A housing association has come to the rescue of a summer holiday scheme for children.
Cartrefi Conwy teamed up with North Wales Police to keep the kids occupied on the Peulwys estate in Old Colwyn.
Dream Scheme gets children involved with their community by setting educational challenges, such as litter picks, with the youngsters who take part rewarded with a day trip out.
The police funded the scheme on the estate but with no cash available this year it looked as though it would have to fold.
Cartrefi Conwy stepped in with a £1,000 donation from its Community Chest Fund to ensure the successful scheme continued through the summer.
The cheque was presented at a special Community Day to Police Community Support Officer Niki Lodge who runs the scheme there.
The Community Day was organised by Cartrefi Conwy Community House Manager Lynn Arthur.
It included a five-a-side-tournament, a fancy dress competition, fundraising stalls, a miniature garden competition and vegetable art.
Lynn was delighted so many residents turned up for the day and she is thrilled Cartrefi Conwy’s Community Chest Fund has stumped up the cash to enable Dream Scheme Peulwys to continue.
She said: “It is an important project benefiting the community. The scheme gives our young people a purpose and the chance to achieve something special over the summer holidays.
“The long school summer break can end up with children getting bored and that can result in anti-social behaviour and even low level crime. However, Dream Scheme gets them involved. They really are enthusiastic about the scheme and enjoy the challenges they are set.”
She added: “There are also educational benefits too with children learning first aid and getting an insight into the emergency services and how they work.”
Police Community Support Officer Niki Lodge is thrilled Cartrefi Conwy has funded Dream Scheme Peulwys this summer.
She said: “The scheme has actually been running for six years and this year we have 26 children involved. The aim is to kerb boredom by giving youngsters something to do.
“Of course, what we are also doing is helping them to improve their own community and themselves as people too.”
“Through the summer we are tackling litter picks, removing graffiti and planting bulbs and flowers. The youngsters will also be learning first aid and going on a visit to the police helicopter base to have some input on the 999 scheme. And as well as that we will be visiting the Fire and Rescue Service to learn about fire safety.
“At the end of the scheme, and provided the youngsters have attended all the sessions, then the younger children, aged five to nine, will be going on a trip to Colwyn Bay Zoo while the older ones, aged 10 to 15, will be spending a day at the Llandudno Ski Slope.”
Lynn Arthur added: “It is an important scheme and we are delighted Cartrefi Conwy has made the £1,000 donation from its Community Chest Fund available. We are also grateful to the Police Community Trust Fund for agreeing to cover any shortfall in funds.
“The Community day has proved to be a big success with tenants and residents able to access a lot of information and hear about services and projects they may not have otherwise been aware of.”
One such scheme is Bus Stop, a mobile community development project offering free and confidential advice to residents of Conwy and Denbigshire.
Project Co-ordinator Samantha Taylor says the project can help people of all age groups and is funded by five housing associations including Cartrefi Conwy.
She said: “We can help with anything from stopping anti-social behaviour to informal training. We go onto a housing estate and offer informal learning for those wanting to gain new skills such as writing CV’s or learning job interview skills.
“The advantage being residents can come to the van which is kitted out with a desk and seating area and can be used as a base for community projects.
“We can park right outside someone’s front door, or any other convenient location, while people get involved in learning, discussing their community or simply accessing all the information we carry on board.”
