Last week saw our Autumn in Action finale with clubs, creative activities and social events. Our Neighbourhood Engagement team certainly warmed up the season as they brought a range of events, activities and community cohesion into our neighbourhoods over the last four weeks.
The team have been engaging with communities across Tameside and Greater Manchester to bring residents together, improve neighbourhoods and offer support to our tenants.
You may be interested in the regular work clubs, coffee mornings, brunches, lunches and courses that are occurring. Local meetings and consultations about making improvements to your communities are also taking place.
Last week started with a Cook and Eat session in Bootle. The session taught five families how to cook healthy meals on a budget. Neighbourhood Engagement Officer, Gemma Bennett, has worked with them, teaching them how to cook healthy meals together. This involved the children and the parents to encourage the children to learn cooking skills.
Due to the cold weather, the families made a healthy vegetable soup in the first session. This was something which most families hadn’t made at home before. For the second session, the families made chicken fajitas, with homemade salsa and tzatziki. The children enjoyed helping to prepare the food and took part in activities surrounding the Eatwell plate – pictorial summary of the food groups that teaches children about what a balanced meal contains.
The ingredients were given to the families to re-create the meals together at home. Further sessions have been requested and feedback on the day was very positive.
Oldham Play Action Group (OPAG) held a free arts and crafts session at our Cavendish 249 office in Ashton on Tuesday evening. Local parents and children came together and enjoyed making accessories. The idea behind the session was to create community spirit and involve families in quality play time.
On Wednesday, Northmoor Community Diner was a welcoming space for people to enjoy a hot meal. It also provided people with the chance to meet others in the area and find out what events are going on.
Our Ashton office hosted another First Aid at Work and Emergency Paediatric First Aid training session last Thursday. Ten participants covered the full EFAW/EPFA syllabus including CPR, using a defibrilllator, choking, seizures, burns and bleeding wounds.
Tenants and volunteers were from the Jigsaw Homes Work Club, Micklehurst Estate Resident’s Association, (MERA), Tameside Women and Their Families Centre, Tameside Leaving Care Service and Smallshaw/Hurst Community Group.
There is now a calendar of when these sessions will be running throughout 2020. For more details about when future courses will be delivered, contact John.McGlynn@jigsawhomes.org.uk
Whilst Autumn in Action has now finished, there are plenty of weekly activities and events across our communities. If you or someone you know would like to get involved in local activities and events organised by the team, please email them at NeighbourhoodEngagement@jigsawhomes.org.uk
