Final Celebration for Village Works (part funded through the European Social Fund)      

A grand gathering of people came together to celebrate the successful completion of the Village Works project from Inclusion Cornwall in the middle of November. At the Hotel Vara in Truro, members of the team, representatives from partner organisations, and some of those who had provided courses to participants, joined together to share stories, and eat cake.

Heidi Channell gave a presentation highlighting the work that was done, and the innovations that were so integral to the project. You can see her presentation here.

From Left to Right – Pip from Phoenix Fitness, Sean and Shelley from Cornwall Council, Maria Hocking from Wild for Happiness, Jane Johnson from disAbility Cornwall and Adele Nankervis from disAbility Cornwall.

The final report from our evaluation provider Kovia showed that, for the £800,000 cost of the project, the benefit was around £9.56m, giving a benefit of £11.92 for every £1 spent. That is an extraordinary figure, and everyone involved in the project deserves to be very proud of what it has achieved.

Almost 400 people were supported, with many going into employment or training, or taking up volunteering opportunities that will lead help them move forward with their lives as well as giving back to their communities. A significant portion of those supported have been assisted to claim benefits or other support that is due to them, and many have been provided with equipment or household goods to make their circumstances more bearable.

We feel privileged to have worked with so many people who are often overlooked, and with so many colleagues who have generous hearts.

Thank you all

The wonderful celebration cake, Baked by Andrea Gilbert, former head of Inclusion Cornwall, who wrote the initial bid for Village Works, and ran the team for many years.
Bev Wilson from Inclusion Cornwall, Dave Meneer, travelling storyteller to the project, and Carolyn Webster from CLEAR Support, which provided some additional support for people who were victims of abuse.
Sandra Cassidy one of our Coaches employed for Village Works, talking with Inclusion Cornwall Chair, Councillor Mike Thomas.
Anthony Ball from Public Health Cornwall, talking with our Finance team and our Project Manager for Village Works, Heidi Channell.