These include children’s Christmas parties in community centres and clubs.
Penclawdd Rugby Club is staging a fun day with meal for young and older children and the Climbing Hangar will be offering regular ‘Rock Clubs’ for young people and families during the Christmas and February school holidays.
Menter Iaith Abertawe will be running Welsh language yoga sessions to help children improve their physical and mental health.
For older people, BikeAbility will be running new sessions called Bike Buddy Rides encouraging people over 50 to enjoy getting out on their bikes while making new friends. Swansea Community Farm will also be running cooking workshops promoting healthy eating.
These are just a few of hundreds of free and subsidised activities that will take place as part of a £650,000 package of support for all residents under Swansea Council’s #HereForYouThisWinter campaign.
This will also include a grant towards providing food support for pupils during the school holidays and support for the network of Swansea Spaces providing people with a warm and welcoming place to go to socialise and have fun.
Also, money for emergency food providers such as food banks and free bus travel on 19 dates in the run up to Christmas and the New Year which also supports people to shop in local businesses are all part of the scheme.
The funding for activities called COAST (Creating Opportunities Across Swansea Together) has been managed by the council and funded by the council and the UK Government Shared Prosperity Fund.
Swansea Council’s Cabinet Member for Community Support, Hayley Gwilliam, said:
“We know how winter and Christmas puts a strain on people’s finances but we still want young people, families and older people to have the opportunity to remain active, socialise and enjoy themselves.
“There will be hundreds of activities and events that are either free or subsidised to keep our young people entertained and to tackle isolation among our older residents.”
Council leader Rob Stewart added:
“We doing all we can to support residents in all communities across Swansea this Christmas and winter.
“As well as free bus travel, food support, grants to Swansea Spaces and this funding for activities there is also our Always A Bed pledge to anyone at risk of homeless if they want one and out Together at Christmas event saw more than 500 people who are lonely or vulnerable served a two course Christmas dinner.
“Also more than 1,000 households that need it the most are receiving supermarket vouchers so that they can enjoy Christmas as they were at risk of missing out.
“I’m proud that as a council our Here for You This Winter campaign is supporting as many people as we can.”
[Lead image: Swansea Council]
