on Jubilee Road for local men, with a Monday afternoon group for local women following every week.
While the men’s group focuses on its members spending social time together over tea, toast and the daily papers, the ladies organise a range of different activities each week, including crafting, knitting, baking, cooking and keep fit, and always finish with a lively game of bingo.
A £5,000 grant from property and mining firm the Banks Group is now set to cover the cost of putting on the two events through the winter and well into next year, including room hire, refreshments and the cost of the different activities.
The grant will also pay for several trips that the two groups go on together, including visits to two Christmas markets that will take place in the coming weeks.
More than two dozen people take part in the sessions each week, with some members having mobility issues and others dealing with dementia, disabilities and caring responsibilities – and the Community Association is now looking to get even more local people to come along each week.
It is also working with a range of partners to organise well-being talks at the sessions on topics including health promotion, energy efficiency and budgeting, with staff and volunteers speaking to attendees about any other issues with which they might need some extra help.
Opened in 2001, the Jubilee Fields Community Centre acts as a focal point for people of all ages in Shildon and hosts a wide range of different events, activities and functions.
Lesley Bowes, development coordinator at the Jubilee Fields Community Association, says: “Our Monday groups have different dynamics and characters with different needs, but what they have in common is the positive impact that their members spending time together has on their wider well-being.
“The members of our men’s group tend to simply enjoy spending quality time together, while our ladies are much keener to trying lots of different activities – and everyone in the building always knows when their bingo sessions are in full swing!
“Getting people together like this not only gives them valuable social contact which might otherwise not happen very often, but also allows our staff to listen to any particular problems that our members are facing and to help them find the support they need to address them.
“It’s always a challenge meeting the costs of putting free sessions like this, especially with so many other rising costs to cover, and without this funding, we’d have been facing the prospect of reducing the number of sessions or having to introduce a charge, which might have made it difficult for some of our members to keep attending.
“We’re really grateful to Banks for stepping in to support our work and we’d love to see more local people coming along each week to see if they’d enjoy being part of our groups.”
Lucy Hinds, executive assistant at the Banks Group, adds: “The Jubilee Fields Community Association offers a warm, welcoming environment that gives local people a great place to spend time each week in the company of friends old and new.
“The positive impact of its work is clear to see and we’re very pleased to be helping out as it seeks to extend its reach across the local community.”