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Kids are you ready for some singing and dancing?
We are pleased to announce that we will be working alongside The Limelight Academy this summer who will be running Summer Camp Workshops Tuesdays and Saturdays through August. The sessions are a great way to build skills, confidence and make new friends. They have taken extra steps to maintain social distancing and work to the Covid-19 Secure guidelines so you will be in safe hands. You can find our all you need to know about times and ages etc over on their website. You will need to book a place and you can find all the details here. Use the code Summer2020 to get your first session free. Have a great time!
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 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. 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 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.  Hello to all our friends, supporters, and neighbours,
As we begin to slowly emerge from lockdown it seems a good time to tell you what has been going on here through lockdown, what will happen here over August and hopefully some return to near normal in September. During lockdown we have: Become a permanent base for distribution of parcels for Salford Baby Bank Thank you to all who have donated gifts, clothes, and beautiful knitted items. As you can imagine there has been a surge in demand, and we have been very busy sorting and delivering packages. If you would like more details please go to www.salfordbabybank.co.uk or visit our Facebook page or website. Decorating and refurbishment For all our groups that usually meet at The Castle we hope that when you do finally return you will appreciate our efforts at refreshing the centre. Dave and I and other volunteers have been working and continue to work inside and outside The Castle. The longer lockdown continues, in some form or other, the more we will have done!! The Castle Community Garden and Play space We have worked hard to produce a safe area where families or your social bubble can enjoy time over summer. If you would like to book space, please go to our Facebook page where you will find a booking form and further details. There are mats and outdoor play toys, chalks, and sandpit. On a hot day they are also large trays for water play. These activities will be out for you to use. You can also see a small greenhouse which has watering cans and small sprays for children to water the plants with. There is a water butt to get your water from. There are gloves and little forks and trowels if they want to do some weeding. You are welcome to pick strawberries and other veg if it is ready for eating and take home with you. Please don’t take more than you can use as there will be other families following you. If you don’t have young children you are more than welcome to use it as a place to sit and relax or do a little gardening. You can bring food and drink with you but please tidy up your rubbish and use the appropriate bins outside. There is sanitising and cleaning equipment for you to use. Full guidelines and information are available for you to read both at in the garden and on our Facebook page. Activity and Craft Packages Earlier this year we received funding to provide holiday clubs for the children however, as we have not been able to run them, we decided to use the funding to make activity and games boxes for many families in the area. They have really been welcomed over the lockdown period. We are at present looking into obtaining further funding to be able to do more plus some gardening and food boxes. We will keep you updated! Over the summer In addition to the garden being open, Salford Foundation will be using our community room to deliver their National Citizen Service (NCS) course which offers 16- and 17-year olds in Salford an opportunity to participate in a personal development programme. September 2020 We are expecting to begin to return to ‘normal’ although it looks like it will be November or December before we are completely back to our pre lock down existence. We expect more of our regular activities to recommence in September but will keep you posted on what’s happening at the end of August. You will then also be able to hire the community room again for children’s parties and any other events you have planned. We will also be able to share some exciting news about some potential structural changes to the building and some new activities that will be taking place. Volunteering If over the summer period if you would like to help with our garden or decorating and refurbishment then please contact Judy on 07843 208008 or email us to arrange a time for a socially distanced chat. You can also see more information about volunteering on our Volunteering page on our website. Salford Baby Bank also needs more volunteers on a regular basis to sort clothes food and equipment or to deliver packages. Have a great and safe summer, From Judy Dave and The Castle Community Team |
