The CareTech foundation was delighted to recently be able to provide £2,500 in funding for Open Space Studios, a social enterprise CIC based in Oswestry, Shropshire. The project is led by Chloe Yeomans as a way to promote mental well-being, healthy living, community inclusion, and togetherness through dance and creative arts. In particular, the project reaches out to those who often feel isolated or marginalised in society.
The project has so far been a resounding success, reaching over 700 people in the local community. However, it lacked a permanent, dedicated space. Open Space Studios plans to transform itself into a creative hub for the community. This hub will provide easy access for all users, including the elderly and those with learning difficulties and physical disabilities so that they too can enjoy the dance and creative projects on offer.
The CareTech Foundation is thrilled to be able to aid in the creation of this hub through a £2,500 grant to fully refurbish and equip a new dedicated sensory room, something that is not available anywhere else in the local community.
Included in the hundreds of people that the project has already reached is Declan, a CareTech employee, and his children. He described the impact the scheme has had on his daughter’s lives, saying:
“I honestly can’t adequately express in words the amount they get from it. The passion and enthusiasm they have developed for dance, the skills they are developing that extend beyond dancing itself to confidence, self-esteem, resilience, movement, have all been generated by their participation, and driven by Chloe’s own energy, passion and teaching skills.”
