A fantastic opportunity for local unpaid carers
A fantastic opportunity for local unpaid carers
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Some people do not think of themselves as carers, but every day, millions of people are caring and looking after family members, partners or friends with varying disabilities, conditions or illnesses.
Unpaid carers play a vital role in looking after people and propping up the health & social care system, saving the economy £132 billion a year. Even when someone receives a carers allowance they are classed as an unpaid carer.
Eastgate Creative Hwb based in Main Street, Pembroke is a “not for profit” company and they have recently been awarded funding from the West Wales Carers Support Innovation Fund for the ‘Pottery for Life’ project.
The project will provide a series of pottery sessions free of charge for unpaid carers in Pembrokeshire, to improve their health and wellbeing.
The project will support up to 34 unpaid carers in total.
The first round of pottery workshops ran from March to early May.
Participants learnt about the different ways of working with clay and a visit to St Oswalds Community Garden as part of the first meeting outdoors to collect items from nature helped the carers to explore integrating nature and textures into clay work.
The unpaid carers produce pieces of work that will be glazed and fired, and then they can take them home and use them as a reminder of the project, friendships and positive feelings associated with the sessions.
An attendee of the first project in March 2022 said “Sometimes you can feel overlooked, disregarded or brushed aside as an unpaid carer.
These amazing free pottery sessions made it feel like someone is saying "we see you, we appreciate what you do, and we want to give something back to you". It was the loveliest thing.”
Eastgate Creative Hwb CIC is a new Community Interest Company which aims to provide benefit to people in Pembrokeshire and elsewhere, including those working in the creative arts, those seeking to develop skills and employment within the creative arts, those seeking education and wellbeing improvements through creative arts, and the wider community. The gallery and shop is based at 132, Main Street, Pembroke (near the Co-op) and is run by volunteers.
All profit from the shop, gallery and paid workshops is used to further the social objectives.
To register your interest for the next unpaid carers project go to:
Or for more information please contact Mena Williams on menaevans1@hotmail.com or call 07960 093833