We came up with the name ‘Cosy Club’ as we wanted to create a positive place that people wanted to come back to. We hoped people would feel at home and be comfortable. We achieved exactly that and could not be prouder of the success it was. We started off reaching out to 13 people in our first session (9th February). Whilst this was great for our first day, the numbers consisted of some of our volunteers and people who were already associated with Skills4You.
Throughout our sessions we served up a warm meal: pie, peas, and gravy. There was also the option to join in some social activity such as cards and jigsaws. As the time went on the group grew in size and popularity, the last session on 30th March was our biggest group of 18 people. More importantly than this, there were no skills staff or volunteers and were all people who benefitted from the session being held.
Speaking to people who attended the groups we realised it wasn’t the cost-of-living crisis that was attracting them – although they all admitted this was a concern for them, (and it wasn’t the delicious pies either!!) The reason a lot of people came out was the social side. A lot of people who attended lived on their own, a few lost their partners due to Covid and a few admitted to not leaving the house most days as they had no place to go. Amazingly, Cosy Club showed some potential for some real friendships, with others sharing about Warm Spots and exercise groups they attend and inviting them to join them. We are organising a bingo night in June to raise funds for our Goodlives project. We told people about this and a few bought tickets as a group and said they would go together despite not knowing each other a few weeks ago.
As a parting gift we were able to help 25 people with a £25 voucher for ASDA. This could help towards a shop for meals, home supplies or could be spent in the café if they chose to meet up and continue to get a meal together now that our Cosy Club is closed. A few of the people who attended decided to swap numbers once the vouchers were handed out and arranged to meet for a coffee the following week. It is fantastic they are able to continue this friendship. Those who were socially isolated now have a circle of support and it is amazing that we were able to be a part of that.
