Who we are:
Ernesettle Community Forum Fund (ECFF) are a group of volunteers that a form a committee to bring the Ernesettle community events that offer fun, variety, wellbeing and FREE activities to enable those on low incomes to be included. Our events include the Easter Egg Letter Hunt, the Pasty & Cider Walk, the Summer Fun Day and the Christmas Extravaganza. All our events are run in association with other community-based groups and organisations such as Plymouth Community Homes, Plymouth City Council, 31st Scouts Ernesettle, Solomon’s Porch Community Church, Coop Ernesettle, Friends of Ernesettle Creek & Budshead Wood and so many others.
Ernesettle is one of the most deprived areas of Plymouth, ranking 8 of 39 (with 1 being the most deprived) according to data in the Plymouth City Council Neighbourhood report. Ernesettle ranks among some of the most deprived areas in Britain, according to the Office for National Statistics, which is why we work hard to raise community spirits by holding low-cost events.
Ernesettle has a higher rate of child poverty & claimants of free school meals than the rest of Plymouth. The principles that underpin our events is ensuring the children of Ernesettle are included, regardless of their family’s financial status, and that they have stories to share with their peers when they return to School after the holidays.
What we are Planning:
Every year we have managed to get the Ernesettle Shopping area lit up with Christmas Lights throughout December, to bring some festive cheer and community well-being. We have had issues with powering the lights via the lampposts – so we secured funding from a previous Local Counsellor for £400 to enable us to have a dedicated power source providing uninterrupted lighting this year.
The Christmas Extravaganza consists of a free event with market stalls lining the streets, a free Santa’s grotto with gifts for the children and a visit with Santa, s’mores making and mulled apple juice plus free mince pies & cream and mulled wine for the adults. This event targets families and children offering free activities for children such as Bogart making, tin can alley and Christmas themed target shoot out games (run by Plymouth Football Boot Bank).
We also have the Carols ‘round the Christmas Tree event (in partnership with Solomon’s Porch Community Church), that consists of a community choir singing carols with participation from the audience, refreshments area and free mince pies, cream, mulled apple juice and mulled wine. This event targets our elderly population, who requested this event many years ago and includes residents of the nearby care home.
The lights are stored safely each year by PL1 events, and they also provide servicing and re-installation each year. The bill for this is £2,700 annually and we have previously been able to pay this from funds raised from our other events run throughout the year. However, since we were impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and various storms cancelling our events we have no funds for the lights this year. The funds we do have are ringfenced for specific purposes related to annual events (as mentioned above) and we will seek funding from our partners for free products (such as selection boxes, mince pies etc) and are confident the events can continue as normal. The only issue we have is the lighting bill this year.
Any donation you can make will be the difference between having the lights installed this year or not.
The Christmas Lights:
We feel the Christmas Lights provide a warm and inviting shopping area providing a sense of well-being for all and, as such, would like to continue to offer this. If we are unable to raise the funds, we could not have them installed for you and feel this would impact on the atmosphere of the Christmas Events. We do have the option to sell them but feel this would be such a shame, as they have taken such an effort to purchase, get installation permissions and fund over the last few years and they bring a sense of Christmas spirit to so many members of our community, as well as enhancing the atmosphere of our events.
Aims & Impacts:
Your support for the Christmas Lighting fund will help us to:
- Build and nurture a festive community spirit during events and throughout December
- Allow those, that can, feel involved with raising the spirit of a deprived area by offering financial support
- Raise awareness in the community of how volunteers enable these events and work hard to nurture the community spirit, and the costs involved
- Encourage community members to become involved with events and volunteering and, if they do, learn new skills and an understanding of community needs and the impact these works can have on community spirit
Ways to Support:
Your donations will enable Ernesettle Community Forum Fund (ECFF) to continue to cover the costs involved in enhancing the community spirit and the running of low-cost events.
Your attendance at our events means we get more donations from vendors that can be put towards the ongoing event costs.
If you can volunteer to assist in some way please get in contact via our Facebook page, as we are always looking for volunteers to form part of the committee to organise events and fundraising or marshal and help set-up at events.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ErnesettleCFF