Open Arms sessions have been running at Springwell on a fortnightly basis since April 2023. We decided at quite short notice to hold an information session during the school holidays for families to come along to and find out more about the project. We arranged for Making Our Money Go Further to attend with us and they brought along a hamper of shopping to give away to the person who guessed how much it would cost. We also arranged for DB entertainment to provide some games and activities for families to enjoy and provided drinks and snacks too. Posters were put up in local businesses and publicised through social media platforms.
On the day, Thursday 1st June 2023, we got the main hall set up ready to greet our visitors, not sure how many to expect, but as soon as the doors opened, they were there!
The session was well attended by families who enjoyed the activities and food. From talking to some of them about the project a couple were referred into Citizens Advice by the money team and others said that planned to attend our regular drop-in sessions. Rob spoke to some residents who are interested in setting up a group to run from Springwell.
The session was also attended by Cllr Cooksey, PCSO’s and Jamie from Early Help so people had the opportunity to meet and chat with them too.