snvb news
The School of Life “Age is just a number”
Tuesday 23rd February saw fourteen pupils from the Brackley C.E. Junior School visit the Brackley Ladies and Golden Girls (BLAGGs) at their regular Town Hall gathering. This meeting was organised by snvb as part of the School of Life project.
At the taster session BLAGG members showed off some of their many creative talents. They taught the children wool doll making, knitting and designing greeting cards and some of the pupils were so engrossed that they took their work home to finish it off. There was also a fun session playing cards and completing jigsaws and the BLAGGs new laptop was used to access more games via the internet.
Sheila Hippolyte, leader of the BLAGGs, said: "The ladies thoroughly enjoyed it and loved meeting the young people. They particularly liked passing on the skills that they think might get lost through the generations - like knitting and making wool dollies. We all enjoyed the homemade cakes and biscuits".
Of course - this is the School of Life, so it wasn't just the school children learning new skills. The BLAGGs members were taught new card games and how to use the popular video website 'YouTube'.
The session proved such a success that both parties were keen to build on it on a regular basis but on one condition that in future they needed more time together.
Forum Fun for Over 50’s
Brackley welcomed the new South Northants 50+ Forum for its second event on 16 February at Waynflete Baptist Church.
John Watts from the county council led the afternoon’s programme with a discussion on public transport. Amanda Harris from snvb gave an overview of the ‘School of Life – Age is just a number’ project, which encourages the exchange of skills between under 25 year olds and the over 50s. As it was half term several young people joined with the members to play golf and other games on the electronic Wii equipment.
South Northants 50+ forum chair, Linda Bunny-Martin said “The afternoon was a great success starting with a lively discussion about public transport. During refreshments everyone enjoyed the information stands and the icing on the cake was Northamptonshire’s own ‘Mr Motivator’ who encouraged everyone to take part in a fun exercise session.
Linda added “We are hoping to encourage more people to get involved with the Forum and are meeting again in early March to plan our next event”.
To find out more contact snvb on 01327 358264 or email: info@snvb.org.uk
Rural project reaches out to local groups
MORE than a hundred visitors seized a rare chance to ‘meet the experts’ when they attended the Rural Reach at the Racecourse 2 event last Friday.
Members of local groups and organisations made the most of the opportunity to attend workshops and get one-to-one advice from representatives from over thirty groups that support front line voluntary and community groups
Organised by snvb (South Northants Volunteer Bureau) as part of its Rural Reach project, experts from national and local organisations including the Big Lottery, Charity Bank, the Charity Commission, The Social Investment Business, Regeneration East Midlands, IT 4 Communities, Abbey Charitable Trust, Directory of Social Change and The Media Trust were brought together for the exhibition at Towcester Racecourse.
Jan Andrews from the Blisworth Canal Partnership said: ‘It was an absolutely brilliant event from which I was able to glean an amazing amount of useful information to help us on our way forward with several projects.’
Jenny Carter, Manager at snvb, said: “This was a rare opportunity for people to meet face to face with a wide range of experts locally. We were so excited that so many national groups were willing to come to Northamptonshire and join with local support agencies to share their knowledge and give their support to help local voluntary organisations”
If you were unable to attend the event but would like to find out how snvb can offer help to your community group contact 01327 358264 or email info@snvb.org.uk.
Click here to view a copy of the event programme.