News

Rhydyfelin residents have been taking part in the first six week healthy living course run by Trivallis’ Go4It! team.

Go4It! supports families in and around RCT to live a more active and healthy lifestyle.

During the series of two hour sessions, there were tips and activities to inspire people to cook better, try new forms of exercise and save money on food.

The food based sessions ranged from how to please fussy eaters to how to make healthier meal swaps.

During the final session, Rhona Charters the Go4it! Dietitian gave instructions on how to make a healthy apple crumble and talked about how to reduce waste to save money on shopping bills.

She said: “It’s great to be able to get together with new people and share ideas for small changes in their diet that will have big effects on their health.

“I think it’s really important to have some easy recipes that taste great too. The apple crumble we made is much lower in sugar and fat than anything store bought. It was great to be able to cook with such an enthusiastic group and I’m really looking forward to running similar courses in other areas in the New Year.”

100% of those who attended said they had more of an understanding of budget cooking, food waste and having a balanced diet as a result of the sessions.

Andrea Biggs attended with her mother, father, daughter and granddaughter. She said: “It’s a great excuse for the four generations to get together and learn new things. We’ve tried so many new healthy recipes and learned lots about how to stop wasting food – it’ll hopefully save us all some money.”

Food information sessions were followed by a physical activity that changed each week.

Ross, a local boxing gym owner, came in to do a circuit for those who wanted to take part.

There were weights, running stations and an opportunity to put on some boxing gloves and have a go at punching the pads.

Barbara Protheroe from Rhydyfelin is blind and has hearing issues. She said: “Because of my sight and hearing problems, people quite often say I can’t do things but the Go4It! team never did. I’ve taken part in every activity such as Zumba, Pilates and netball. I even got a bull’s eye when we did archery!

“I’ve had so much fun coming to these sessions over the last six weeks and would definitely recommend anyone who has this sort of thing in their area gives it a go.”

Go4It! offers taster sessions in many different sports and cooking. To find out when the team is in your area, follow @Go4it_now on Twitter. 

Read Rhydyfelin residents Go4It!…

Housing association, Trivallis has received a helping hand in supporting its customers over Christmas.

The Sustaining Tenancies Empowering People Support (STEPS) team recently approached a number of supermarkets to ask for donations for the families they support.

Trivallis’ STEPS team provides a service to tenants who may need extra support to stay in their home.

John Thomas, steps tenancy support officer, said: “Some of our more vulnerable tenants are facing real financial hardship. This time of year is particularly hard for them as they may not be able to afford to give their children the Christmas that others have.

“We approached a number of local stores to see what they could offer in order to make Christmas a little sweeter for the families we support.”

B&M Home Store based in Dowlais, Merthyr Tydfil, agreed to donate £50 worth of selection boxes for the cause. These will be donated to 32 children that are currently being supported through STEPS.

John added: “We are so grateful to B & M for their kind donation of selection boxes. These will be handed out to the families we support through our STEPS programme. Every child deserves some treats at Christmas time.”

Darryl, store manager of B & M said: “We are really proud to be able to help out by spreading some Christmas cheer to local families who don’t have much at all. Working in retail means that we start seeing Christmas chocolates and decorations and hearing Christmas songs in October, it can get a bit tiring.

“However, giving back to people like this is what Christmas is all about. We are just glad that we could help out such a worthy cause.”

STEPS is a free and confidential service that offers advice on welfare, benefit and housing.

If you or someone you know could benefit from some extra support, speak to Trivallis today on 03000 030 888 or email: steps.referrals@trivallis.co.uk.

Read Christmas will be a little sweeter for Trivallis’ STEPS families…

Housing organisation Trivallis has linked with the South Wales Police to help carry out Operation Christmas Campaign.

The campaign is a series of road shows that aim to help the public keep safe, whether they are in their homes or out, throughout December and the New Year.

Trivallis, South Wales Police, RCT and Merthyr community safety partnership, trading standards departments and police student volunteers are hitting the streets across RCT to tackle home security, personal safety and vehicle crime.

Trivallis’ community safety officer, Sonia Dellay, will be on hand during the road shows with safety advice and free dog chipping.

Sonia said: “The intension of the campaign is to provide crime prevention and reassurance advice to the public.

“We are hoping to prevent an increase in home burglaries, theft from vehicles and shop lifting. We also want to improve people’s knowledge of personal safety and getting home safely using public services and taxi companies. I’ll also be offering free dog chipping during the event.”

The following road shows are coming up in the near future:

Wednesday 14th December - Merthyr Tydfil Town Centre - 10am to 2pm.

Thursday 15th December - Talbot Green Retail Park - 10am to 2pm.

Tuesday 20th December - Cyfarthfa Retail Park - 10am to 2pm.

Wednesday 21st December - Library, Aberdare Town Centre - 10am to 2pm.

Thursday 22nd December - Tonypandy - 10am to 2pm.

Liz McCarthy, local policing inspector at the South Wales Police, said: “The road show was part of our local campaign #Taffadvent and the force wide Operation Advent to advise people on how to keep safe at Christmas.

“We are grateful to all the community safety partners who have supported us with this and anyone wanting to follow the local activity we are undertaking can do so on Twitter by following #taffadvent.” 

Read Stay safe over the festive period with Operation Christmas Campaign…

Members of the Perthcelyn Tenants and Residents Association (TRA) have organised a weekend of Christmas celebrations for the community.

On Friday the 9^th and Saturday 10^th of December, the TRA base in the town will act as Santa’s grotto, welcoming families to enjoy some food and festivities.

Volunteers have completely transformed one room in the base into ‘Santa’s Grotto’ with Christmas trees, lighting and its own snow machine.

Jill Owen is chair of Perthcelyn TRA. She helps to run the base and organises the Christmas event. She said: “We’ve built up the decorations over the years and now we have enough to make a grotto in the side room of the TRA base.

“Perthcelyn is a deprived area and lots of people who live here don’t have much money. We all chip in and use any money we have left over from selling sweets throughout the year to buy toys for the children at Christmas. It’s lovely to see their faces when they have a gift from Santa.”

From 6pm to 8pm across the two days, there will be visits from Santa, Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and Olaf from Frozen.

Sam Pritchard, a local resident, said: “I’ve lived in Perthcelyn since I was two and I love the community spirit.

“My son is four and loves coming to the centre, he helped us to decorate the grotto and is really looking forward to seeing Santa and the other characters this weekend.”

Trivallis helped to establish the TRA and offers support for organising the events and encouraging incentives for the community to come together.

Councillor Adam Fox said: “I’ve been involved with Perthcelyn TRA for eight years now and love helping out in any way I can. The base and the TRA provides a valuable community service to the people of Perthcelyn.

“I’ll be dressing up as Santa this year and helping to give out gifts to the children that come along to the event. I can’t wait to spread some Christmas cheer.”

The event is open to families from Perthcelyn and the surrounding areas. 

Read Santa Clause is coming to Perthcelyn TRA…

The project aim is to encourage people from the community to talk about how they could utilise the school in the future as part of a commitment from Trivallis to create sustainable, thriving communities.

Trivallis tenants took part in free drop in art, design, craft, sewing and storytelling sessions, which were open to all ages.

Kia, who is 11 years old and lives in Trebanog, said: “The sewing workshop was so much fun; I really enjoyed learning how to make an apron. I’ve just started in comp and I’ll be doing sewing in school so this will give me an idea of how to use the machines.

“It’s nice to be able to come into the building and talk about how we can make Trebanog a better place to live.”

Breaking bread…

Volunteers have also built a bread and pizza oven at the school.

Baked rolls made in the oven by tenants and residents were delivered to people across the community in Trebanog and enjoyed by everyone who popped in for a taste. Those who got involved in the workshops enjoyed a pizza party to finish off the first round of sessions.

What’s your idea?

Owen Griffiths is an international artist and he was involved in the organisation of the workshops. He said: “I’m really proud to be working with the people of Trebanog. We’ve got this space for a year, which means there is plenty of opportunity for people in the community to come along and give us their ideas for the type of thing they want to see it used for.”

To see more pictures from the project, visit Facebook or search for #TrebanogProject on Twitter.

This project was funded by The Arts Council of Wales; part funded by Trivallis and is a partnership between Trivallis, Artes Mundi and Valleys Kids.

Read Rhiwgarn Infants School re-opens its doors for the Trebanog Project…