Hi I'm Agnes, I am a mum and gran who came up with the idea of Clackmannan Bumps and All as a very simple plan of having a place for carers of children in Clackmannan to come have a hot cuppa and some adult company.
I had been volunteering on Clackmannan Development Trust's Event Group and met a few women who I believed would be the ideal team mates, so nervously approached them with my idea and now I have the most amazing team of Laura who is a mum and a gran, Leigh who is a mum and another Laura who is also a mum.
My simple idea changed after I formed a Facebook group, people from all over Clackmannanshire started asking to join the group as well as offering to donate clothes, toys, equipment etc whilst others were asking for those very items. At our first "Cuppa and Chat" session people from out with Clackmannan attended and asked for the group to expand and cover their communities too.
We prioritise the carer and help them in anyway we can, we receive donations of toys, clothes, baby equipment, toiletries etc and make them available to anyone in the county. Carers can come to have a look through what is available at our weekly "Cuppa and Chat" session in Clackmannan, or we make up bags of clothes etc and provide either a collection point or we can deliver the bags to those who requested them. We also provide an ear, shoulder or hug when required.
We have now started to support our local Health Visiting team, who contact us if they have a client in need of some assistance. We provide the Health Visitor with whatever we can and they then take the parcel to their client. We are open to requests of support from any of the schools, nurseries and other local groups and associations as well as requests direct from families. We are constantly forming new ties with various child and family health care professionals and support groups who sometimes visit our "Cuppa and Chat" sessions to answers any questions and/or provide any support they can to the group members.
Our "Cuppa and Chat" session is very popular and we now have many towns and villages within Clackmannanshire asking us to start sessions in their communities. Unfortunately to be able to do this we need to raise funds for basic requirements of equipment, venue hires, beverages and light snacks.
The group members steer what my team organise or the next area of assistance they wish us to organise. We are planning to have a taster session on paediatric first aid, as well as having a local Citizen Advice Member coming to the group. One of the requests that they have also made is for the group to be able to provide a laptop and printer for members who don't have such technology at home to be able to fill in or print off forms, they also want the ability to seek help filling in forms etc.
The group have also asked us to organise knitting and crochet lessons so they are able to make clothes, blankets etc themselves and their families. A few have also asked for a Book Club so that they have some child free time to socialise with others in the same position as them who have a love for books too. We are aiming to get this started very soon and have found a venue which is willing to let us use their space for free.
One of our main aims is to provide "Cuppa and Chat" Sessions throughout Clackmannanshire and providing as much assistance and support as is needed by the carers and families of Clackmannanshire. This however will require funding, we are planning to have regular fundraising events but are aware we need to try and raise funds where ever possible. Due to all the donations we receive we are going to be needing at the very least a storage facility we can access at anytime. Our dream for the future is to have our own premises which would be our main venue and storage and will be open routinely for anyone needing help or support.
To everyone who is kind enough to give us a donation no matter how small we thank you from the bottom of our hearts as do our group members throughout Clackmannanshire.