Hello to all our friends, supporters, and neighbours,

New Year Opportunities at The Castle

Walk and Talk
Since lockdowns and COVID restrictions many of us have been getting out in the fresh air walking from here on long and short walks exploring the Bridgewater Canal, Worsley Woods and Salford Greenway.  We have so much beautiful green space so near to us.

Serious walkers will set off aim to get 10000 steps in before the day begins!! others just want a shorter gentle walk just enjoying the outside place and having a socially distanced chat and usually find take away coffee on the way. We are hoping to make this a regular Saturday morning event with walks to suit everyone but we need volunteers to help make it happen, Every walk will start from The Castle and begin or end with bacon butties ( or similar) and hot drinks.

If you would like to help with organising or would like to join the walks please let us know.
Contact 
paul.newbould@gmail.com                  07974 270299
Judyusher1@gmail.com                        07843 208008

In partnership with ROC - 
 
Clean up
Many of you have shared with us the need for a regular clean up in the streets around The Castle
We are happy to facilitate this and like the walks, provide bacon butties (or similar) and hot drinks before or after a clean up session.
Possible we could combine this with our walks one a month but again would need volunteers to help us
 
If you would like to help with organising or would love to join us in cleaning up this area please let us know by contacting Paul or Judy on contact details above
 
In partnership with ROC - The Community Engagement Charity.
 
 Exciting Developments

The Castle – New facilities
We are pressing forward with a building project to expand the facilities available at The Castle. We will be asking many of you to complete a survey to let us know what facilities would like to see in this building.
If you haven’t received a survey and would like to complete one please text your name and address or e mail details to 07843 208008 and we will drop one round or send e mail attachment
 
Neighbourhood Watch
There has been an increase in anti -social behaviour in our area over the last few weeks. A number of you have suggested it may be time to set up a neighbourhood watch or similar
We would be happy to facilitate this.
If you are interested please contact on
Judyusher1@gmail.com      07843 208008

Christmas Giving

Can you help?
Harmony House situated in Liverpool Road, Eccles is a home that specifically cares for people with mental health conditions and learning disabilities. It is home for up to 12 residents between the ages of 25 to 65.
The Castle Community Centre would like to help the residents have a Christmas to remember by working with Harmony House to make up 12 Christmas Hampers. The residents have few visitors and this has been made even more difficult with the current Covid restrictions.
Current Situation
At present the residents are male with one female resident and are mostly age 50 plus
Could you help by donating an item from the following list. Items can be left at
The Castle Community Centre,
29-31 Lewis Street, Eccles M30 0PU 
at any time between 9am and 5pm on a weekday.
Donations
Hats  Gloves  Socks
Toiletries Bubble Bath
Pamper Gifts   CDS and DVDs
Christmas sweets and biscuits and anything else you think will surprise and delight
No alcohol or monetary donations
 
Baby Bank  The Castle Community Centre is a distribution centre for Baby Bank.
We deliver throughout Salford to families that need help anything from baby food to clothes toys and baby equipment.
We also provide new Mums with toiletries and everything needed in hospital for Mum and baby.
 
This Christmas will be especially hard for many and throughout December we would love to be able to give Mums a pamper gift when we deliver our usual Baby Bank supplies.
If you can donate a gift please just drop it in to The Castle.                         
​Thank you
 
Just remains to wish you all a happy and safe Christmas and look forward to a New Year and Spring when we emerge from the Covid pandemic and can resume our community activities.

From Judy Dave and The Castle Community Team

The Castle Community Association is a committee that works alongside Patricroft Community Group CIC at The Castle Community Centre. The two work together to build the local community and address the local needs. The CIC will focus on more larger scale projects, like the building work and other long-term plans while the Association focusses on smaller projects and is a voice of the community.

We have our Annual General Meeting (AGM) coming up at the end of October and we want to welcome more people onto the committee of the Association so that we have a good representation of the community.
 
To be a committee member we ask that you understand the needs of the community and a passion to make a difference. We would like to encourage young people to join the committee to be advisors and representatives for the local young people.

This year we are following the government guidelines and restricting physical numbers at the community centre to six so we will be asking others to join us via on Zoom. If you would like join the committee we will ask you to join our AGM via our zoom meeting and there you can be put forward to be elected onto the committee for the next 12 months. We have a maximum of 12 committee members. 

If you would like more information please contact Judy or Jane by emailing thecastlecommunitycentre@gmail.com

​Below is a copy of our code of conduct and the date and time of the meeting will be posted once it is confirmed. 

Code of Conduct

 Management Committee Members should:

• Strive to attend all meetings, sending apologies to the chair for necessary absences.
• Prepare for the meeting by reading the agenda, papers and emails before the meeting.
• Talk to the chair before the meeting if you need to clarify anything.
• Arrive on time.  Stay to the end.
• Participate fully in the meeting;
  • Listen to what others have to say and keep an open mind.
  • Contribute positively to the discussions.
• Have the best interests of the organisation/beneficiaries in mind at all times.
• Draw attention to any potential conflicts of interest that may arise in the meeting.
• Fulfil any responsibilities assigned to you at the meeting and be prepared to report back on your progress at the next meeting.

 
Behaviour

• Treat each other with respect.
• Avoid offensive or insensitive comments or language.
• Respect confidentiality.
• Avoid bringing the organisation/committee into disrepute.
• Express dissent where necessary, but avoid conflict.

 
Management Committee Members should:

• Be active – you cannot be a dormant or ‘sleeping’ management committee member, you are still liable for the decisions the others make in your absence.
• Act jointly – an individual has no powers on their own unless they have been specifically given them by the committee (minuted at a proper meeting).
• Act constitutionally (and within the law) – make sure that you act within the powers and objects (remit) set out in your constitution.  Including following the constitution on how meetings are run and how the committee is recruited.
• Act in the interests of the beneficiaries – put yourself in the beneficiaries’ position and make decisions that are best for them.
• Act reasonably and honestly – remembering to minute discussions and debates so that your reasonableness can be demonstrated.
• Have a duty of care – act prudently and reasonably.
• Not benefit personally – unless allowed specifically in the constitution or by law.
• Avoid conflict of interest – manage actual conflicts of interest through a written process/policy and elsewhere avoid the appearance of conflicts of interest.

While our volunteers have been busy in the garden they have also been involved in making craft boxes for local children. Many of the children are missing attending both school and the clubs they come to during the week and school holidays here at the community centre. Earlier this year we we were successful in securing funding from the Wellbeing Fund run by Salford CVS. This was going to fund our holiday clubs but unfortunately, due to the current circumstances, we have not been able to run them. 
​
We had a chat with Salford CVS and asked them if they would be willing to support us in making up craft and activity boxes and delivering them to the children who would usually attend our clubs and also to other local children.  They kindly said yes! So, we took the activities to them. We also received a kind donation from a local church which allowed us to help even more children. 
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In the boxes were some basics, like coloured pens, paper etc and lots of activities like puzzles, word searches and a cake mix for baking. 

We are so pleased with the feedback from them. Parents and the children have told us how much they have enjoyed them and have asked us for more. 

We are currently looking into various options to be able to continue with this in the future. We'll keep you posted! 
If you have had a box and have some photos you would be willing to share with us we would love to see them. You can send them to us at: thecastlecommunitycentre@gmail.com
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The last few months have been difficult for everyone, especially during the full lock-down. We are very lucky to have a wonderful team of volunteers who have transformed the outdoor space at the back of the community centre. 
During full lock-down Judy and Dave were busy working away getting rid of all the ivy and emptying planters of all the old soil so that they could be moved and re-filled. Using funds that we received from the Bardsley fund they bought new planters, storage, equipment and a water butt. 
The space started to come together and as lock- down started to ease we were able to have more volunteers into help with painting and tidying. They have all done a fantastic job and we look forward to welcoming people back. 

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