Yesterday we held an open day as part of GMCVO’s #CommunitiesInControl week of events. Here’s a wee round up for those who couldn’t make it…
At our workshop table, attendees were invited to mend or upcycle their clothes. We mostly worked on denim repairs – always a good skill to learn. In our humble opinion, jeans get better with age and the more mends they carry!
We also shared some photos and videos of projects we’ve facilitated with community leadership at their centre:
Repair cafes – Back in 2016 we set up the first Repair Cafe in Manchester. Repair Cafes are volunteer-run events where community members can come along with a broken household item (like a bike, a radio, a toaster or an item of clothing) and get free help fixing. People with various repair skills volunteer two hours of their time once a month to help make this event happen, and some people volunteer to host the events, or make tea and cakes.
In May this year we launched a new repair cafe here in Stretford. The next one is tomorrow (Saturday) 10am-12pm so do come along if you’d like to see the event in action!
Find us on Twitter and Instagram with the hashtag #StretfordRepairCafe, or on Facebook www.facebook.com/StretfordRepairCafe.
50+ Crafternoons – our 50+ Crafternoons course was an 8-week long social craft group for textile craft enthusiasts in Old Trafford who were aged 50 or over. The course was run in a similar format to our Bee Well Crafternoons in that it was participant-led, with all participants sharing their skills with one another rather than following the lead of a single facilitator. With a little support from us as course facilitators and our wonderful venue the St. John’s Centre, the group have continued to meet after the 8-week course concluded.
Bee Well Crafternoons – 10-week courses for adults facing mental health challenges, which were formulated in response to . The courses are are participant-led, so the course content is set in response to what participants want to learn or focus on. After the first two weeks which serve as an introductory period, each participant is invited to share their craft skills and expertise with the group. Based on the skills learned during the course, participants then set their own final project, which might be an individual or group project.
Join our Community Benefit Society!
We also shared information on our status as a Community Benefit Society and how you can join as a member. Our members have a say in what we do and ensure we provide real community benefit.
Find out more about becoming a member of Stitched Up Community Benefit Society Ltd >>
If you weren’t able to make this Open Day but would like to attend future ones, do let us know as this feedback helps us plan future events. We’d love to hear what kind of topics you’d like us to cover, or activities you’d like to take part in.
