Rosa Davies may be in her 80s but she doesn’t let that stand in the way of learning new skills and having a good chat. She is celebrating today after hearing about Borth Community Hub’s successful application for a grant of nearly £10,000.
The £9,976 grant will fund the ‘Get Together Group’ providing activity sessions for older people, especially those dealing with memory loss. Rosa (pictured), was born in Ceredigion and has lived there her whole life, making her a fount of local knowledge, she tells me:
“Well, I’m no Picasso, I can just about draw a tree, but it’s so lovely sitting under the canopy to chat with everyone about everything that’s happening in the world. My grandad always said I was vaccinated with a gramophone needle as a baby, because I chat so much! I don’t know what we would do without the Get Together Group – I really look forward to it each week.”
Martine Ormerod has been running the group since January 2019 and during lockdown delivered personalised, art activity packs to the group’s members, regularly called them on the phone or visited their doorsteps when the rules allowed. In the last month face to face meetings have restarted, initially outside, but with the chance to use a large indoor space if the weather is too bad. Martine explained:
“We are so grateful to the National Lottery Community Fund because the grant means we can carry on as times change. Before we got going again, I called everyone to find out about their concerns and make sure we could meet their needs. People refer their friends who have been really isolated to the group, anyone interested can contact the Centre.
“We are running smaller groups – only five people at a time, but twice a week. The smaller groups do mean we have more time for everyone to chat with us and each other. The chance to do something different and concentrate on a new skill for a few hours can really help people relax and take them out of themselves.”
Andrew Owen, Head of Funding for The National Lottery Community Fund in Wales congratulated Borth Community Hub saying:
“The National Lottery Community Fund distributes money raised by National Lottery players for good causes. Eight in ten of our grants are for less than £10k, going to grassroots groups and charities across the UK, like Borth Community Hub they bring to life amazing ideas that matter to their communities. It’s wonderful to hear how much Rosa values the work Martine and the team are doing there and our grant will let them help even more people feel less isolated.”
