ACT News #1 - September 2024

Welcome to the Ascension Community Trust Newsletter! This is a new monthly space for us to share what we've been working on as an organisation. Our first edition will be introducing all of our projects we are currently running, but first:

New space!

Over the summer break, we spent a lot of time refurbishing our centre - we hope the new environment feels fun, functional and welcoming for all who visit! Thank you to everyone who put in the time to make this possible.

So, how are we going to use our new space? Here' is what we're currently running at Ascension Community Trust:

What's On?

Running at Ascension Church Centre, Baxter Road, E16 3HJ

YOUNG ADVENTURERS AFTER-SCHOOL CLUB (Weekdays, 3-6pm): Our After-School club provides high quality, affordable and holistic care for local children in Reception to Year 6. We collect from Calverton, Rosetta, Tollgate, St. Joachims and - new this term - Drew primary schools, and offer a wide range of activities and a hot snack. Booking is available on a pay as you go basis or bi-termly depending on parental needs. OFFER: We currently have a voucher for a full week of free childcare after your first term at Young Adventurers! This is valid until December 2024, so please contact amanda@ascensioncommunitytrust.org or 07561098082 if your child would like to join!

COMMUNITY MEAL (Tuesdays, 11am-2pm): We provide a FREE home-cooked meal, activities, and a dessert produced by our Supported Volunteering team, with food being served from 12:30. Everyone is welcome, no booking required!

INCLUSIVE ART GROUP (Tuesdays, 12:30-2pm): Designed for adults with learning disabilities and other complex needs, but open to all! This group runs alongside Community Meal and provides a space for neurodivergent artists to socialise, eat lunch, and work on an art activity together. This term we have been painting, making clay pots, and will soon be starting a tote bag design project!

OTHER COMPLEX NEEDS WORK (Tues-Thurs): As well as this, we run two other projects for neurodiverse and disabled people.:

Our Supported Volunteer scheme provides a supportive environment for adults to learn how to cook, try new things, and develop confidence and life skills. You will often find us supporting Community Meal and Food Bank, and occasionally on fun trips! We also run a Gardening Club for students with complex needs, focusing on creating a relaxed, therapeutic space and learning about nature! These groups are not directly open to the public, so for more information please contact admin@ascensioncommunitytrust.org.

NEW PERSIAN DANCE CLASS (Wednesdays, 7-8pm): Newly joining our line of work is our Dance Class run by Negar Nasiri. It's a free group for anyone, with a focus on music, dance, wellbeing and fun! Classes are available in person or online - please contact admin@ascensioncommunitytrust,org or 07784 672 546 for more details. FOOD BANK (Thursdays 11am-1pm): Part of the Trussell Trust network, our foodbank provides emergency food parcels to those facing poverty. We run on a voucher-based system - to find out how to get a referral, please visit the Newham District Foodbank Website.

Those with vouchers can also receive help from our Advice Service. Our advisors provide free, confidential and impartial advice and advocacy, focusing on; Benefits (incl. Universal Credit), Housing, Employment, Form Filling, and Signposting to other organisations. Please contact us to book an appointment!

We hope to see you all at our centre soon!

Instagram and Mailing List

Starting this month, we have two new ways to stay in touch with our work! First of all, we just launched our new Instagram page, @ascensioncommunitytrust. You can find it below:

Secondly, we are also planning to launch a mailing list, where you can be sent this newsletter directly! Details on how to access this will be available on our News page very soon!

Thank you for reading - we hope to see you soon!

The next bulletin will be published on 28th October

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