As restrictions begin to lift and families start to come together safely once more, Harpenden URC in Hertfordshire has been holding events to help unite the local community with the help of a small grant from the Children’s and Youth Work Committee. 

URC Harpenden ran three different events on separate days in the summer holiday, the first time they had been able to run any events in 2021.

They were blessed with the weather and able to use the church garden as the venue for a pets corner, teddy bears picnic and a go wild day.

The team leader, Sharon Sookrah, told us about the events that they had held: "It was lovely to meet with families, the families appreciated the events as many were not going away on holiday this year.

The [URC] grant has enabled us to start up the events and offer things like the pets corner, receiving the grant also made us think outside the box and to be more creative.

"The families are very keen to return to our weekly groups in September, the events have been a good way to connect with families in the holidays. For me it was good to host the events as I started at URC Harpenden on 5 March 2020 just prior to lockdown, so to start meeting in person and connecting with the families directly made a big difference.

"A member of the team pointed out how excited the children were as they ran in to see what we were doing. We booked families in to ensure safety and we asked the families to fill in a feedback form where they told us that they would like more events of various kinds and all had a lovely safe time. 

"One mum has asked us to keep updating her on future events as her children had really enjoyed the summer activities. It was great to see the children and families interacting.

"I think the positive responses are very encouraging for our church as we start to plan for the autumn term. We are now in contact with many families and I have started to book families into our baby and tots groups for September. 

"The [URC] grant has enabled us to start up the events and offer things like the pets corner, receiving the grant also made us think outside the box and to be more creative."

Children and Youth Work Committee Grants

Small grants are available from the URC Children's and Youth Work Committee to promote holiday clubs and other projects benefiting children, families and young people within the URC. Visit our page for details