Over the last 12 months we have use a mini bus to get from our hub to 2 local hubs and two markets we would like to try and raise enough funds to be able to continue this. The costs of the minibus hire will change with the increase in fuel, so the funds required for these trips are slightly approximate as the the time we funded the minibus the prices went up part way through the year. It will cost approximately £7450,00
We have also enjoyed Enriching Communities attending to teach chair based exercises every two weeks, Dance and movement which can be done in chairs to music across the decades from the 1920's through to 'Wartime' and the 'Swinging 60s' something for everybodies taste and plenty of variation. Delivered by our wonderful team. This has been so much fun and everyone has enjoyed it, the exercise helps with movement and builds confidence, we would like to continue this next year with some funding. The classes cost £40 a session £960 form12 months at two session per month.
We also have been on some trips like the theatre that people have enjoyed and would like to arranged to do the again, we want to do things together as a hub that lonely and vulnerable people would not be able to do on their own. this support in so important to our hub members. We have taken two trips to the seaside which created amazing memories for everyone.
To go to the local winding wheel theatre in Chesterfield for 25 people it would cost £625 at today’s prices.
We will need to start buying more arts and crafts, origami paper, more therapy books, glue and general crafting accessories. Which we use lots of as everyone enjoys these days and they get everyone talking and leaning things they thought they could not do, which is very therapeutic and calming.
We would spend £965 on these items of 12 months
we really wanted to go to the butterfly house last year so if we raise enough funds we would like to go there as an extra trip.
We are a non profit community hub solely run by volunteers we are a constituted group and have a committee and three signatures on our bank account.
We will be selling handcrafted flower arrangements & cards, having raffles and tabletop sales.
We provide a safe meeting place for people to improve their social skills, wellbeing and loneliness.
This picture above is when we had the petting zoo come to the hub, everyone said it was amazing & are still talking about it now. These are the the pets that they brought with them Barn owl, Ferret, Guinea pig, Lesser tenrec, Bearded dragon,Leopard gecko, Corn snake, Burmese Python, Royal Python, Tortoise, Hissing cockroaches.
There are some comments from hub members:
Karen Wilkes
The day the petting zoo came to the hub was a really good day. We got to hold all the animals which was lovely, and I never thought I would have a snake round my neck! The ladies from the Animal House Zoo were very knowledgeable so it was educational as well. Everyone said how much they had enjoyed it.
All the members are very grateful to Farida for all the effort she puts in to make the hub a friendly and sociable place to be part of.
Phil said
The activities give pleasure to people who would otherwise be isolated. For short distances, a minibus is fine, but for longer ones a coach is preferable for comfort. I particularly like the activities which don't focus on a particular skill, and are more inclusive as a result.
By having company, the local market trips are a good opportunity for people to get out when they probably wouldn't bother otherwise. I especially like the option of being within the group or having a bit of free time as well, where meeting for lunch is a good idea.
With regard to the hub-based activities, the petting zoo was an interesting and lovely idea but the absolute must for me unless I cannot avoid missing it is the chair-based music. With having absolutely no co-ordination whatsoever, it's really enjoyable to be able to join in, and be myself by knowing people are laughing together rather than at eachother. Thank-you so much
anonymous comment
Using the Hub laptop to fill out my forms and sending them of was really helpful for me as well as using the Hub WiFi ,this keeps my cost down as these are expensive to have especially with my budget.
Having the business cards means when I have forgotten what’s going to happen at the hub I can call the number on the card and get the information I need as do suffer from memory problems and Farida always saids give her call just in case which helps me out
The zoo experience was great very informative well structured event really enjoyable environment and the pets were all safe and well behaved everyone had a good time
Cheers
We Have had Kayleigh coming to the hub since we first set up, some ladies and men don’t or are not able to get to the salon so they come to their community hub. We have a full day in the hub with Kayleigh as you can see from above, she does different therapies. We have diabetic ladies come and have their feet looked after, and men who have their feet done, everyone feels relaxed and they enjoy a cuppa and a biscuit while they are at the hub.
I built our website and like to share this with local businesses and charities, we share services, opening times at the hub, where and when events are on and all the links to other mental health services and what to do in a crisis plus much more.
www.dronfield-woodhouse-community.com
We also have a Facebook page which is private but I post loads on there daily. feel free to join and see what we are up to each week.
https://m.facebook.com/groups/509374167608128/?ref=share
Our group is run by local volunteers and aims to provide mutual support and a listening ear, along with activities, games & a cuppa, as well as information about other relevant support services in the area.
We are a group based in Dronfield Woodhouse in the community room, Moray Place, S18 8ZN.
Aged 18 & up, there are a mix of age ranges that attend the hub of men & women, don't be alone at home, come and have a chat. We have social prescribers, local mental health teams and there clients, we have had air fryer courses, escape rooms, local police running cuppa with a coppa, the living well team taking blood pressures and giving advice, citizens advice run a drop in during our sessions at the hub four times per year, digital advice also from citizens advice, talks from speakers on long covid, a beauty therapist once per month, yoga, reiki healing, chair based exercises and sessions on how not to get scammed by email/ internet and mobile phone, the petting zoo visited, which was amazing, we have taken trips to The Old Vic theatre in London to see a Christmas carol, this year we are going to see cinderella in chesterfield, there are many many other things we have enjoyed as a hub family and met some amazing people and friends for life. We could not do any of these amazing things without raising funds, because we are in the voluntary sector we don’t get as many chances to apply for as much funding, there have been many funding cuts this year and I have not applied for that many grants as I have been unwell most of the year, so I have focussed on people instead of funding forms. It would be great if some of our locals could help support us with some funding. We have been running over 2 years now and are struggling a little with funding. It would be fantastic if we could get support from any local business owners and some sponsor’s.
There will be new exciting events to sponsor in the new year, watch this space as they say !
We regularly go out for hub meals which brings everyone together to enjoy a meal which they may not have done by themselves.
Below are the photos from some of the trips we took in the minibus.
These photos are from the trips we took by minibus to other hubs like Flourish in Sheffield, where we joined there creative writing group.
Then they visited us at our hub
Below are the photos of the cards and flowers that we make and sell to raise funds.
Below are some pictures of one of our table top sales.
These photos below are from the enriching communities ladies who we paid for every two weeks, this is musically themed exercise for music (chair based ), we are trying to raised more funds so they can continue to come next year, they dress up also as you can see below, we have loved these sessions.
Mel Dorna from DCC nominated me for the brightLife champions against Loneliness awards in February 2023
Which I won the champion for loneliness, have a look at the video in the link below.