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North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Andy Dunbobbin visited Blossom & Bloom’s new wellbeing hub in the White Rose Centre in Rhyl on April 28 to see the important work the charity is doing to support mums and their babies in the local community.
Blossom & Bloom was one of the recent winners of a special £120,000 fund to help communities across North Wales. The Your Community, Your Choice fund supports grass-roots projects and is supported by the North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner, North Wales Police and Community Trust (PACT) and North Wales Police.
Since October 2021 Blossom & Bloom have been providing wellbeing-related daily drop-in and support services from Costigans Coffee Shop and this new dedicated space in the White Rose Centre will help provide daily accessible support and socialisation for both mums and babies in a safe and friendly environment. The grant has helped open the hub and will also assist in funding the cost of a part-time Wellbeing Support Officer who will work with mums and babies requiring support. The hub is open to mums and pre-school-age children every weekday from 10am-2pm and offers the first recycle, re-love and re-use baby essentials swap shop.
While at the hub, Andy Dunbobbin, Deputy PCC Wayne Jones, and PACT Chairman Ashley Rogers met Vicky Welsman-Millard, Charity Founder; Joanne Garratt, Well-being Hub Coordinator; Ashleigh Greenwood, Well-being Hub Assistant; Well-being Hub Volunteers Lesley Welsman and Kim Patterson as well as some mums and babies attending the space on the day.
Vicky Welsman-Millard, Charity Founder, Blossom & Bloom said: “It was a pleasure to welcome the Police and Crime Commissioner to our Blossom & Bloom Wellbeing Hub. We would like to express our sincere thanks to members of our community for voting for Blossom & Bloom and awarding us the YCYC small grant funding.
“The Hub provides a community-led, free of charge, safe space for mums and babies to socialise, to feel supported, to develop and thrive, to support each other and to access pre-loved baby essential items needed by local families.
“Blossom & Bloom have supported over 70 families in Rhyl since 2020 and the opening of our new premises will enable us to reach more families who are struggling right now.
“Our door is open to all mums and babies living in the area and we are asking families who have any excellent condition baby essential items that they no longer use and can donate/swap to contact us on 01745 314050.”
North Wales Police & Crime Commissioner Andy Dunbobbin said: “I was delighted to visit Blossom & Bloom and to see the incredible work being done by the organisation to help mums and their babies in Rhyl at such a crucial time in their lives.
“Over the past ten years, Your Community, Your Choice has shown the difference it can make in offering community groups new opportunities and enabling them to grow. Organisations like Blossom & Bloom help keep our neighbourhoods safe and secure, in line with the priorities in my Police and Crime Plan. The fact that part of the money comes from funds seized from criminals also helps show to people that crime doesn’t pay, but community activism does!”
PACT Chairman Ashley Rogers stated: “Grass roots projects are the life blood for improving communities across North Wales, making them safer and more resilient places to live. Blossom & Boom is a great example of this in action and it’s a pleasure to be able to support them through Your Community, Your Choice.”
North Wales Police Assistant Chief Constable Chris Allsop said: “This is a fantastic charity which is making a big difference to the lives of women with young babies in Rhyl. The support they provide in terms of finding emergency accommodation if needed, in tackling isolation and developing community initiatives is invaluable. They have already made a positive impact with so many local families and this grant will enable them to help many more.”
This year’s Your Community, Your Choice awards were even more significant as Your Community, Your Choice is celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2023 and, over the past ten years, a total of over £500,000 has been awarded to more than 150 projects working to reduce crime in their areas and to support the priorities in the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Police and Crime Plan. The funding for Your Community, Your Choice comes partly from money seized by the courts through the Proceeds of Crime Act, with the rest from the Police and Crime Commissioner.
To learn more about PACT visit www.pactnorthwales.co.uk