Women's Group is off the Ground!

There was a lovely relaxed atmosphere and informal chat going on over coffee and scones. I talked the group through the options available and also spoke with the Aultguish Inn team, aiming for the best outcome possible, for everyone going forward.

 

The Aultguish Inn team went out of their way to provide fresh baked scones, victoria sponge and chocolate cake despite the kitchen being closed on a Saturday afternoon as staff take a well earned break. They pulled out all the stops, surpassing our expectations. So good of them and everyone enjoyed the fabulous scones. 

 

We have nineteen people interested in the group currently. A record for any of our group start ups! All have received a further email today with the information in this post, plus the names of everyone interested and the feedback form (if they have not yet completed it and wish to do so.) The groups wishes, will shape how it moves forward from here, putting any suggestions for changes to a group vote as we progress.

 

Let me know if you would like to be added to the email or phone list here or you can email me as usual or phone 07838 815085 and leave a message. 

 

 

We had further suggestions for the group name on Saturday. The groups temporary name will be Women's Group. Everyone that has shown interest has been asked on email to send their top two choices. The name will be decided after Wednesday 6th September when voting will close.

​​​​​​Next Session
The next session will be on Monday 11th September at 9.30am with breakfast from the buffet with tea or coffee or biscuits/cake, depending what is available.  Women caring for young children are welcome to bring them along. Let me know if you hope to attend.

 

Offer each other lifts to save on fuel, help those that are uncomfortable driving far or don't have access to transport and enjoy the company.

 

The project and company aims, include supporting and encouraging the economy in Garve & District. We always support our eateries in the district as a first priority and I was delighted Aultguish Inn was acceptable and chosen by some residents as the venue of choice for this group. Aultguish Inn have said they will be closing for the season on 1st October so meetings will then be at Ledgowan Lodge Hotel possibly alternating with Coul House whilst Aultguish Inn is closed. We will cross that bridge when we come to it.

The feedback showed equal numbers could attend a Monday morning to a Saturday afternoon. It is only fair to give this day and time a chance to see if it is well attended too. I have brought the date forward a little from what we discussed on Saturday so it is not so long to wait and more of the Saturday group might make it too.

Who Can Attend?
Anyone from inside or outside Garve & District. The funding for the tea, coffee, soft drink and breakfast/biscuits/cake is available to residents within the district in line with the funding rules. Please do ask friends from outside the area along, it will only cost them what they eat and drink. The food available on the day will be influenced by what the venues can offer.

Keeping in Touch
I will come along to the first few sessions to get everything set up. Thanks to those that volunteered to update me after each session on attendance. We need this as evidence to demonstrate folk are benefitting and for the funding to continue. Those that have shown interest, please reply to the email sent to you when you have 5 minutes.

My Availability
I work part-time up to 25 hours per week with occasional weekend events. I will pick up all emails when I am next at my desk as I progress through my workload and priorities. I will monitor social media during my working hours. It has been an exceptionally busy time with the Summer Festival around the corner plus additional workshops, planning for events and maintaining all that we have already. Apologies for any delay in responding to emails.

Communication
I am always mindful that it is a small percentage of the Garve and District population that access social media and there can be many misunderstandings. I welcome constructive ideas and suggestions of how we can improve things across the whole project and may request a phone call to talk things through with clarity, a chat in person or if not possible, an email. If it is a topic of wider interest to the community, I can create a post on garve.org that will also go to the digital newsletter by email and to facebook ensuring as much of the community as possible has the opportunity to read the information. It may also be mentioned in the next G&D Newspaper that comes through your letterbox.

The Activate Garve & District Project started in January 2020. The aims of the project were to reduce isolation and increase connection by creating activities and groups, supporting them to get started and become self sustainable. As things evolved and classes with paid tutors became popular, the aims of the project changed to reducing isolation, improving connection through creating activities and groups that aim to become self sustainable, improving the wellbeing and quality of life of the residents of Garve & District. The project and my role are guaranteed for this phase. A further funding application would then be submitted to Lochluichart Community Trust for a further phase.

 

My role as Project Officer is to listen to the ideas from residents, create activities that will be successful in the district, encourage participation and connection. I establish which events will be successful by asking for feedback or bookings. I phone residents that I am aware do not use a computer to update them on activities they may be interesed in. I do need your help to hear about folk that do not use a computer so I can offer them a phone call or I can post a paper copy of feedback forms and the monthly activities poster.

 

I strive to provide a cross section of activities to suit everyone in the community and I am always keen to encourage anyone to get involved and hear everyone's ideas. The more activities I can provide, positively impacting a wider range of the community, the better.

 

The community means a lot to me and I act in its best interests. It is very rewarding seeing the activities that are now up and running plus those that are planned and ad-hoc seasonal activities that the community have benefited from. It is a busy role, I continuously learn and love involving more people and seeing new connections being made that offer friendship, support and enjoyment​​​​​​ across the community. A big part of what makes our rural communities such a wonderful place to live.