The Woolston Traders' Christmas Festival 2013

Saturday 14 December / 5 - 9pm (children's activities from 2.30pm) / Victoria Road, Woolston

This event will be bigger and better than ever, offering a truly magical experience for children and adults.

Bring your children along to get involved in lantern making and a parade. They'll also be able to visit Santa's grotto, see a traction engine, enjoy fairground rides, balloons and face painting. 

Adults can enjoy mulled wine and mulled cider, a hog roast, Indian food, soup and lots of other food outlets. Visit local traders' stalls local traders and listen to some live music from the Southampton Choir and the Salvation Army Band.

Find out more about the event, schedule and how to book a stall here.

New Lovell grant scheme for projects in Weston and Sholing

Lovell is a developer working with the council on several sites across the city. It has provided funding for a small grant scheme for projects that benefit people who live and work in Weston and parts of Sholing. 

Grants of between £300 and £1,000 are available for not-for-profit organisations – community and voluntary groups, social enterprises, schools, colleges and universities and statutory agencies. The application process for these grants is now open. Find out more here.

Anyone for more tea?

'Tasty Options Bakin' Company' is a new social enterprise run by Creative Options for people with mental health issues and anyone experiencing psychological or emotional distress.

The baking project gives people training and new opportunities to use their skills. The team is always looking for new customers, so please get in touch if you'd like the team to serve up a treat or two!

Perhaps you work in sheltered housing? Or maybe you run a church, social or community group? Would you like to organise a Christmas afternoon tea shebang? If so, why not sit back and relax and let the Tasty Options Bakin' Company come and serve you?

What's on offer?

The team serves a choice of delicious sandwiches, salad sticks, mince pies, almond-topped-mince pies, Christmas cake, Christmas chocolate log and entertainment can be provided on request. Call 078 5018 9069 or email frances.anne@btinternet.com for more info. Visit the website here.

We need more foster carers!

Could you give a home to a child in need? Southampton City Council urgently needs more foster carers to provide stable and nurturing homes for children and young people in Southampton, for short and long-term placements. 

Our foster carers can be:

• married, single, living with a partner
• working or not working
• a homeowner or a tenant

If you'd like to find out about becoming a foster carer, please get in touch for a chat. Find out more here.

You can read about our carers' experiences of fostering here. 

Start your own walking group or support another

Do you enjoy walking? Would you like to start a walking group in your neighbourhood or for your community group? Sustrans is running 'walk leader' training, and will give you all the support you need to run all sorts of walks. These could include: a pedometer challenge, a 'keep fit' or 'get fit' walk, a 'family explorers' walk, or simply a walk as a way for people to socialise. 

Even if you're not interested in starting your own walk, Sustrans needs volunteers to support existing walks - even for just two hours a month.

For more info about the training or the walks, please email Sustrans here or call 023 8083 4219.

Weston Court Community Cafe

Tuesday afternoons / 1.30 - 3.30pm / Community Centre, Weston Court, Kingsclere Avenue, Woolston

Come and enjoy friendly company, refreshments and computer support for people over 50. Come and improve your IT skills in a laid back environment.

There will be small charges for refreshments. For further info please contact Tony Crute on 079 3819 2273 (between 9am and 4pm) or just pop in for a chat.

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