Our Family 10th birthday party was held on Saturday 1st July alongside the Thornbury Carnival so that JIGSAW families could join in with the wider community event in a quieter, less busy space. Our Young Volunteers and Youth Club led the way and worked really hard to pull together activities on the day from designing carnival games like “chuck a duck” and “net a duck”, to making sure there were plenty of names for the “guess the name of the teddy bear” game.
It has been amazing for us to see how much all these young people have developed as individuals and come together as a team in the preparation for the event. Their personal growth in confidence and connection to JIGSAW as a safe space for them has made this possible.
A special thanks to Susanna from Sannas Cakes who provided us with a very yummy and beautiful birthday cake. Everyone that attended was treated to a slice, with one guest commenting that it was “the best he’s ever had!”
Our 10th birthday family raffle was a big success raising vital funds, thanks to donations of prizes from local businesses, in particular a big shout out for Safari Rocks café, Thornbury Leisure Centre, Wolfridge Alpaca, Calm Nessy, and Westonbirt Arboertum. We are very grateful for their support for our work in the community for families with children and young people with additional needs, or disabilities.
The Young Volunteers’ next mission over the summer holidays is to think of innovative ways of fundraising for our JIGSAW 10 for 10 campaign. Our July sessions will be focussing on planning what our young people can do to get involved, the wackier the better!
Can you think of a 10 for 10 challenge over the summer that you could be sponsored for, to help raise money for JIGSAW? Maybe run a 10k, swim for 10 hours over a month, or keep it simple and do 10 minutes of exercise for 10 days. The only limit is your imagination!! Head to our fundraising page for more inspiration and how we can support your fundraising – https://www.jigsawthornbury.org.uk/fundraise-for-us/
We will be looking to expand our membership for Young volunteers in September, so if you are a member with a child or sibling of a child with additional needs or disabilities, and would like to join the group then please contact Lisa at youngvolunteers@jigsawthornbury.org.uk
Our Young Volunteer service is a group for ages 6 – 16 years to enable young people to build skills and confidence and give something back to JIGSAW Thornbury and their community, through campaigns and fundraising events. We look at exciting ways of being involved with JIGSAW and the local community from cake stalls, litter picks, running stalls and sponsored events, the only limit is your imagination. We run 2 groups and meet up once a month during term time on a Thursday from 4.30 – 5.30pm. Once your young person has joined we will allocate them to a group and advise you of which dates to attend for the current term.