From October 2011 to January 2012 we developed a drama project funded by BBC, Children in Need.

The Right Choice enabled us to create a series of drama based sessions to address issues which are particularly sensitive among Asian communities. A short film titled “The Right Choice” was showcased on 23 December 2011 for friends and families.

One of the prizes as winners of the National Council for Voluntary Youth Services (NCVYS) award was some funding to deliver “The Healthy Eating Options Project”. Lots of recipes for meals and snacks were on the menu throughout Ramadan 2011.

Through BlueSci we were successful in receiving the Mental Health and Wellbeing Grant Award during September to produce the  Creative Feel Good Comic Strip [pdf 4.5Mb]

Be Creative Feel Good was a  project that created a story using the 5 Ways of Wellbeing established by the New the New Economics Foundation (Connect, Be Active, Take Notice, Give, and Keep Learning).

The group had a lot of fun making the comic and have been able to incorporate imagery from the outdoor activity day at Winmarleigh Hall, near Preston into the comic.

Winmarleigh Hall is part of PGL who offered a day of activities as a prize from when we won the National Council for Voluntary Youth Services, (NCVYS) award.

We had no funding to travel to Winmarleigh Hall and approached Sport Trafford who agreed for us to spend our underspend of the North Trafford Sports Fund towards travel.

Exploring new ways of keeping fit

With funding from BBC Children in Need we took part in the The ABC of Art Project. This 20 week project enabled the group to participate in a variety of arts & cultural activities that included a variety of activities.

During February we extended the hours of the group as we were joined by Laura Nathan who facilitated some workshops around Freedom and Identity as part of an outreach project relating to Manchester Cathedral’s Anne Frank Exhibition. A exhibition to mark the end of the Freedom and Identity at which many parents, friends and family joined us to celebrate the achievements of the young women.

Pulling Together with funding from The Big Lottery helped to deliver the very successful Wallflower to Wonder Women project. This project has encouraged the participants to improve their health and well-being through a series of activities which included healthy eating recipes and taking regular exercise using traditional methods such as swimming & gym as well as using new technologies such as Wii Fit.

Working with Selina Murphy from Trafford Urban Fitness, the group visited the gym and swimming pool at Stretford Leisure Centre to gain confidence in participating in sports. The series of activities introduced the women to a regime of exercise that they can adopt in their daily lives.

Enjoying exercise

Through visits to Old Trafford Barn activities such as Football, Badminton, Netball and Circuit Training were some of the tasters offered.

At the End of Project Celebration on 18th December 2009, over 50 women had an opportunity to sample some healthy meals’ & drinks’ options, try some Wii Fit activities, sing along with Sing Star and be truly pampered to become Wonder Women.

Healthy food at End of Project celebration

Through this project a free women’s only sports session now takes place each Monday at Old Trafford Barn from 5pm to 6pm and Stretford Leisure Centre have introduced a Ladies Only Gym. Check out the full range of actvities provided by Trafford Leisure Trust www.traffordleisure.co.uk

If anyone is interested in joining us, please e-mail info@pullingtogethergroup.org.uk for more information.

Big Lottery Fund

During June and July Trafford’s Neighbourhood Learning funded a healthy eating project which was delivered to improve the health and well-being of ethnic minority communities, particularly South Asian families.

As well as creating simple recipes, the group cooked and sampled a number of traditional dishes which helped to raise awareness of healthier diet options, food labelling and healthy snacks. If you would like a set of recipes, please email info@pullingtogethergroup.org.uk

We completed a very successful 20 week project funded by Awards for All. Workshops included dance, ceramic painting, mosaics, cake decorating and trips out. Ten weeks of the project were led by two local artists Jo Foley and Fiona Smith, while some workshops were delivered by other community artists.

Jo and Fiona helped the group to create wonderful works of art including the Andy Warhol inspired pop art canvases and a range of handbags from recycled materials.

During August, additional sessions meant that the group could attend workshops that covered a range of activities away from Old Trafford. This included creating designs for the Asylum Seekers and Refugee Exodus Festival at the Nigerian Centre, Indian Storytelling & Dancing workshops at John Rylands Library and seeing a performance of “Not in My Name” by Burnley Youth Theatre at the Green Room.

Lankelly Chase funding for the Summer Activities included Cultural Diversity Taster Workshops in Rangoli, Kite & Fan Making, Calligraphy, Henna Designs and Lanterns. These sessions were a huge success and gave children and young people from Old Trafford an opportunity to learn about arts from other cultures.

Funding from Old Trafford Neighbourhood Management’s Cash for Action Fund has enabled the group to work closely with Creative Writing artist Fran Kern and Freelance Journalist Rachel Broady to write about their lives and come up with some very interesting poems and prose. www.rachelbroady.com

Members of PT have been working creatively with Lorna Tittle from Simianwebworks.com to come up with a design for the website which reflects the diversity of the group, learn about blogs and updating information on the website.

Between May and July 2007 funding from Community Development Foundation’s “Faith Communities Capacity Building Fund” Pulling Together were taking part in the Faith Icons Tapestry Project. This project aimed to use the activity of creating a tapestry of religious symbols to celebrate the women’s faiths, learn more about one another’s faiths, learn new skills and raise their confidence. (more…)

Through funding from Awards for All and Trafford Neighbourhood Learning, Virginia Valentine was commissioned to deliver workshops that enabled the members to design three individual cakes in various decorative styles using pearls, gems, edible glitter and glue. As the Trafford Neighbourhood Learning workshop was about healthy eating, Virginia produced an exquisite fruit bouquet made up of lots of fruits. Each person then made their own bouquet using mangoes, kiwi, pineapple, gooseberries, oranges and strawberries to name a few. One comment sums up the workshops:

“Decorating cakes with Virginia was not only fun but delicious as well”

www.angelcakesbyvirginiavalentine.co.uk