Rotary Jump Into “Action for Children”

The Rotary Club of Thornhill and District’s President Liz Baxter along with Rotarian Iain Baker recently visited Jill Wright, (Service Coordinator) and her team at the Upper Nithsdale Family Project on Greystone Avenue, Kelloholm. Jill had recently given a presentation to the club about her work on “Action for Children” who does so much for the youngsters in the area.

In her presentation Jill told the club members:

“Our Family Centre in Upper Nithsdale serves the communities of Kelloholm, Kirkconnel and Sanquhar. The Centre operates as a welcoming community hub, hosting a range of inclusive activities, support and facilities including a crèche. It also delivers family support services for local children, young people, parents and careers in the area that need our help.

Our family support services help to increase parental skills and confidence, stabilize families and improve relationships, communication and family functioning. We work with every member of the family including the children to help them make positive changes and improve their quality of life”.

Swap ‘n’ Shop

We have been offering service users in the project a recycling area for children and young people’s clothing, shoes and toys. This was a popular and much used service, following a community evaluation the need for a larger recycling service was identified. We secured funding from the European Social Fund, Holywood Trust and Foundation Scotland, that allowed us to secure leased premises in Sanquhar with the aim of opening a community Swap Shop We have had a fantastic response with further donations coming in since opening in June 2018.

The shop offers a token and financial system. For every bag of donated clothing, customers receive two tokens to use in the shop. A referral system is in place for social services, education, health and other appropriate agencies to get clothing for children, young people and families who are in need of low cost items.

We currently have development workers in place at the community Swap ‘n’ shop supporting volunteers who have all received health and safety training to work in the shop. We work in close partnership with Sanquhar Academy and are offering pupils work experience or placements in the shop. We are also providing an SVQ in Retail for Volunteers.”

Jill Wright, who is the Service Coordinator at “Action for Children”, said “We are very grateful to The Rotary Club of THornhill and District for their kind donation to support our work here in Kelloholm and the surrounding area. This money will allow us to fund our Wooden Spoon scheme for the next year. The scheme provides a weekly home-cooked meal for young people in the area.”

Photos show Liz Baxter along with the team at the Family Project.

From left to right:

(a) Jill Wright, Amanda Dunsmuir, Leia Gibson, Liz Baxter, Myra Kyle, Jennifer Wells and Mary Hamilton.

(b) Liz Baxter with Jennifer Wells in the Swap ‘n’ Shop.

(c) Jennifer Wells with Iain Baker in the Swap ‘n’ Shop. 

Liz Baxter thanked Jill for arranging the visit and complemented Jill and all the members of her team for all the excellent work they put into this much needed service in he area, all for the welfare of the children and their families in the area professionally with concern, and enthusiasm.

Checkout our FaceBook page:

https://www.facebook.com/thornhillrotaryclub/?eid=ARDMdlZ2ZDswjjPqxufmNqg5MwfGG3u4k8UK5VVR-hhbRd3qa1AC594Jf6d7zy6GOM1GWw9IJfCoGVjk

 I.B./A.S. 22-03-2019