 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 |