Category: In Your Community

David, one of the group volunteers, arranged for his team at HSBC to do a volunteering day at the Rawmarsh Community Allotment. Ten people in total took part. For some of them it was their first time on an allotment and while they were impressed with the plot, they did feel a bit overwhelmed by the work needing to be done! They split into groups to work on various jobs, put on some music and began to enjoy being outside for the day.

Emilio, who has a nearby plot for the Salvation Army, provided lunch and refreshments for the group of bacon and egg rolls and tea & coffee, which he cooked on his stove.

We provided water for them all and the gravel boards to build some of the vegetable beds.

By the end of the day the group had cleared and area and installed a vegetable bed which is already showing signs of a good crop.

Talking to some of the team about the experience these were some of the comments received:

“The day went so fast, and was so much fun”

“Great to see how much we actually managed to do in a few hours”

“Beats sitting inside at a desk on a day like this”

Thank you to David for organising the event and for everyone who took part on the day.

Mrs S came to the Eid party, she was feeling anxious as she hadn’t been out since covid.  She lives at home with her children, but she was excited to be at the party. She was happy to meet the guests from other organisations and asked them for information regarding what they do. She also spoke to the Rotherfed staff, and she commented by saying “I feel privileged to be invited to the party I haven’t been out for over three years, and I don’t attend any groups or sessions as my daughter is very strict and says that I might get covid.  Therefore, she doesn’t allow me to go out. But after coming to the Eid party, I will be joining in more community events. I want to thank Yasmeen for checking on me at the party and for her inviting me. I am so happy I got the opportunity to make new friends and, I feel more comfortable in a public setting”. 

By Rachel Cole, Projects Officer

I first visited this Centre in April 2022; it was one of the Centres selected by RMBC to look at the usage.  This Centre is used every single day by a group of lovely residents who hold and run regular activities and events.  They see the Centre as an extension of their homes and say they would be lost without it; this is apparent in the Centre too as it has a lot of homemade furnishings around making it feel homely.  As a lot of the residents live alone, the Centre gives them the opportunity to get together and have a chat, without having to go far.

Since then, I have visited the Centre on several occasions.  On a weekly basis they hold coffee mornings, craft sessions, book club, film afternoons etc they also hold afternoon teas or parties for special events i.e. Christmas, Easter, Queens Jubilee etc.  They are now looking at day trips for the group starting with an afternoon tea and a barge trip. The group are not a constituted group so all the money they have is raised by themselves. I am talking to them about becoming a constituted group to enable them to get and apply for funding. They do seem a little nervous about taking this step but are slowly coming around to the idea. I have passed their contact details onto John Heeley MP who has offered to support this group where he can too, as it falls in his area.   

I have also submitted two ward housing hubs proposals with this group for extra lighting around the bungalows and a dropped kerb, this will make things easier for the residents on scooters and in wheelchairs. 

Making Our Money Go Further and Energy Know How recently attended the Centre to speak to the residents and they all said afterwards how beneficial they had found the session. This was followed by a fish and chip lunch, which they loved. The residents have also been taking part in some gentle exercise classes.

This is a lovely active group of residents who I am really enjoying working with. I will continue to support the group where required. 

By Yasmeen Ali, Community Engagement Officer

This month we organised an Eid party. It was a good time for a celebratory event as it was the week after Eid al-Adha. After doing the outreach and talking to the ladies, it was agreed to do a one dish party which took place at RotherFed. It was a fantastic turn out, 22 ladies attended along with 4 professionals. All the ladies enjoyed themselves and were very happy to be part of RotherFed.

We received some fantastic feedback not only from the women but from the professionals who attended. All the ladies looked very comfortable. The ladies didn’t shy away at this event as they are getting familiar with the staff at RotherFed. This is great to see as at the first event in May the ladies were quiet and not as confident and sat with their backs towards the Staff. A few of ladies approached the staff and chit-chatted with them.

Some of the feedback I received:

“This party has given me confidence to attend more events and socialise more “

Mrs H

“I live in a council house and have learned that I can register enquires online as I have found that the RMBC council enquiry line is very busy, this is something I will be getting my children to do in the future for me. I am unable to do this as I have a language barrier and no digital skills.”

Mrs M

“I would like to thank Yasmeen for picking me up and dropping me off at home. I wouldn’t have been able to come otherwise. I am unable to read, write or speak English and I wouldn’t be able to walk to RotherFed because I have arthritis, I felt very happy being part of the Eid party”

Mrs W

“This is the first time I have been to RotheFed I was respected by all the members of staff there. I met Yasmeen at the Library and I am glad that she told me about the Eid party. I was very happy to be part of the party.”

Mrs K

“Thank you, Yasmeen for organising this party I haven’t socialised or been around people since covid. I am always at home this is the first time I have come out.”

Mrs Z

The Wickersley and Bramley Neighbourhood Watch have been a group for around 20 years established under the old Neighbourhood watch system and later changed to the Our Watch system, this sends alerts to all members of the watch instantly,

The group first contacted RotherFed due to dwindling membership over the last few years, the group wanted support in attracting new members and creating a new online Facebook presence in the hopes that this will entice new members from the local area. After the first meeting the group recruited a new member that would take the lead on social media, this has been a huge success attracting over 100 members to the page, the group regularly post updates on crime in the area as well as scam alerts and other useful information for community.

The group decided that to attract more new members they would need to work closer with partner agencies, to achieve this they have started working closely with both parish and RMBC councillor’s, the local PCSO’s and Neighbourhood officers getting their events and information posted in the ward bulletins, parish newsletter and even on the police alerts making the group known to more of the community.

The group didn’t want to stop there, they decided to start visiting established events in the area to promote the group even more, they have recently held their first drop in session at the Bill Chafer centre in Bramley, unfortunately this wasn’t as successful as the group would have liked but they enjoyed the experience and made new connections in the community, they are now planning on holding a monthly session there and hope that interest will grow over the next months.

Looking to the future the group would like to become RotherFed members and start applying for funding to further promote the group and make visible changes to the area, they would like to make some crime prevention goodie bags they can give away to new members containing items like shed alarms and tv simulators.