Author: Rhys Gregory

National Lottery funding has helped to set up Wales’ first community dodgeball club for children in Pontypridd.The Rhondda Dragons Dodgeball Club have had an adults team for the last five years, but the club has now branched out to cater for the large numbers of children who would like to play dodgeball outside of school.The club were awarded £770 from Sport Wales’ Be Active Wales Fund – which uses National Lottery funding – to help the new junior section become established. As a new club, they were eligible for funding to pay for ten weeks’ worth of sports hall hire…

Carmarthen Hwb, a wellbeing and cultural centre housed in the former Debenhams store in the centre of Carmarthen, has been given the go ahead. A Notice of Commencement was issued on 13th March 2023 and works at the former department store on St Catherine’s Walk will start. Bouygues UK is the preferred bidder for the project, which is a collaboration between Carmarthenshire County Council, Hywel Dda University Health Board and the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD). Funded by the UK Government’s Levelling Up Fund, the Hwb will be a public space which will promote preventative health care and…

Thrive Women’s Aid, which supports victims and survivors of domestic abuse in Neath Port Talbot, has appointed Liz Downie as its new Chief Executive Officer. Liz joins Thrive from Valleys to Coast Housing Association, where she worked as its Corporate Director of People, Culture and Organisational Development. Liz takes over from Lucy Reynolds, who left Thrive to become CEO of Chwarae Teg. A fellow of the Chartered Institute of Professional Development, Liz has worked as an Executive Director within the Housing Sector for the past five years, during which time she volunteered in several non-executive positions including as the Chair of…

A new and independent body that will strengthen the power and influence of people’s voices in shaping health and social care services across Wales is launching this week. From 3 April 2023 Llais will replace the work of Wales’s seven Community Health Councils which have supported the interests of people using NHS services for nearly half a century. Llais will transform the way that service users are heard and valued. Working locally, regionally and nationally across social care and health care together for the first time, it will offer the people of Wales a way to have their say in…

More than six hundred native broadleaf tree saplings have been planted in fields in Monmouthshire with help from the Wye Valley AONB’s Nature Networks Project, and volunteers from Coed Cadw, the Woodland Trust in Wales. Coed Cadw also contributed trees to the project. TV presenter Kate Humble used the Nature Networks project to plant hundreds of trees in two fields at her working farm in Monmouthshire. She explained her motivations, saying: “A year ago, I was suddenly hit with the feeling that our north-facing field – which is bordered by ancient woodland – could be doing something a bit more…

Teachers in Wales have access to a series of new bilingual resources on refugees and asylum seekers, thanks to work by Aberystwyth University. Developed by academics from the Department of International Politics with funding from the Welsh Government, the suite of new educational resources ‘Understanding sanctuary, refugees, conflict, and Russia’s war in Ukraine’ are suitable for primary and secondary school pupils and teaching staff. Focusing on key issues such as sanctuary in Wales, war and conflict, and refugees and asylum seekers, the resources aim to provide educators with the tools to discuss sensitive and contemporary issues with a range of…

The 2023, Child of Wales Awards, sponsored by Principality Building Society, took place at the Mercure Holland House Hotel, Cardiff on Friday 24th March. Inspirational children from across Wales were celebrated at the star-studded celebration, which was hosted by TV presenter Gethin Jones. The winners of 13 categories were announced after over 300 nominations were received earlier in the year. An auction and raffle on the night raised over £16,000 to support the work of two Welsh children’s charities; Ty Hafan, and Hope House Ty Gobaith, who provide care and support to life-limited children and their families across Wales and…

TV and radio broadcaster Owain Wyn Evans has urged a Swansea audience to stay true to themselves and never be afraid of taking risks. Speaking at a special event held at Swansea Arena, the former weatherman shared his journey – from his roots growing up in Ammanford through to becoming a TV favourite and now launching his own show on BBC Radio 2. Owain was the keynote speaker at the event, hosted by Swansea University’s Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences – which saw guests from the public, private and third sector join together for a day of inspiration, interactive…

Five members of one of Wales’ best known law firms, JCP Solicitors, have been appointed to the role of Director as it continues to strengthen its senior team. The legal firm, which has offices across south and west Wales, has promoted staff from its Family, Residential Property, Court of Protection, Property Litigation, and Injury teams to Directors. Among those to be promoted is Kirsty Meech, an Associate Solicitor in the firm’s Catastrophic Injury team. Having been with the business since 2006, she currently specialises in representing clients who have suffered traumatic brain injuries. Kirsty developed a particular interest in catastrophic injuries…

Popham Kidney Support hosted its inaugural Spring Ball at The Bear Hotel in Cowbridge on Saturday March 25, raising over £5,000 for the charity. The Spring Ball was Popham Kidney Support’s first marquee event of its tenth anniversary and raised vital funds for the charity that provides emotional, physical and financial support to children, youths and adults with kidney disease and their families across Wales. The charity’s ambassador and Welsh TV personality, Sian Lloyd, hosted the event which involved an awards ceremony, rewarding those who had played a vital part in supporting the charity and its fundraising efforts over the…