Grow Creative Wellbeing in Lancashire

What a joy to lead and be part of this beautiful community stitch project. It brought together an incredible group of women from diverse ages and backgrounds, offering a unique insight into the lives of Ukrainians in Lancashire. Friendships blossomed, skills were shared, and countless small acts of kindness – from homemade snacks to roses and kind words – made every moment special. Each of the 20 members explored their creativity, with many, including Kate, discovering a new love for embroidery, tapestry, and appliqué. We learned new skills and created something truly beautiful together. Thank you to each person who was part of this project, to our Spacehive donors who helped fund it, the volunteers who helped put it all together, Clitheroe library for displaying it (go check it out if you are able).

Our 6-week creative health program funding by our Space Hive funds left our lovely participants feeling supported, happier and with increased confidence. We were delighted to see an overall increase in all the wellbeing markers determined by our pre and post survey. One participant commented, " I have discovered my zest for life again. Without a doubt, joining this programme has been the most important choice I've made in years."

In March, we facilitated two “pop-up” creative wellbeing events for local partners, decision-makers, and funders—one in Clitheroe and one in Accrington. These sessions have proved to be a vital marketing and development tool for us as a growing community organisation, helping to build stronger, more connected partnerships across East Lancashire. As a direct result of this work, we have since secured funding from the Freemasons and developed a new partnership with Hyndburn Leisure, who have supported us by hosting one of our recent programmes within their venue.

We had an insightful and cathartic few weeks working with a group of older adults in the Ribble Valley area. Meeting in a safe warm space at Trinity Hub and blending introspective writing with collaborative poetry and discussion. This was funded by the money raised through our Space Hive funds in the summer. A huge thank you to all of our backers and LCC for funding this project!

Dear Friends & Family, We are writing to let you know that we reached our fundraising target! As part of our School of You CIC family, you have helped us grow – whether through your generous donations, your time, or simply by cheering us on. We wanted to take a moment to thank you and share a little update on where your support has taken us. Over the past months, we’ve been: 🌟 Running creative workshops that help boost mental wellbeing of adults with disabilities, older adults and Ukrainian guests living across East Lancashire. 🌿 Provided volunteering opportunities to counselling students, and past participants to our courses which have been life-affirming and enriching. 🌿Hosted two celebration events that brought together our communities - both were really heart-warming events which epitomised our values of creativity, community and connection. 💡 Raised funds through engaging with our local communities - enlisted the help of our wonderful volunteers, local businesses who donated raffle prizes and raised awareness of the work that we do in the process. Every step has been possible because of you. Your kindness and belief in what we do means the world to us, and we’re so excited for what’s ahead. Looking forward, we have some exciting plans: to continue to offer marginalised communities a safe space for self-discovery and expression whilst enabling our work to become sustainable through offering our services privately to businesses in the form of wellbeing days. We can’t wait to share more with you soon. From all of us at School of You CIC – thank you again for being part of this journey. Together, we’re making a real difference. With gratitude, Kate & Sim - School of You CIC