What we’ve been focusing on this week

• We started the week feeling a little sad as we said goodbye to Vic! Don’t mention anything to her (because it’s not in the post quite yet), but you’ll be pleased to know we’ve organised a lovely Staffy print and an apron with the Local Welcome logo on it as good luck presents for her next venture. Vic was a cherished and valued member of the team, and we know you’ll miss her as much as we do. (We’ll certainly miss her adorable Staffy, Pepper, too! 🐶)
• We’ve reached the decision and design phases of the workshops Niki has been leading us (Ben, Andrew, Celia) through. These workshops have been focusing on making our groups more autonomous so you can make more decisions as a team of leaders, and tailor your groups to benefit your communities and local contexts better. We also hope these changes will result in more time for our team to work on bigger picture organisational things, such as growing and launching Local Welcome groups, and getting Local Welcome closer to increasing non-grant income, so we no longer need to live in fear of not securing enough grant funding. We’ll share more details as this work develops 😁
• Rhiannon has been applying for local funding for our Cardiff and Liverpool groups, and researching opportunities for core funding. If you have any suggestions, please do let us know.

(Some of) what we’re focusing on next week

• Ben, Celia and Niki will be getting stuck into the work that’s come out of our design/decisions workshops this week
• Andrew will be taking annual leave as he moves house 🏡 🔑

Photo of the week

Here’s what Cardiff cooked up last Sunday! (Photo shared by a new leader, Becky 😊)

Thank you for reading, and happy weekend!

Celia + The Local Welcome Team