Hear from…
Physical activity for older people – POSAC Chair, Peggy Fitzsimmons, member, Yvonne Williams and Coleen Jenningsfrom Winning Post
The Rushey Green Community Hub Gayle Wallace
The community garden waste clean up
The Rushey Green Festival – Philippe
Granger
Minutes:
The projects that were granted funding from the Rushey Green local assembly fund in 2013-14 have been asked back to report on the outcomes of the project, how they spent the funding and what have they achieved, have they achieved more or have they achieved less
Irish Community Centre
Junior Youth project, set up in response to a consultation with the local community to develop 8-11 year olds health and wellbeing. The award of £3000 has allowed the centre as a whole to expand services and widen their reach into the wider community and work to sustainability. In particular provide free access to local children, it has allowed the recruitment of 2 youth workers and organisers of the weekly project and support a team of volunteers. Added stability by designing a weekly programme to meet need. The group expanded in a capacity and range of services provided. has a capacity of 34 children weekly and they all come from local school – predominantly from Holbeach School. Activities include cookery, crafts, design, sport music, taster classes and the recently the centre has worked with Dalmain Athletic girls football club to bring indoor football. Improving access to multisport and outdoor activities. We were able to build on existing partnerships and work with new local groups by receiving the funding. This was excellent seed funding which has made the project more attractive to other funders.
Any questions for Kathleen
Q. Is it open to anyone
A. yes all children 8-11 years.
Q. Do we know how many from Rushey Green?
A. attendees come from 5 schools 3 from Rushey green and the majority from Holbeach, but approximately 85 % are Rushey green residents or learners
Former Councillor Peggy Fitzsimmons
Peggy introduced Colleen but want to let people know that POSC is totally run by older people we have is the pensioners themselves tell us what they want to do. Must be positive solution led and it is really working. Peggy introduced Yvonne, a new member to the steering group who has taken part in the activities provided by the funding she is here to tell the group how she feels. Peggy thanked Rushey Green for Providing the money and it has not stopped with the fund as POSAC has continued to fund successful project to keep things going.
Yvonne Williams, spoke to share experience. Yvonne let the meeting know the kind of activities she was involved in and how she felt including how much fun she had had and how much better she feels. As a newcomer to Positive Ageing Council it lives up to its title.
Colleen Jennings from Winning Post Arts and Sports Service, gave a breakdown of the figures of attendance feedback success and postcodes of those attending – available on request, or attached to these minutes
Any Questions.
Q. Qi Gong? Where is it and is it happening now?
A. It is going on but it is currently full and there is a waiting list. POSAC are working on making it sustainable so will be trying to introduce a charge after the free sessions come to an end. Any future sessions will be widely advertised.
Q. High attendance of women, anything we should be doing as an assembly to get more men involved.
A. More about more effective advertising and more interesting sessions for men. We can only supply the information we have noted it and will work on it.
John Muldoon – challenge The mayor and councillors to a match, Peggy believes this is very possible. There is a possibility of a walking football world cup. A change to represent our country as walking footballers and Peggy will challenge Mayor and Councillors
Cllr Muldoon stated that it certainly achieved what we expected and quite a lot more than expected, so thank you.
Rushey Green Community Hub
Commission to take on a community hub as a facilitator role, to bring people together.Gathered reasonable sized group from a wide range of sectors from Rushey Green and local residents. Went to the festival to get the concept of a community hub…what it would look like. What do you think it should be. Did some fantastic work on what it could achieve and how it could work, but there were still different ideas, one idea was a building with different activities, others thought it should be about coming together but not around a physical building. I talked to existing community facilities, what became apparent was how the Irish centre were able to work in partnership further around the Rushey green community, discussion around if it existed who would take ownerships, it became clear that while fantastic people were around the table but the capacity and business and need to survive so were not able to take that ownership, what came clear was the need to develop community activities and events and try and work out a calendar of events that could be framed as a concept hub people could access and come along to, act as a springboard to finding out more about other things going in the area. This is where it was left so exploit what was going on already and try and bring it together as branded Rushey Green activities. Fundraising is key building on the Bellingham Festival, create a bursary and feed it back out to the community through applications, could be something the Rushey Green Community hub could consider developing.
Cllr Muldoon is very Interested in building on local philanthropy. Islington giving is going very well and come together and bid, just like assemblies especially times of council funding cuts.
Philippe Rushey Green Time Bank Community Garden waste clean up
Wildcat wilderness. Historically belonged to leathersellers, been a long hall, we have been there 3 years, Philippe showed pictures of the state of the place at the start of the clean up. With the assembly fund to provide the skips, 25 people, 400 man hours of work so far. Getting the skips on site was a real challenge but they found a way. Clearer tonnes of rubbish, but also had really good days, great teamwork and spirit. Now have a compostable toilet and shed for tools. Showed a photo of a sculpture made of rubbish. We have had to put people off coming before the skips but now we can invite people as it is now much safer. It is not a public space but now people can come, there is a path people can come on certain days, whole year plan for activities, clear up days planting days, we have planted willows and we have art and food days, get in touch with Philippe. There is a steering group if you want to get involved you are welcome. Almost gave up as it was so dispiriting but willing hands and a vision made it happen find a solution and things can happen.
Rushey Green Festival
The festival - Rushey Green Time Bank were asked to carry out the festival, it was a real challenge, a big struggle, ideas but it wasn’t coming together, but 5 weeks it came together, found more funding, raised money for the prizes for the cat costume competition. 1500 people came to this festival, more than 10% of the population. The weather made an enormous effect it was a beautiful day50 stalls people selling crafts, toy library police cadets, who were amazing all willing to help the arena was a brilliant place as it was gated and controlled stalls music martial arts, networking, the councillors were there, bike fix, it was brilliant people didn’t want to go home. The arena said it was the best event they had held there.
This year we must get involved this year, get involved starting to plan now.
Put June 14th in your diary.
Iona close project – Ladywell fields User Group
£1500 for the Iona close orchard, behind Bournville road and Iona close, it was the gardens of the Victorian villas on Ravensbourne. It is being managed effectively as a nature reserve, the money has paid for the purchase of tools and a lock up to keep the tools, cost about £900 for those and this underpins the volunteering project. We kept going and have been running volunteer sessions for 18 months, the equipment empowers volunteers, we have held 4 natures gym sessions. You are very welcome to come along and visit the site. We will be running a number of sessions throughout the year. It is not a public site until the site is safe and fully cleared we cant make it available for school lessons but are looking to do these as soon as possible.
Q. How do we contact you?
ladywellfields@yahoo.co.uk also has a Facebook page