University of the West of Scotland - Mindfulness Courses

UWS are offering a range of Mindfulness courses in the summer. Please see below for details.

Isle of Whithorn Art Group

“Wednesday Afternoon is our time and we make most of it, we have a wonderful facilitator who suggests little things that make a difference colour/perspective/dark and light, we could go on and on. We are now going to have our second art exhibition (who would ever have thought it) It as given us a sense of pride which does wonders for confidence and well being. This Art Group is bringing lot of happiness into a lot of lives, long may it continue.”- Joan- Isle of Whithorn Art Group Member

At the end of June all members agreed that they would donate £2.00 per session to pay towards the costs of the hall hire.

Monday Club

Monday Club 6th July 2015

At our get together today we were entertained to a drama sketch that was read and delivered by Debbie Calvert. The sketch was dramatic, full off fun and laughter.

Thank you to Debbie for entertaining us!!

Whilst visiting the Gem Rock Museum on 29th  June, all members agreed that they would donate £2.00 per session to cover costs etc. to ensure the Monday Club continues.

Our next meeting will be on 20th July - Cooking on a budget with Dave and Luke from Building Healthy Communities & Chair based exercise with Pam Paterson. 

Say Something Campaign.

To view the latest awareness information and poster about Child Sexual Exploitation please click here 

or visit the website www.stop-cse.org/saysomething 

Boccia and New Age Curling

Annual General Meeting - Reminder

Just a wee reminder about the Annual General Meeting next week..

PUBLIC NOTICE

BUILDING HEALTHY COMMUNITIES (MACHARS)

WILL BE HOLDING THEIR

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

at the

Whithorn Community Centre

Tuesday 14^th July 2015

2pm-4pm

ALL WELCOME

Newton Stewart Youth Club - Healthy Cooking

The third round of cooking took place on Monday night where the last seven young people enjoyed the experience of cooking an authentic Chinese dish.

A total of 19 young people from the youth club have now had some cooking experience and have asked for more experiences later in the year.

Jills in the Community

The Jills have been busy the last couple of weeks building a box lid to fit an existing puppy box. With accurate measurement and cutting, they are now in the last phase, which is to cut a circular hole to allow the mother dog to enter and leave safely.  Great work!

The next project has also commenced, the clearing of a garden for a local community member who is not able to do this type of work for herself. Over the next few weeks, it is hoped to transform the wilderness into a garden that is accessible and easier to maintain.

Here are the results of the first hour on the new project!!

VOLUNTEERS FIND THEIR VOICE!

Partners and Volunteers from the “VOICE Mid Galloway” project have been celebrating their achievements during National Volunteers Week at the end of an extremely productive and successful year. The Project was launched in June last year, funded by the Volunteer Action Fund Scotland, to provide support and training opportunities for volunteers across Mid Galloway. Supported by the Machars Area Partnership, the project was led by staff from Building Healthy Communities (Machars), and Dumfries & Galloway Council’s Community Learning & Development  and Social Services.

Other partners from a wide range of agencies and service providers were invited to the initial launch to raise awareness of the project and identify further opportunities for joint working.

In addition to the existing 30 volunteers who were initially signed up to the project, a further 107 volunteers – individuals, members of community groups and organisations - have benefited from a wide range of training opportunities.

Volunteers were then supported to utilise their newly found skills on a range of local and community opportunities. Training was sourced and held locally.

One of the trainers said: “I have been privileged to have been involved with the Voice Mid Galloway Project. Local volunteers were invited to participate in funded courses, involving inclusion, team involvement, support, and received recognition with a fully recognised accredited certificate, gained by their own merits. The Voice has certainly raised the bar in showcasing that volunteers are committed, hard working and dedicated to their cause!”

Nathalie Guillaume, Community Health Development Worker said: “We have established through the project that volunteers are currently contributing over 330 volunteer hours on a weekly basis - given ever increasing funding constraints on agencies and service providers and the launch of the new Health & Social Care agenda, this is an integral part of establishing and building on resilience in local communities. These volunteers are running groups and clubs and are providing services that would otherwise not happen – we feel it is imperative that these volunteers are supported, recognised and their achievements celebrated”.

A member of the local Community Resilience Team said: “We cannot offer our services in the community unless our volunteers are fully trained in areas including Food Hygiene & First Aid, so being able to access this training for free makes a huge difference to us.  Our thanks to the project for offering such a valuable service to the voluntary sector.”

Sue Reedman – Chair of the local Partnership said: “The partnership are delighted to have been involved in the development of the project – it has made such a difference to a whole range of individuals and community groups who have been able to access specific training required free of charge, which they would otherwise have been unable to do. We are currently working to identify further funds to continue to build on the success of the project.”

Boccia and New Age Curling

Today’s Boccia and New Age Curling session was competitive with both the red team and blue team trying to win the games. The blues proved to be too strong in the curling, winning 15 to 9. In boccia the red team were out to show the blues that the reds could win. Reds were winning up until the last game when Charlie took his last shot and took the blues to victory by the narrowest of margins, 8 to 7. Well done to both teams!

Annual General Meeting

PUBLIC NOTICE

BUILDING HEALTHY COMMUNITIES (MACHARS)

WILL BE HOLDING THEIR

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

at the

Whithorn Community Centre

Tuesday 14^th July 2015

2pm-4pm

ALL WELCOME

Jills in the Community

The re-decoration of the hallway at a service user's home has now been completed 

 Quote from the homeowner "So much brighter" - "all the holes have gone!"

"Opening the door into the hallway is now uplifting as it was a mess" - "BIG THANKS to the Jills!"

Newton Stewart Youth Group Part 2

The next batch of young people from Newton Stewart Youth Club had the opportunity to get involved in some healthy cooking on Monday night

Another great session with all the youngsters thoroughly enjoying the experience  The final session is now on June 22nd . 

Jills in the Community

Last week, the Jills started the re-decoration of a hallway in the local community.  This involved filling some 100+ small holes and dents in preparation for painting.

This week, with all the filler set, the final preparation before painting was completed.  This involved sanding all the walls as the previous paint had bubbled and was very uneven in texture.  Bit dusty, but it will be worth the effort!!

Painting commences next week.  Well Done Ladies!!!

 

Newton Stewart Youth Club Cooking (Round 1)

Monday Night saw the first of three cooking sessions at Newton Stewart Youth Club.

This week, 6 young people watched a demo and then cooked, for themselves, Chicken Chilli and Garlic with Noodles.

All the young people really enjoyed themselves and the results were tasty and excellent.

Thanks to the group for making the evening so enjoyable.  Next week, same recipe, different group - Cant Wait!!