A Flax Corn Dolly on Blockhouse Park 2023

Last year we delivered a Flax Corn Dolly on Blockhouse Park. We’d like to do this again in April, building on the success of last year’s event, with a series of corn dolly workshops leading to a spectacular finale. We want to reach all parts of the community, bring us all together into the heart of the making and the ceremony. Release the spirit of the nature into the soil and reconnect with our ancestors traditions! The event will lead in to The Village Hub’s Feast and Ceilidh taking place that evening in Stoke Youth and Community Centre.

The Knowledge Book Initiative

Our evidence reveals that levels of financial capability in the UK are low. Therefore, by providing enhanced financial capability skills, awareness of energy efficiency, housing rights/responsibilities and tips on tackling the cost-of-living issues, we aim to prevent people from getting into debt and improve their mental health.

Funding will help develop free easy-read resources, available in printed and online versions, that everyone can use. We also aim to deliver free workshops for 6 organisations working with disadvantaged groups. Easy-to-digest sessions within these workshops will especially target young people and individuals with learning disabilities or English as an additional language.

We Count Too

Our aim is to facilitate a safe space where young people known in the local area, particularly young males can meet once weekly to develop a network where they can make safer informed decisions on how they live their lives.
The development of this work will target and support those who have been effected by social isolation, lack specific life skills where emotions and poor mental health have been a barrier.
Referral demand has increased in this area, we engage well with those in need who help to shape and deliver this work to be successful.

Home Economics – Core Skills for home, life and work!

6 core activities – open to everyone, participants can join weekly workshops to address any of the challenges they face during the cost of living crisis.
Budgeting
Cooking,
DIY
Sewing
Parental Support (Messy Munchkins sessions)
Employment & Careers Advice
Driven by participant input, we will have an adaptable delivery. We have our own premises but also use community facilities to ensure accessibility across Plymouth.
Delivering for over 10 years, with a proven track record. We have a strong membership and following. Workshops have recently finished through cessation of funding. We have a list of EOI’s which shows the ongoing need.

Community drop in @Turnchapel

The aim of this project is for people to come together in a central warm space, chat and develop a sense of belonging within the community. This idea, raised at the last Residents’ Association, was that we need a space for isolated locals and others in the neighbourhood, to engage in activities such as board games, craft etc. Our diverse community includes older and single residents as well as young families and refugees who might be struggling financially. We’d like to welcome anybody with warm drinks, hot food such as coffee, tea, soup, rolls.

The Kit Bag Project – Is five a day all we need?

Funds acquired will be used to implement our new innovative program which is underpinned by nourishing and educating children and families about the importance of ‘not just’ consuming the five recommended fruit and vegetables a day, and will be delivered through primarily non- referral foodbanks to target the cost of living crisis & holiday hunger including the stigma.
Moreover, the program consists of the promotion of the other five core messages and ‘promoting immunity in the community’ (see below)
1. Hand washing
2. Mental health
3. Nutrition
4. Exercise
5. Climate change (the 5 Rs)

Community Roadshow 2023

Livewell Southwest’s Wellbeing Team and Food is Fun CIC to coordinate and facilitate a series of community engagement events to support local communities with healthy lifestyle behaviours under the constraints of the cost of living crisis. This will be a roadshow event style and will take place in different communities across the city. The most deprived communities will be targeted based on local knowledge and according to the indices of multiple deprivation (IMD).

Food is Fun CIC will provide slow cookery workshops. The Wellbeing Team will use this opportunity to offer brief behaviour change interventions for those in attendance.

CityPlym Coummunity SUpport Hub

Our current initiative was launched in December 2019, in response to the needs of our student community. A group of Access to Higher Education students realised that a group of their peers were struggling financially and were often unable to afford basic food items. To address this issue they approached the students union for assistance in establishing a food bank, a project that has developed swiftly and supported many students, particularly during the lockdown period of COVID. In May 2022, due to the additinal services added (honelessness, personal hygiene, young parents, clothing) our initiative was relaunched: CityPlym Community Support Hub.