Argos Mansfield Oak Tree Lane

Brighter Mansfield is a small, Queen's award winning charity which has one aim - to improve the lives of those living within Mansfield and District. We do this by providing a range of activities & services in our 5 key areas of work: ~ Health & Wellbeing ~ We provide, alongside our partners, a number of services that improve the mental and physical health of participants including a cancer support group, physical exercise sessions, counselling sessions and a number of other services which directly impact the health and wellbeing of individuals. With funding in this period from The National Lottery and local project Oar Blimey we have also been able to increase our support of those living with Dementia within our cognitive stimulation therapy (COGS) session as well as our remembering to be kind to your mind and carers support sessions. ~ Education, Skills & Training ~ We provide a number of opportunities for members of the community to learn new skills in not only formal training sessions but also informal learning that really meets the needs of people. Our current offer, delivered in partnership with a number of local providers, includes craft sessions and general employment skills training delivered alongside our volunteering programmes. We also include informal and targeted training sessions within all group activities covering subjects such as dealing with grief, healthy relationships, disability awareness and more. ~ Support & Empowerment ~ Within our safe, non-judgmental and people focussed services we specialise in working using an empowerment model of developing the confidence, understanding and skills of our community so that they are able to make informed decisions and take action for themselves. This part of our work is what makes a difference to people’s self belief and self esteem and allows them to begin to trust their own judgement and create their own healthy boundaries and goals going forward. ~ Social & Community Connections ~ We offer a number of opportunities for people to come together in a social setting to make connections with their community and other people within it. We consider our biggest successes not to be the number of people coming into our own services but those that have taken their first steps here at the centre and then been supported and empowered to go on to do other things outside of the centre that they would never have had the confidence to do before. ~ Influencing & Shaping Services ~ As a former Neighbourhood Management Team, and from our wealth of experience in the voluntary sector we understand the importance of influencing and shaping change within communities and the structures set up within them. Although we are excellent at being reactive to the hardships and problems faced by our community and providing opportunities to improve the lives of those facing them, we strive wherever possible to influence greater social change within our areas to prevent these hardships.

We feed people in and around maidenhead who are in such poverty that they are unable to feed themselves properly, along with other support where appropriate. we also provide volunteering opportunities for people in and around maidenhead to provide help for people in poverty who may live outside the area.