Last October we awarded Open Door Community project £7,000 from our Springboard grant. Open Door is a woman-led community space for local people to develop connections. The aim of the project is to increase and improve community engagement by providing a variety of activities to support a range of needs.
The Next Steps programme supports confident interaction between peers in a welcoming space. Over 12 weeks, the programme supported 126 adults and 150 babies and toddlers. It provided a safe space for families to attend a parent and toddler group, where children could interact with one another through fun activities. This was especially important as the pandemic had left some new parents feeling isolated and worried about their children's learning and communications skills.
"Lovely place to take babies to. The venue is spacious with lots of toys provided. Great meeting lots of mums to talk about motherhood and get advice and support.”
Mums and babies sitting on the floor during a parent and baby group
The Feed Me project focused on supporting parents and their children’s eating habits. A qualified Nutritionist delivered the sessions and introduced various foods with different smells, tastes and textures. 67 adults and 84 babies and toddlers attended over 12 weeks. Parents found that by supporting each other, their anxiety levels over their children’s fussy eating decreased and because other children were trying new foods, their children felt they could too.
The Zone is a twice weekly youth café running on a Monday and Wednesday. Over 12 weeks, 170 young people attended. They got to do all sorts from making smoothies, toasties and hot drinks to playing board games, tye dying, arts and crafts, photography workshops and cooking.
Women’s Wellness is a 24-week course to support women of various ages with their physical and mental wellbeing. Activities include movement and flow, confidence building, self-defence, urban strengthening, dance relaxation and meditation as well as a discussion space.
"I'm so glad to have found Open Door, as I have felt so isolated during the pandemic and haven't attended my regular groups for over a year now."
We're thrilled that we were able to support such a wonderful project, which so many people have benefitted from.
If you're interested in our community funding, take a look at our community funding web pages for more details on how to apply.