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'Welcome home, eh!'

'Welcome home, eh!'

Saturday 04 April 2020

'Welcome home, eh!'

Saturday 04 April 2020


An online community wellbeing hub has been set up, keeping Guernsey people up to date with all the free activities they can get involved in from the safety of their own homes.

The page, which launched on Wednesday, was formed by the Welcome Home Project, with help from the Guernsey Community Foundation.

It aims to act as a central platform where people can access free online content submitted by individuals, groups and organisations, both locally and nationally.

It is hoped the content will help island residents feel more connected, while looking after both their physical and mental health.

"The need for social connectivity and access to activities and resources that support wellbeing has never been more important for our community," said one of the founders of the project, Daniel White.

Daniel_White_Welcome_Home.png

Pictured: Daniel White.

“Islanders have been fantastic in their response to this crisis, coming forward with all sorts of imaginative ways to help people feel more connected and less anxious and alone. Inevitably, however, these efforts are not coordinated, which means some people miss out. We decided to create a central hub of activity so that all this energy can be channelled into an accessible and friendly format.”

The Welcome Home Project has been set up by a small group of local professionals in Guernsey's health and wellbeing, IT, art and creative industries, in an attempt to support Guernsey through the covid-19 crisis. 

 "We were approached by the Welcome Home Project not long after islanders were being encouraged to self isolate," said Chief Executive of the Guernsey Community Foundation, Jim Roberts. "They had already done a tremendous amount of work on the website and just needed some extra help financially, so they could launch and keep developing it.

"The foundation was able to fast-track their application using the emergency funding measures it introduced earlier this month.”

Each day, the project will promote a diary of activities to take part in online, such as community events, creative activities, physical activities, group baking, book clubs and many others.

welcome home

Pictured: Welcome home site.

"In the longer term, we will be empowering individuals and the wider community so they feel more in control of their health and wellbeing," added Mr White. 

The launch of the site is part of a package of measures being introduced by the foundation in response to the ongoing public health crisis.

“The coronavirus has attacked Guernsey’s infrastructure and impacted hugely on the community," Mr Roberts said. "Like the rest of the island, the foundation is keen to play its part. We’ve revised our grant-giving process so that we can get money to charities in record time, enabling them to mount their own responses to the crisis.

“In collaboration with the Association of Guernsey Charities and St John Ambulance Guernsey, we’ve created Volunteer Guernsey to help organise the surge in local volunteers and ensure that efforts are properly targeted. And by facilitating the launch of Welcome Home, we’ve helped create the means by which islanders can feel connected, included and involved at this difficult time.”

Daily information can be found at welcomehome.org.gg, as well as via the project's social media pages.

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