A lottery lifeline

The National Lottery Community Fund People and Places programme has awarded £398,078 to fund Plant Dewi’s Connected Communities project. Manager Catrin Eldred is delighted.

This grant will enable us to continue with our Families Together Groups in Cwmgors and Cross Hands and extend this offer in Brynamman, Llandovery and Whitland and to also continue with our Young Parents Groups in Ammanford and Carmarthen for the next three years.

Our groups, which currently run between an hour and a half and two hours, will be extended to three hours, ensuring vital links will be made within the communities where we work to connect families with their local area.

There will also be enhanced support via our one-to-one offer to parents under 26, giving them the opportunity to work with key people to move forward and engage with their local family support group and local community.

Working with families and local communities, we will also hold community events to bring people together to enjoy what is on offer locally.

Through this project we want to reduce isolation, increase confidence, develop skills and improve relationships of the families and communities we work with.

On Friday, 25th October, we held our launch and celebration event, bringing together families from some of our existing groups, partners and supporters from across the county and our special guest – Ann Davies, MP for Caerfyrddin. It was an opportunity to share our vision for the work and Ann Davies stressed the importance of such initiatives, especially when working with families facing various difficulties and challenges, who sometimes don’t have anywhere else to turn.

Chloe, a mum that attends one of our Families Together Groups, spoke about her experiences and how the group had become her extended family. Her daughter has also made friends whilst attending the group, which has been an integral part of their lives for the past couple of years.

Without this support from the National Lottery, our groups would not be able to continue to serve and support the many families that access them week in week out.

For more information, please contact Plant Dewi on 01267 221551, info@plantdewi.co.uk or visit our website www.plantdewi.org.uk