Community Health and Wellbeing has always been a major focus for CVS Falkirk & District, as they work to support the many local groups and organisations making a phenomenal impact in their local communities providing support services and activities to better health and wellbeing. Aligned with this, they recently showcased some of these groups and organisations (and their initiatives) through a recent Wellbeing Open Day at the Bonnybridge Community Hub.
With over 30 organisations present on the day, covering a variety of the health and wellbeing offerings available in the Falkirk District area, they featured groups such as Maggie's Centre Forth Valley, Transform Forth Valley, Neighbourhood Networks, Dial-a-Journey, Falkirk Health and Social Care Partnership, Playlist for Life, Falkirk’s Mental Health Association (FDAMH), and more. CVS Falkirk & District CEO, Victoria McRae highlighted:
“Our goal for today was to demonstrate the variety of ways communities can come together to offer support and promote wellbeing to their friends and neighbours. We were also glad to be able to tie into our community wealth building focus through the utilisation of local voluntary group ROOTS, who catered an amazing community lunch for our attendees.”
Certainly, this seems to have been achieved with many visitors highlighting they were able to leave a little more aware of the potential services they could engage with and find support from:
“The event gave me a better knowledge of what’s around, e.g. FDAMH session on menopause and Autism meetings in the community centre.”
“This event was helpful as there were a few organisations I hadn’t heard of and some of the info was useful for work as well as myself personally.”
Within this showcase of groups, a further crowd pleaser was the chance to take part in taster sessions for some of the initiatives being run across the Falkirk District:
- CPR and Defibrillator Demonstrations with Forth Valley First Responders
- Introduction to British Sign Language (BSL) Workshop with Forth Valley Sensory Centre
- Conversations around Grief with Strathcarron Hospice
- Mindful Makers Crafts with Central Wellbeing
- Qi Gong and Martial Arts with Pause & Breathe CIC
Alongside these, the Scottish Fire Rescue Service brought along their Fire Engine to the delight of children and adults alike. These opportunities to connect with groups directly was important to the CVS Falkirk & District team, with Victoria further reflecting that:
“Having the connection between information stalls and interactive workshops were crucial to our wellbeing day offering as it allowed the resources and services to come to life for our attendees – demonstrating the impact these groups create and illustrating how we can show up for ourselves and for others.”
For further information, please visit the CVS Falkirk & District Health and Wellbeing Forum website, or contact their team by phone: 01324 692000, or email: info@cvsfalkirk.orfg.uk