M&S Straiton

food facts friends is a Community Project which has been set up to address the issue of food waste. We have volunteers ,who will collect the available produce from shops in the area, and make it available at our central location. This is a panrty with a fridge and is in . the hub and you can fill a bag for £ 1.00 or use the panrty ...

Bright Sparks Play Groups is a charitable organisation which provides various groups and social activities for children with complex additional needs and their families within Midlothian. We support children from birth to 25 years with pre-school play groups, out of school clubs, school holiday club, sibling groups and lunch and play clubs. During our sessions we offer play and music therapy for all ages. We offer trips to our families to places like Edinburgh Zoo, Dynamic Earth, Glasgow Science Centre, Falkirk Wheel, Blair Drummond Safari Park, Five Sisters Zoo, cinema trips, Midlothian Snow Centre and National Mining Museum. The purpose of these sessions/activities is to ensure the children benefit from a well rounded social experience in line with their peers. Families benefit from doing activities together not only with their children but other families in similar situations. This in turn lessens the social isolation which is felt by many of the families many of whom have had to give up jobs/careers to become full time carers for their child/children. This can have an adverse financial effect on family life. Our imminent move to larger premises will allow us to expand our service to help more children and families. All of the children experience social isolation as do their families. They are at a higher risk for bullying due to their differences. The children are often overlooked and misunderstood by their peers which can make them feel lonely which can often lead to depression, self-harming low self-esteem, under achieving at school. Often the children's behaviour can be misinterpreted by the community as "bad behaviour" rather than an understanding of the child's needs. Our activities will provide social inclusion for children. Many of the children find it difficult to make and sustain friendships and our clubs provide the needed support for this. We offer a safe stimulating environment so children can feel comfortable and inspired. We want them to have new experiences often without their parents present. Our activities will develop their turn taking skills, working as a team and taking direction from staff/adults.This also encourages their social communication, motor skills, motor planning skills and coordination. Many of the children suffer from bullying and isolation. Our clubs eliminate these difficulties and help support the children to deal with these issues. We will offer many life skills training sessions e.g. kitchen canny, preparing snacks, using cutlery. We'll do workshops in social appropriateness in situations, discussing feelings and thoughts and how to read body language and facial expressions. We recognise the whole family's needs and include siblings in many activities. It has been identified siblings can suffer from the same vulnerability and isolation - many take on the role of a young carer. Many of the families start in our early 0-5 early years services and we aim to offer support right up to 25 yrs.

The Gorebridge Community Fridge helps cut food waste, build stronger community and redistributes good quality food to the residents on Midlothian. We welcome donations of unopened, packaged foods within their use by date and raw fruit or vegetables, which will then be available to anyone in the community to take. As well as reducing food waste, we will use the fridge to strengthen community bonds, through community supper clubs, cooking classes and a school education.