Play Schemes Offering Vital Support

CommunityWorks support children, young people, adults and older people to encourage routes to improve life chances.

With support from Healthy Holidays Bradford, they were able to provide a play scheme over two half terms for children aged 5 to 13 from the BD3 area of Bradford, offering a wide range of activities including a meal using intercepted food sources.

 

• Can you describe your organisation and the people/communities you support?

We work to make a real difference in the community, working alongside local people to support them to thrive. We have something for all ages and everyone in our inner-city diverse community. Many local people are struggling to manage on a low income and things are tough, made worse by the persistently high Covid-19 levels.

In normal times we see 600+ attendances per week, during the pandemic we have tried to keep in touch through a variety of means, our nursery has been open throughout, our classes have gone online and we phone many too.

 

• How have you been supported by GiveBradford and what has this funding enabled you to do?

Last Autumn we secure a grant to deliver holiday play schemes in the October and February half terms. In October we were able to work face to face with 30 children in two separate bubbles and had a great week focusing on sports adapted to be Covid-secure. The children really enjoyed themselves especially because they could have fun with their friends after such a difficult year.

In February due to the lockdown we did our first Zoom play scheme which exceeded our expectations with 25 families participating. We delivered food parcels and the sessions included two live cooking sessions where we cooked together with the children at home. Altogether 78 different children participated with 370 meals provided.

 

• Describe your journey with GiveBradford over the years

GiveBradford have funded Healthy Holidays play schemes for us over the last few years. CommunityWorks has been receiving FareShare food for some years now and this funding enabled us to provide not only high quality play experiences but also high quality food to children that often missed out during the holidays.

 

• Can you give us an example of an individual and or group and how they have responded to this work?

“We came to the Centre to get help since losing my job. The centre staff were very helpful in arranging everything for us in getting me my CV and to claim Universal Credit. They have supported us with food parcels every week until I get my payment. This has helped my family over the last few weeks being able to cook and eat a decent meal.”

 

• What challenges and opportunities do you face as an organisation in the current climate?

The main challenge is trying to plan in a constantly changing environment to make sure everyone is safe. In Bradford we have had such high Covid-19 rates throughout and we didn’t want to give mixed messages about staying safe on the one hand and bringing people together on the other. It has been difficult to support our After School children in particular, but we are now doing some limited work on Zoom and hoping to start face to face sessions at Easter.

 

• How is your organisation preparing for the future, and what kind of funding is needed?

Given the uncertainty and likelihood that Covid-19 is here to stay we need to encourage people to do more outside to keep us all safe. We also need to be able to hold decent reserves so that we can cope with unprecedented risks, but secure funding to do what we can. Funding sources that are larger and flexible are most helpful. Funders should be looking at organisations with proven track records and listening to their experience and willing to trust us to do right by our community and its evidenced need.