Author: Rhys Gregory

The Barclays 100×100 UK COVID-19 Community Relief Funding awarded a grant of £100,000 to support The Wallich, a leading Welsh homelessness and rough sleeping charity, in their response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Barclays 100 x 100 UK COVID-19 Community Relief Funding enabled The Wallich to: Support a total of 3,400 people since October 2020 across 71 projects in 18 Welsh local authorities. Provided 500 bed spaces across 188 properties for people who might otherwise be on the streets. Supply 350 frontline staff with more than 50,000 items of PPE including face masks, nitrile gloves, desk screens, sanitizer and thermometers…

One of the largest further education colleges in South Wales has teamed up with leading rail industry names to train the next generation of skilled railway workers and create hundreds of apprenticeships. Coleg y Cymoedd has partnered up with Protech Rail Engineering – a Treforest-based firm which provides engineering and construction expertise to the UK industry – to create the ‘Protech Training Academy’. The programme is designed to equip the country’s future workforce with the skills and experience needed to meet future demand. The collaboration will also see Protech Training Academy team up with industry partner Ganymede, a national supplier…

On International Women’s Day (Monday 8 March) Tŷ Hafan, the charity which provides specialist palliative care services for children and young people in Wales, is delighted to announce two new appointments to its executive team. Earlier this month it was announced that Maria Timon Samra, who took over as Interim CEO of the charity in May 2020 during the first national lockdown relating to the pandemic, has been appointed CEO on a permanent basis. Educated in Ireland, Maria brings extensive international experience gained across a range of industries.  Her previous roles in Wales include Interim CIO/Head of BIS at Welsh…

Last week, Rays of Sunshine, a children’s charity that brightens the lives of seriously ill children across the UK by granting their wishes and providing ongoing support, launched a stunning virtual children’s art gallery that displays bespoke artwork created by children who are all living with a serious or life-limiting illness. One of the children displaying their artwork is Freya, aged eight, from Neath, South Wales Valleys. Created alongside Moyosa Media, award winners in digital technology, the gallery aims to celebrate the magical bond between Rays of Sunshine and its beneficiaries, in addition to recognising the charity’s patrons and supporters.…

Welsh charity Safer Wales is launching a new feminist library to mark International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month. The #femlibsaferwales campaign will see books and resources made available to people anywhere in Wales, free of charge. The project is part of the Champions of Wales programme, which Safer Wales delivers to young women engaged in its youth services. Champions of Wales is a girls’ rights movement working to change perceptions and attitudes towards girls so they can live free from gender inequality. Run in partnership with Plan International UK and three other organisations, the programme will support at least two hundred…

Welsh Government, Pfizer, Swansea University and Life Sciences Hub Wales have all signed a ground-breaking charter that reflects their shared beliefs in driving the adoption and delivery of Value-Based Health Care in Wales. As Founding Members, each party has confirmed the charter’s vision of embedding this transformational approach to health and social care in all relevant systems. The charter reflects the parties’ shared intent: to evolve models of healthcare traditionally based on volume of activity toward a person-centred approach that recognises the full value that healthcare brings to patients, society and sustainable industry; and to improve health outcomes for the…

A BOXING club which has produced a string of Welsh champions over 30 years will continue to pack a punch – thanks to cash confiscated from criminals. Clwyd Amateur Boxing Club in Rhyl was founded in 1989 by the late Johnny Ritchie, born John Richard Jones, who fought at both amateur and professional level and sparred with legendary world middleweight champion Randolph Turpin. Johnny’s son Darryl Jones and grandson Justin who have followed in his footsteps by running the club, also enjoyed successful boxing careers. The three generations of the boxing family have helped emerging boxing talent thrive at their…

A social care leader has warned the public in Wales not to become complacent and to “remain vigilant” as the number of Covid deaths in care homes continue fall. Mario Kreft MBE, the chair of Care Forum Wales, said new, more contagious and potentially more dangerous mutant strains of the virus could still throw a spanner in the works. It was vitally important, he stressed, the people adhered to sensible safeguards like social distancing, wearing masks and sanitising properly. The importance of doing the right thing was underlined by the catastrophic death toll in care homes since the onset of…

Vehicle theft throughout Wales remains among the lowest in the country, according to new analysis by Quotezone.co.uk using the latest data gathered by the Economic Policy Centre. Dyfed-Powys Police recorded the 3rd lowest crime rate of 43 forces nationwide, with 1.43 incidents per 1,000 residents in 2020. This was followed by North Wales in 5th place (1.86 / 1,000), Gwent in 13th position (3.72 / 1,000) and South Wales in 28th spot (5.68 / 1,000). All four forces recorded a yearly fall in reported thefts, with South Wales registering the smallest drop – 17% – and North Wales the highest…

Aberystwyth University has announced its intention to appoint a new Director/Animateur of Music to lead its reshaped and revitalised music provision into the future. For more than a century, Aberystwyth University has made a key contribution to Wales’s proud and long-standing tradition of music. With the global COVID-19 pandemic having necessitated a lull in the University’s musical activity, the University is delighted to announce the re-launch of Music at Aber, which will continue as a collaborative effort between the University, Aberystwyth Arts Centre and the wider community. Towards the end of last year, the University gathered the views of members…