Garnsychan Partnership
The Garnsychan Partnership - 55 Stanley Road, Garndiffiath, Pontypool NP4 7LH
Tel: 01495 774453
The Garnsychan Partnership is a local charity that provides projects and schemes for all residents of the Abersychan Ward. Fax, photocopying and IT services available - call in to find out more.
Welcome!
We would like to welcome two new members of staff. Firstly, Angie Baker joins us as the ‘Health and Wellbeing’ officer and she will be working to provide projects for older residents. Many of you probably already know Angie as she is well known in the area for breeding Borzoi dogs! We also welcome Sarah Roberts who is now the administrator for the Vegetable Box scheme. Our regular veggie box customers will have already met Sarah when they have collected their orders! Our thanks go to Jan Stead who recently retired from this position and has contributed hugely to the success of the project - we miss you Jan!
X-change
The X-Change project has been running for a while now and is a great success! This project is a time bank scheme for young people who can volunteer to carry out work in the community in exchange for time credits. These credits can then be used to buy a range of goodies-whatever you like! The X-Change team have been tackling various tasks in the ward including litter picking and painting a community room. There are currently 11 youngsters involved who have contributed over 50 hours of volunteering time and this is set to increase over the summer holidays. The project is open to all local young people aged between 13-17 years of age, so if
you fancy having fun and earning fantastic rewards whilst improving your community, give us a call!
Play time!
The ‘kids club’ at the Millennium Hall is very popular with lots of children attending each week. This club runs on Tuesdays between 4-6pm and there is a full range of free, fun activities to choose from. We would like to thank all the local ward councillors for their kind donation of funds that will help with the running costs of this very worthwhile scheme. The Garnsychan Partnership has also secured further funds to buy new play equipment suitable for children aged between 6-11 years of age. Parents are encouraged to bring their youngsters along for fun and games-call the partnership for further details.
Fighting fit (and looking gorgeous!)
So you have booked your summer holidays, saved hard for spending money and checked your passport is still in date. Now its time to get fit and healthy ready for the beach! Our healthy living project will soon be starting ‘Fit for Summer’ classes at Ty Rosser Gwyn. This will involve cookery classes demonstrating healthy but tasty meals and a range of exercise to music workshops. We intend these classes to be a fun way of increasing your fitness, so call us now to book your place! The ‘Healthy Living’ team are soon to start work on our community allotment and growing schemes, so if you are either an individual or a group looking for allotment space give us a call! Maybe you are a pensioners group, parents and toddlers club or local resident
who would like to have proper space for growing your own veggies? Let us know!
RISE and shine!
Our partnership with the RISE adult learning network is proving very worthwhile. We are due to launch our spring season of exciting training courses that are Free! Subjects include holiday Spanish (Hola!) guitar lessons, massage, ‘Be your own boss’ business skills, digital photography and IT training. These courses are designed to fit around busy lifestyles and are available either in the day or the evening. Call now to book your place.
Fantastic Furniture
‘Circulate’ our furniture recycling project, has a full range of quality household items to help give your home some spring style! Prices start from just £20 for a sofa, so come and visit us to find a bargain. We also offer a bespoke carpentry service at our ‘Wood Wise’ project, so if you fancy some new garden furniture give us a call. Circulate, Unit 14, Gilchrist Thomas Industrial estate, Blaenavon, Tel: 793187
Garnstruction
Our Garnstruction training scheme has produced its first batch of successful trainees! Congratulations to all the trainees who are now moving on to work placement schemes and improving their careers. Garnstruction offers free training in DIY skills to all Abersychan Ward residents with free transport and childcare provided and no loss of any benefits. Topics include plumbing, carpentry, decorating and plastering, so contact us if you feel you would like to try out these skills. With a national shortage of skilled people working in these trades, we are confident that our trainees will have successful new careers! Garnstruction also offers IT training to help you gain confidence in your computing skills-perfect if you are scared of computers! Garnstruction is a joint project between the Garnsychan Partnership and TCBC and is funded by the European Social Fund.
Don’t forget!
Our book borrowing scheme is available for all residents. Books only cost 20p for a months hire!
The vegetable box scheme is open on Thursday mornings when you can purchase fruit and vegetables at wholesale prices! Delivery is also available on request.
Our very popular older person’s lunch club takes place at the Millennium Hall on Tuesdays-come along for a delicious, healthy meal and socialise at the same time! Many thanks to all our volunteers who assist with all our projects-we couldn’t do it without you!
Flushed with Success!
“It’s so easy-not as difficult as I thought it would be, give it a go!” So says local resident, Sammy Parry-Welson. But what is she talking about? Well, Sammy is one of the first successful trainees to have completed the basic plumbing course-just one topic that the new Garnstruction training scheme offers.Garnstruction is a joint project between local charity, The Garnsychan Partnership and the regeneration department at Torfaen County Borough Council. Thanks to significant funding from the European Social Fund, residents of the Abersychan Ward are entitled to receive free training in a variety of DIY skills such as carpentry, decorating, plumbing and plastering. The courses are available to anyone aged 16 and over, but are also designed to appeal to us local ladies! So what else has Sammy found positive about the course?
“I really look forward to Monday morning’s now-getting into my boiler suit and learning new plumbing skills! I just love the buzz I get from trying something different! Robin, the tutor, is really easy going and shows you what you are capable of without putting any pressure on you.”
Robin Mckae, the plumbing tutor on Garnstruction, believes Sammy has a very bright future ahead of her, he says, “She picked up the basic skills very quickly and I have given her lots of tips! Without a doubt, Sammy is going to be the first, registered female plumber in the area and I am sure she will have lots of work-particularly from older residents and single women who would feel much safer having a lady plumber in their homes. I better watch out-she will be stealing my trade!”
With a national shortage in trade’s people offering such services, Sammy has seized this opportunity to give her and her family a brighter future. She says “I want to be a role model for my two young children and set up my own plumbing company. Hopefully they will then join the firm when they leave school and it will be a successful family business.” Sammy has also welcomed the free childcare and transport that is available to trainees and is grateful that the course hasn’t affected any benefits that she receives. So isn’t the world of plumbing a bit of a ‘mans world’-a bit daunting for us girls?
“Not at all” she says “I knew it was going to be a great course when I attended the launch day at the Millennium Hall and saw all the other women involved. I would recommend this free training to all my friends-I’ve had fun, met loads of new people and travelled around the whole area while learning. It’s great to get out of the house for a few hours each week and learn new skills.”
Sammy is looking forward to the next stage of the course now which is work placement with the
Operational Services department at the council, where she will learn even more about plumbing in a ‘hands on’role. So, what are you waiting for? If you fancy learning new skills and meeting people, call the Garnsychan Partnership for more information on 01495 774453 and find out about all the courses available right on your doorstep!
Sammy Parry -Welson was talking to Sassy Hicks at the Garnsychan Partnership