Two community groups in County Durham have been able to offer their services digitally thanks to support from funding grants.
Durham County Council’s 3 Towns Area Action Partnership (AAP) has been delivering support to community groups and services in the Crook, Willington and Tow Law areas to help local residents during the coronavirus pandemic.
The AAP awarded £2,061 to Jack Drum Arts, a community group based in Crook that brings young people and children together through creative activities and performances.
With the funding, Jack Drum Arts has been able to purchase new digital equipment to upgrade its services and deliver them online.
It will go towards obtaining a high specification laptop, a mini audio interface and a Blackmagic sound production table to help deliver upcoming cultural programmes such as the Light Fantastic Programme, Spirit 2012 Music Making, Youth Music Education Programme, and the British Council Active Citizens Programme.
James Lane, of Jack Durham Arts, said: “We have many ongoing and upcoming projects including some current online sessions for our Youth Music program, inclusive of Jackass Youth Theatre and Runaway Samba, which currently can’t be held in person due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“These sessions have allowed us to help young people stay involved in arts and cultural activities during the pandemic while supporting their mental health and wellbeing through our creative programmes.
“It means the world to us to have the support from 3 Towns AAP at this time and we are incredibly grateful to have this opportunity to develop our online services.”
St Catherine’s Dementia Café, in Crook, received £5,486 from 3 Towns AAP to provide IT equipment for members who do not have digital access at home.
The money will be used to purchase eight iPads with data sim cards which will be loaned out to members over 12-week periods.
Members who receive an iPad will be given training from Wellbeing for Life on how to use the devices. After each loan the iPads will be erased of all personal data followed by a check from CS Computer Solutions.
Lynn Copping, of Dementia Café, said: “Due to the coronavirus pandemic our Dementia Support Café has been unable to operate, meaning our members have not been able to meet.
“We have kept regular contact with our members but quickly discovered a lot of them, apart from being socially isolated, are now digitally isolated. Some members have not seen their families since the pandemic began.
“We decided to look at providing iPads, along with some training, to see if we can show them how easy it is to contact family and friends through video calls as well as other online activities such as accessing library books.
“We are delighted to have been able to secure funding from 3 Towns AAP. The help and support we have received from them has been amazing and we can’t thank them enough.”
Cllr Brian Stephens, Durham County Council’s Cabinet member for neighbourhoods and local partnerships, said: “The coronavirus pandemic has meant that a number of people have been unable to take part in cultural activities or meet with others in the way they normally would. It has also meant that community groups in our county have had to look at other ways to provide their valuable services.
“We are delighted that the funding from 3 Towns AAP has gone towards making these services more accessible during this uncertain time, allowing people to stay connected and support each other while they cannot meet face-to-face.”
More information about Durham County Council’s AAPs can be found at www.durham.gov.uk/aaps
