Author: Laura

By Sharon Smith and Lynn Clarkson, Community Energy Advisors

We met a group of ladies at the Salvation Army Kimberworth Playgroup, who were happy to engage in conversation with regards to budgeting, money and saving money.

They shared amongst themselve some idea to save money,

“We share mealtimes at each other’s homes”.

“Help each other save money”.

“Save clothing to pass on to younger children”.

“Food share / bulk buying food”.

These ladies have a strong friendship that brings out the best in each other and just a small amount of change can be positive. They have found themselves in situations where support is needed but have helped each other.

Moving forward they said would they like to start growing their own vegetables and pass all the good ideas on to others.

Upon reflecting on the morning and the feedback from the ladies, they expressed a desire that they would like to do more and that they were quite focussed and strong willed.

We will support them to move forward and keep this good story going, we will also have regularly updates over the coming months.       

By Rob Gooding, Community Organiser

Swinburne social club have been running regular Sunday lunches and breakfast clubs for almost a year now, these are the perfect place to interact and meet new friends in a relaxed environment. The group deliver lunches to members that can attend the sessions in person.

In January it looked like the group may need to suspend these sessions, as their food hygiene certificates were due to run out and they were unsure of where they could source and pay for this training. This was distressing for members as for a lot of them these are the only social interactions they have during the week. Determined not to let these sessions stop the group reached out to us for help with training to enable the sessions to restart. I’m pleased to report that two members of the group have now been trained to level two in Food Hygiene and after only three weeks of the sessions being stopped that they restarted on the 28^th February. The group are now looking into doing a Fire Marshall course so they can hold their second South African themed BBQ event, this was an extremely successful event last time they held it.

By Dan Barron and Sam Dixon, Heart of the Community Project Workers

Trinity Croft C of E primary school in Dalton have not had a Parent Teacher Association or community group supporting the schools’ projects in a number of years. The headteacher brought together a group of parents and asked if RotherFed could support them to put together a constitution and ensure that they had the right tools to secure the groups sustainability.

The groups aim are:

• To raise funds to help to support school associated activities.
• To encourage a stronger community spirit.
• To improve the school environment and the school community.
• To encourage engagement from young people to get involved in fundraising and the wider school community.
• To encourage parent involvement in school life.

The volunteers have become highly organised in a very short period having hosted several events. They held a Mother’s Day events where students could buy affordable presents for their family in the form of potted plants and flowers. The group have also organized a Christmas Fayre which was very well attended.

Collaborating with the school they are initially raising funds to match fund an eco-classroom. This will be used to enhance the outdoor space at the school and give pupils the opportunity to have more outdoor learning. The group have worked hard to put together successful fundraising events and are going from strength to strength. Now they have become official RotherFed members meaning that the group will be able to have continued support.

Elizabeth Parkin TARA have gone from strength to strength since they were formed just over a year ago, the group are all residents of the bungalows that surround the centre that came together when lock down was lifted to create the group and host coffee mornings every two weeks, this soon evolved and the group started bingo sessions two days a week, had taster sessions of arts and crafts as well as chair exercise. The chair exercise sessions are designed to help the group with balance and general health while being a fun activity that all participants enjoy.

The Community Tree decided they wanted to do something at Christmas for the older residents in Canklow. They wanted to create something for local people to come together to help support others at Christmas during a cost of living crisis. “We understand how Christmas time can be one of the most isolating times of the year, we want to help remind our community that we are here for them and that residents have somewhere to turn to in times of need.”

The group created the “Blessing Box” project. The goods in the boxes were put together from donations from residents, local businesses, and partners. Funds were also raised to fill the boxes with essentials by members of the Community Tree attending a Christmas Fayre and by a successful bid for funding from elected members. Canklow Woods Primary School also engaged with the project with some of their young people making decorations and writing cards that got included with the boxes.

The residents who received the boxes had been identified by their friends, relatives or other residents who live in Canklow. The group put a post out through their social media asking for people to “Nominate a Neighbour” and received responses from their Facebook page and email. The nominations had to be for a person who lives in Canklow and are over the age of 65.

The boxes were delivered to 21 residents by Father Christmas and his team of elves in time for the Christmas celebrations to begin.

The feedback the group received was fantastic!! An incredible achievement for the community!!

The Making Our Money Go Further (MOMGF) team attended a Coffee event at a library. We had a person come in who had broken down in front of us when they told us their money problem. We took them into a private room and the person told us they were on Universal credit which was their only income. They were a carer for their partner (a heart patient) who did not have UK citizenship who therefore could not claim other benefits such as PIP. The Energy bill was more than their universal credit income. The person was very worried and emotional. The person said they lived with their partner in their child’s house who pays the mortgage from their part time job. Their child is a student who helps them as much as possible being a student themself.

The MOMGF team took their details so that Citizens Advice could contact them within 48 hours, which the person was glad to hear. There was a little language barrier as the person was not fluent in English as it wasn’t their first language, so a note was made of this when referring to Citizens Advice. They also made the person aware of a foodbank near their home which may help a little in saving.

They also asked our colleagues from Energy Know How for their expertise. They also helped with a Winter Warm Pack and will have Green Doctor to come out and insulate their home for them.

Person had set out to walk 4 miles from the library back to their home.

Her bill was partly estimated (electricity). Her gas was accurate as readings were taken from her smart meter and her bill totalled £221.00 to pay which was scheduled to be taken by direct debit at the end of the month. She stated that she could not afford to pay this.

As she had was being referred to Citizens Advice by the money team for in depth support with her financial situation, they would include utility bills in their advice. We discussed with her how to check her meter readings and compare these to her bill to check whether the bill had been over-estimated.

She stated she used a lot of gas to keep her husband warm due to his heart issues. We discussed the possibility of turning the heating down slightly, putting it on one hour later or turning it off one hour later. She was worried about her husband getting cold, so we gave her two winter warmth packs containing blankets, gloves, hats, snoods, socks and soup and mugs.

We also discussed whether her home was draughty, and she said it was. We offered her a visit from the green doctors who are able to install draught proofing measures around doors and windows, fit radiator foils to help make her heating more efficient and also supply and fit up to 10 led lightbulbs which would help with her energy consumption. She was very appreciative of this offer and a referral was made for the works to be undertaken.

This example shows how much people are in need and how services such as ours help to give them a little boost and guide them to other services they may benefit from.