The idea
This collaborative project by The Lenton Centre and Guidance and Growth C.I.C. aims to enhance both physical and mental fitness in the community.
The project will expand community gardening and introduce a woodworking workshop in The Lenton Centre's basement, enabling members to craft a range of items from wood. These activities are designed to instil a sense of achievement and independence. Additionally, the woodworking participants will remodel the Centre's reception area, creating a more welcoming space, complemented by a new café area for socialising, further fostering community connections.
This will create increased volunteer opportunities in gardening, woodworking, and café operations with the aim to transform The Lenton Centre into a Wellbeing Hub, merging its physical fitness focus with new mental health support activities, thereby creating a more comprehensive, skill-enhancing, and supportive community environment.
What we'll deliver
- Establishing The Lenton Centre as a ‘Wellbeing Hub’
- Creation of a new café serving/ sitting area in the foyer
- Build a new community garden with fruit and veg zones
- Build a new woodwork workshop as a mental health support area
Why it's a great idea
These projects will give rise to an expansion of the current and create new volunteering opportunities.
Volunteering has a range of benefits including enhancing physical and mental health, giving people a sense of purpose, increasing skills and experience that can be used in other areas of their lives, boosting self-esteem and confidence, and overall having a positive effect on people’s happiness.
The “Dad’s Den” approach intertwines purpose with continuous learning, offering a sense of fulfilment and community improvement. It's a safe, inclusive space for personal growth, where men can share successes, challenges, and coping methods.
This project will give participants three major items to work on, which will lead to a sense of ownership and achievement.
Development of a Wellbeing Hub will give people a place to come and chat to others and have some low-cost food and drink. We will also develop our offer of digital support and online access, using laptops sourced separately.
Steps to get it done
- Source timber
- Build the raised beds
- Source and plant a ranges of grasses
- Plant a range of vegetables
- Tend the raised beds on a regular basis
- Plan out and build a series of woodwork work benches
- Regular group sessions to use the space
- Create a plan for the counter build
- Remove previous counter and build new one
- Recruit volunteers for both the cafe and digital assistance
- Offer a range of hot and cold snacks
- Further develop our range of signposting and assistance opportunities
