Published October 24, 2016 at 10:50
Three Rossendale projects are in with a chance of getting the finals of the Aviva Community Fund.
The Aviva Community Fund offers the chance for local community projects to win funding for their community project. It will finance over 800 projects across four different fund levels and six categories, spreading the awards to communities throughout the UK.
Rossendale’s three entrants and their bid information are;
Proffitts and Loveclough Park Play Facility Improvements
We want to work with local residents to improve and upgrade Loveclough Park for the whole community.
The park is well used by the local community but through our extensive consultation, it became apparent that providing something for the juniors and teens was a priority.
Currently there are very few facilities for older children. The existing play facilities only cater for under 8’s and there are no junior play units. The tennis courts are run down with little remaining netting, the former bowling green is informally used as a kick about area and this is all there is for juniors.
There are several aspects to this proposed phase of the project – to undertake tree works around the park to open up views; to provide junior swings; to mark out and provide goal ends in the former bowling green to create a mini 5 a side grassed pitch; to upgrade and improve one of the tennis courts and to create a new MUGA on the site of the other tennis court. New seats will also be installed around the park and deteriorating path surfaces will be upgraded. All of these proposed works will cater for a much wider age range than the current facilities and make the park more widely used.
We are also proposing to support the existing active ‘Limey Valley Environment Group’ (LVEG – part of LVRA) to undertake improvements to the planting around the park as part of the project. We will also work with children and young people from the local school and surrounding housing estate to design new signage for the park.
Primrose’s Wings
On the 14th of March 2015, a beautiful little girl was born into the world. Her name was Primrose. But Primrose was not like any other newborn baby, as she was the size of her daddies hand; she weighed a tiny 11oz and was silent. Primrose Shearns was stillborn. This beautiful baby girls death played such a huge part in her mummy and daddies lives, her passing brought such pain, such sadness and such grief. But her mummy could not let this grief get the better of her, she desperately wanted something positive to come from her daughters short life. And so Primroses Wings was born.
Rachael Chadwick (Primroses mummy) originally decided to raise money for a cuddle cot in her daughters memory but soon, she decided that it wasn’t enough. She provided her local hospital with the cuddle cot and a special wooden crib and got her thinking cap on. What else could she do to help newly bereaved families?
She decided to create special keepsakes for those families which allowed them to make memories with their stillborn babies in hospital before they have to say goodbye. These are called “Remembrance Boxes” and they contain:
-Guess How Much I Love You;
-Waterbugs and Dragonflies;
-Wherever You Are, My Love Will Find You;
-An inkless hand and footprint kit;
-A scented candle;
-Mummy and daddy keyrings;
-A soft handmade blanket;
-Forget-me-not seeds;
-Two tiny teddies;
-Soft tissues;
-A crystal sun catcher;
-An SD card
These cost roughly £30 to put together and are a vital part of the grieving process. To date, through fundraising we have provided 123 of these boxes to families across the UK.
Primrose’s Wings also provides keepsakes to parents who have suffered loss through miscarriage. These are called “Packs of Love” and contain:
A packet of forget-me-not seeds;
Matching angel Mummy and Daddy keyrings;
An Angel Wings candle;
A single white feather;
A sun catcher;
A tiny memory blanket;
A dainty little teddy.
These cost roughly £10 each and we have so far provided around 300 of these to parents across the UK.
Rachael thought long and hard about what could have possibly made her experience of losing Primrose any easier and was taken to her funeral day. Primrose had deteriorated so much that it was impossible for her to be dressed in her coffin. She had a small white cardigan and hat on top of her body, but the thought that she was not dressed was unbearable. Something HAD to be done that would allow such tiny babies to be dressed – and from it, Forever Bed Gowns was created. The gown packs are created from specially donated wedding dresses and each pack contains:
-A gown or wrap
-A handmade blanket
-A pair of booties
-A little hat
-A tiny nappy.
These are all made from donated items but we still need money to be able to pay for postage, thread and embellishments etc. We have provided over 400 of these to independent hospitals, funeral homes and parents across the UK.
And last but not least, she also came up with the idea for a “Certificate of Life”. When Primrose was born, because of her gestation, she had neither a birth or death certificate to recognise her babies life. All parents of living babies receive a birth certificate to show for their baby, but if your baby dies at a certain stage of the pregnancy then you do not receive a thing. This is where the idea came from. The Certificate of Life was designed to look like a proper document and show the babies details including their name, birth weight if known, date of birth and place of birth. They are printed and presented to each family in a special frame so that they can be displayed and kept safe.
These cost between £3 and £5 to make and we have sent out nearly 100 just this year.
We hope that you will consider voting for us so that we can continue our mission to help as many bereaved families as possible in their time of need whilst keeping Primroses name alive. Thankyou for reading x
Incredible Edible
Incredible Edible Rossendale was formed in November 2009 with a vision for the Rossendale Valley.
Influenced by their namesakes from the hugely successful Todmorden project, the objective is very simple. The aim is to encourage our residents to grow and pick their own fruit, vegetables and herbs on their own land, or, on community land throughout the borough. Wouldn’t it be great to go for a walk in the park and pick a cauliflower? To pick an apple from the main street on your way home from the hairdressers?
Let’s not stop at growing though, we can also educate our children into the benefits of eating fresh food, and, to show them what courgettes, brussel sprouts and coriander actually look like. To prove to them that it doesn’t have to come from a tin, or, in a freezer ready meal. They can have fun growing and cooking their own crops.
The plan then gets ‘bigger’ – we can offer locally produced foods through our shops and increase trade and support local businesses. We would reduce our carbon footprint and lead a greener happier life.
It all seems so simple, because it is! All we ask is that everyone helps. It doesn’t matter how small your contribution is. If you contribute, then you’re helping!
Since our formation we’ve achieved a lot, and there is still much more for us to do.
We have been, we are, and we will be INCREDIBLE!
PLANT IT!
GROW IT!
EAT IT!
More information and links to voting can be found here.
You have to register to vote, but you get 10 votes to use how you want. You can give all your votes to one project or spread them across projects. The choice is yours!
Voting closes on November 18th with finalist announced on November 22nd. Winners will be decided on January 10th 2017.