August 11, 2023

Shelley and Sam, from the Step Forward into Volunteering and Employment service, recently attended the Social Prescribing Health and Wellbeing Community Festival at Whitehaven Rugby Ground.

The day was fun-packed and family orientated, with Health and Wellbeing elegantly presented alongside fun. This meant the conversations around wellbeing and Mental Health could happen very naturally and enable the conversations to be normalised, which is what we aspire to achieve.

Our stall promoted the normalising of conversations around mental health with prompt sheets to facilitate and initiate conversations, along with Border biscuits, coffee sachets and tea bags… encouraging people to have a “cuppa and a craic” – Becky our Volunteering and Employment Officer’s favourite line.

We also had our wonderful wellbeing jars and wellbeing desk top pads… “Today I am feeling…” They are very popular and encourage people to write down their thoughts and feelings and be emotionally intelligent.

As a result of the festival we gained referrals and linked up with 9+ new organisations we were currently not working with, but embedded our relationships with an extensive number we are. It was great to spend time with friends and colleagues in other organisations – we are all working together to “make Cumbria a better place to live” and ensure the opportunities within health, wellbeing and employment and volunteering are as strong as they can be and reflective of the needs of the population.

All in all a brilliant day with incredible performers and entertainers. Thank you to all concerned for making it happen.

 

Shelley Studholme
Step Forward Project Manager
Cumbria CVS