November brought snow and marked the start of the festive season here at NCP! Let's take a moment to reflect on the highlights of the month.☃️❄️
Northfield NNS
November the month of "remembrance". During the month of November, Northfield NNS encouraged local groups already supporting people in their grief to consider doing something special for their community around the theme of remembrance. Throughout November, there was a lovely, mixed programme of events and activities centered around this beautiful theme of "remembrance."
💚Redeemer Church provided a 5-week art project at Oddingley Hall calling it "Remembrance Open Studio", running from Monday 4th November - Monday 2nd December. It was an open session led by an artist. The project created poppies in different mediums (clay/print/plastic) and those involved talked about different conflicts around the world and remembered them with different coloured poppies. Participants also shared their own families’ stories of conflict and its impact. It culminated in a lovely exhibition and celebration of remembrance on 2nd December.
💚Bellfield Junior School hosted an afternoon tea event on 12th November with Remembrance as the theme. They invited local elderly people and provided them with food, refreshments, and conversation. There was fun and games between the young and old but all around the theme of "remembrance".
💚The Scrap Store at Hollymoor runs a regular monthly bereavement café. On 6th November, between 3–5 pm, they extended their usual activities by providing a safe space for people to pause and step away from their busy lives to remember loved ones they had lost. Activities throughout the day included painting memorial stones and adding thoughts to a Prayer Tree. Bereavement café volunteers were available to listen to people's stories and memories, as well as signpost them to other local support if needed. Each participant received a special "Sip Towards a Brighter Tomorrow" advent calendar, featuring 24 individually wrapped teas.
"J came to Scrap Store 12 months ago and spoke about the sudden loss of her teenage daughter. Despite being encouraged to come back, she never did and we lost contact. By chance, at the ‘coffin and cake’ event led by NNS, we met a mutual acquaintance who put us back in touch. Gently, by text, J was encouraged to attend the Remembrance session on 6th Nov. On attending, she spoke to volunteers and the rest of the group about her bereavement. Since moving from the south of England, she has few friends locally. She felt listened to and comfortable with everyone and took some crochet materials from the Scrap Store and attended the sewing group the following day. At the end of the Remembrance session, J thanked us for encouraging her to attend and left feeling positive and supported."
💚Northfield Baptist Church run a regular weekly bereavement group on Wednesday mornings from 10:30am - 12pm. They used the month of November to create comfort boxes for each other – this is a box of small items that can offer comfort and distraction when thoughts and feelings for grief & loss can become overwhelming.
"Being bereaved can leave you feeling lost and alone. At the Northfield Baptist Church Bereavement Group, we created comfort boxes—a decorated box filled with items to make you smile: sweets and treats, fiddle toys, colouring postcards and pencils, images of beautiful places, and messages from others in the group. The week after we made them, everyone had used their comfort boxes. Opening the box reminded them that they were not alone and that they were loved and supported by the group. One lady, who was having a particularly difficult week, decided to focus her attention on the group by making teddies from pipe cleaners for everyone to add to their boxes. She even made one with a fishing rod for one of the men who loves to fish. Bereavement support is not magic, but not feeling alone is a great help."
💚Absent Friends, at the Black Horse in Northfield, had another special evening on 13th November with 12 people enjoying a meal, a drink and sharing memories of lost loved ones. It was a chance for people to come together, share memories of someone who has died with others who have also lost someone, and to raise a glass to these "absent friends.”
Digital Literacy
A big congratulations to Richmond and Peter on successfully completing the Learn My Way course! Fantastic job, both of you! Thank you to our amazing Digital Literacy team for supporting them.
Fairer Futures Fund Community Lunch
On November 13th, we hosted our Fairer Futures Fund Consultation at Hawkesley Community Centre! The consultation offered professionals and citizens the opportunity to share what matters most to them about health in their area and to highlight any services or resources missing in the community.
Christmas hampers🎄
We began the preparations for our Christmas hampers, and received some extremely donations.
Please note that a professional referral is required to receive a Christmas hamper.
Welcomes
Please join us in warmly welcoming our new team members, Johnny and Natalie! We’re thrilled to have you both with us! 💚
Comments