Laura, Author at Rotherham Federation

More Energy Know How

Laura/ 11th February 202516th May 2025/ Energy Know How, Good News Stories, In Your Community

By the More Energy Know How Team

We spoke to a lady at Rawmarsh foodbank. The lady was not working at the moment as she was recovering from throat cancer treatment. She was also struggling with her mental health as she had also lost her parents during her illness which has had an impact on her financially, however she was keeping on top of her bills and had no arrears on her energy account. The team mentioned priority services with her energy company and Yorkshire Water which the lady was already aware of. The lady lives in a council rented property and we asked if she was managing to stay warm. The lady confirmed that she does feel draughts and feels the cold easily. We discussed the Green Doctor service and mentioned low level draught proofing around windows and doors and also foils behind radiators on external walls. The lady confirmed that she would appreciate a visit from them and consented to passing her contact details on to them. We also discussed energy saving tips which the lady confirmed she is always mindful of saving energy where she can. She was provided with a winter warm bag and she confirmed that this would be useful especially the hot water bottle and socks. We discussed Rotherham Council Crisis scheme which offers up to £250 non-repayable amount, subject to criteria which could help with her finances. The lady was happy for us to assist her submitting her contact details to RMBC Crisis scheme for them to make contact with her direct. We gave the lady my contact details and wrote down a reminder that Green Doctors would be calling and RMBC crisis team. The lady was grateful for our chat and the help and information provided.

Digital Volunteer

Laura/ 10th February 20259th May 2025/ Good News Stories, In Your Community, Tenant Involvement

By The Tenant Involvement Team

Bridgette has been helping a gentleman for the past couple of months, who was concerned about the online safety of his personal information and bogus job offers on websites. This gentleman had been made redundant and was extremely competent in his field but lacked experience in using online tools to search for employment.

Bridgette has been instrumental in building this gentleman’s confidence, helping him recognise whether a website is safe and check the privacy policies of sites such as Indeed, so that he feels confident his data and privacy are protected when applying for jobs.

Bridgette was delighted to learn that this gentleman had secured a job interview and is now far more confident and knowledgeable about how his data is used when entered online.

Swinton Community Focus Group

Laura/ 10th February 20259th May 2025/ Good News Stories, In Your Community, Tenant Involvement

By the Tenant Involvement Team

Swinton Community Focus Group is a well-established group whose aims are to make Swinton a safer, connected, cleaner and healthier place to live. The group organises social events, litter picks and holds regular meetings. They also engage with the residents to tackle issues and find out what residents want in the area where they live.

This month, the group hosted a fantastic Winter Warmer event at the Civic Hall in partnership with the Honeypot Café. This was a free event where 55 residents from Swinton and Kilnhurst enjoyed pie and peas followed by trifle and refreshments. The event was a huge success and included two games of bingo, a quiz about the Swinton area and a raffle. There was also entertainment provided by Sarah Bush and Chantelle. Everyone had a fantastic afternoon and are already looking forward to the next one! The group applied for funding to make this a free event and open to all residents in the area.

The group also holds at least two litter picks a month covering all areas of Switon. This month’s litter picks were as productive as always and on the last one in January they collected 16 bags of rubbish, along with a mattress, number plate, clothes and a children’s slide. They will be having their first skip of the year on Tuesday 4 February at St John’s, we will attend this and support the group.

The group are also looking at and planning events for the upcoming summer months.

Swinton & Kilnhurst Community Forum

Laura/ 15th January 202515th January 2025/ Community Events, In Your Community

Open Arms

Laura/ 9th January 20259th May 2025/ Good News Stories, In Your Community, Open Arms

By Lee Lazenby, Open Arms Team

Due to a change of political party in government bringing about a transformation to our existing benefits and welfare system which has been implemented over recent months, we have had a few successes.

One of which was a lady called Jane whom I first came across on the evening of the 7th of November via our Face Book page. She was enquiring about the days, times and locations of our Open Arms Community Hub sessions.

I responded and sent her our latest timetable.

Jane told me where she lived, and that she would attend at the earliest opportunity. I said I looked forward to meeting her as I would be at the outreach on the day in question.

She attended two days later. Jane told me she had been turned down twice previously for Pension Credit. I asked her when this was. She checked and it was a short while ago. On the second occasion it was just a few pounds that took her over the threshold for applying. I helped her fill in her registration form and it was then Jane said she felt lonely. I advised her to request a benefit check, just in case there was anything else she might be entitled to and whilst she was waiting, I signposted her to a few social groups in her area. She was quite reserved, but I persuaded her to approach a group in the library and have a word with them. She was very happy I had taken the time to listen to her and she admitted she was starting to feel better and hopeful. The CARD adviser was a big help to her too. He sorted everything out and said all she had to do was to wait and see what happened.

It was not long at all before I saw Jane again. On the 19th of November she turned up at Riverside Library just to thank us for everything we had done for her. She couldn’t quite believe it when her bank account had been credited to what was a Pension Credit, the first of many. Pension Credit provides extra money to help with living costs if you are of pensionable age and on a low income. Now she is receiving this benefit, Jane can now apply to R.M.B.C and make a claim for housing benefit as she is a council tenant. Also available to her is a winter fuel payment, a council tax discount as well as many other things subject to age and/or dependant on which type of pension credit awarded, plus assistance with heating costs through the Warm Home Discount Scheme.

Jane said she was over the moon regarding the outcome.

Jane got in touch with me again through Facebook as I had asked her previously if she had considered becoming a volunteer due to her feeling of loneliness, time on her hands and maybe boost her confidence. I offered encouragement as she said she would not have anything to offer so I explained she could get involved as much or as little as she wanted. No pressure as volunteering is meant to be fun, enjoyable and rewarding to all involved. Jane agreed and then mentioned since her last visit, she had received a £200 heating allowance. She went on to say she had been on a “right downer” over the past few weeks, she wasn’t interested in preparing for Christmas, but this had lifted her spirits, and she is really looking forward to the festive season now. She has yet to let me know if she managed to also receive a discount on both her rent and council tax, although she did state she is more than happy with the heating allowance. I don’t think she was expecting that, at least not that princely sum.

Who knows, we may even have Jane volunteering on The Open Arms Project in 2025. What a testimony that would be.

Dawsons Croft and Rockingham Primary

Laura/ 8th January 20259th May 2025/ Good News Stories, In Your Community, Tenant Involvement

By the tenant Involvement Team

A group of young people from Rockingham Primary came and performed music from the Young Voices concert alongside 2 solos. One of the girls performed a track from the Big Hero 6 soundtrack while the other was Katy Perrys hit Roar. The young voices concert will take place at the arena with over 5000 other young people performing to a crowd filled with friends and family.

The residents of Dawsons Croft provided Wagon wheels, drinks, and a bookmark, alongside selection boxes that were donated by the Tenant Involvement team from Rotherfed.

Here’s what the young people had to say.

“Fantastic”

“Really Good”

“Delicious”

“Great”

“Spectacular”

11 of the residents came down to enjoy the entertainment along with one of the local elected members. A proper start to the Christmas celebrations for some of the residents of Greasborough.

“Enjoyed it. Takes a lot for them to get up and sing like that.”

“Absolutely fantastic”

“Loved it”

“Lovely afternoon”

Tenant Involvement in Wath

Laura/ 8th January 20258th May 2025/ Good News Stories, In Your Community, Tenant Involvement

By the tenant Involvement Team

Following on from the success of the summer event we delivered in August and after speaking to residents at a recent RMBC skip day, we thought it would be nice to hold the first ever Christmas Grotto on the estate for the residents to enjoy.

RMBC Councillors very kindly agreed to help fund this event and using some of our budget, we put the rest towards the grotto and purchased selection boxes, so every child visiting Santa would receive one free.

Prior to the event we produced and delivered over 300 leaflets around the estate. We also met with the new TARA on the estate who said they would like to be involved and have a stall at the event to raise funds for their new group, the group now have a constitution, they are just awaiting their bank account being opened. The event took place on Tuesday 10 December from 4pm until 6pm and whilst it was extremely cold, the weather thankfully stayed dry. DB Entertainment brought the inflatable grotto, and the TARA organised for Santa to attend the event. Know Your Neighbour came along and promoted their services, and they took the opportunity to speak to the local residents about the area. The TARA held a tombola and a refreshments stall.

It was a great event with a good turnout. We had approximately 150 people attend the event, 95% of residents attending were council tenants. The TARA were really happy with the interest in their stalls and managed to raise over £300 which will go towards future activities for the residents. The TARA have lots of ideas for the estate moving forward, which is fantastic. We will support them with these and also help them to look at and apply for funding.

Feedback from the residents about the event was really positive.

“Thank you so much for organising and funding this, it has been a lovey treat for the children to enjoy”.

“This is just what the estate needs, more activities for residents to get involved in”.

Tenant Involvement

Laura/ 8th January 20258th May 2025/ Good News Stories, In Your Community, Tenant Involvement

By the tenant Involvement Team

On December 19th, the Peregrine Way TARA group held their annual Christmas dinner, bringing together 29 members to celebrate the end of a successful year.

Over the last few years this event has grown in popularity really bringing the community together to decorate the Neighbourhood centre ready for the event, and even spilling out into the garden area as the group now have a potted Christmas tree to decorate outside

The festive gathering featured a traditional turkey dinner with all the trimmings, followed by mince pies and Christmas pudding with custard. Staff from the Dinnington Resource Centre graciously provided and served the delicious meal.

To enhance the holiday spirit, the group enjoyed a round of bingo, a prize draw, and a lively game of “Play Your Cards Right.”

This annual Christmas dinner serves as a joyful conclusion to the year for the members of the Peregrin Way Tara group.

Heart of the Community Project Ending

Laura/ 16th December 202420th January 2025/ Good News Stories, Heart of the Community, In Your Community

By Dan Barron and Sam Dixon, Heart of the Community Team

As the Heart for the community project is ending, we wanted to be able to give something back to the volunteers that have participated in the project over the last 3 years. We have met some wonderful people who have stood up to positively impact their community. They have put the interest of others before themselves and have brought a real sense of community to Rotherham.

We didn’t just invite the Community leaders we invited volunteers who do the small tasks that go unnoticed at times and those that help out when they could. The heart of the community has been about bringing the community together and highlighting that people can support positive change in different ways. We wanted to give a shout out to the unsung heroes. We created an event specifically for our volunteers to relax, have some food and music at the Rotherham Titans Rugby club and enjoy the afternoon. Including Rotherfed staff we had 41 people join us for the celebration.

This project wouldn’t have been possible without the dedication and hard work of our incredible volunteers. Their commitment has transformed isolated communities and created lasting positive change.

Their passion and selflessness have been the driving force behind this project’s success.

“Thank you for everything you have done and the impact you have had on the community and myself. You will be missed, and I’ll remember when I’m taking over the world. Lots of Love and well wishes.”
Talk n Train

“Thank you for everything you’ve done for the Community Tree. We will miss you both so much. Lots of Love from the committee at the community Tree. We love you loads xx.”
The Community Tree Committee

“Thank you for all your help and putting up with me and a big thankyou for all of the support from DEHT Greenspaces. We love you both xxx.”
Nicola (The DEHT committee)

“Thankyou for your help and assistance over the
last few years and for tolerating the absolute DIN!! Created at the coffee
mornings at Warreners Centre on Wednesday mornings. Very Best wishes to you
both in your future ventures xx.“
Warreners Drive Residents

“Thank you for all you have done.”
Margaret

“The venue was perfect for our volunteers to be able to socialise and talk openly about what they are achieving in their communities. The place had a real earthy feel and made a real difference as there was no corporate feel to it.”
RotherFed