A CHARITY which provides weekly activities for disabled residents in the Forest has made good use of a £1,500 grant from the district council.

All-inclusive activity club Together We Can, which is based at the Causeway Club in Cinderford, runs a variety of activities for people with disabilities in the Forest and beyond.

The popularity of the club’s events, which include live music, games and arts and crafts, has grown massively since the pandemic, with 30-50 people regularly attending and over 100 members now registered.

The rapid growth of the club left the organisers seeking alternative funding for better facilities and more resources.

Having applied for help from the Forest Council’s Community Grant scheme, they recently received £1,500 to help pay for new equipment and materials.

Together We Can founder and organiser Sarah Davies said: “The community grant has enabled us to supply the materials we have needed to run four months worth of club nights.

“It has taken off the pressure of having to work tirelessly to keep fundraising for us to keep going.”

“We’re very pleased to have been successful in our grant bid and grateful for the help at a time where money is very short for a lot of people.

“This has helped us to deliver our crazy and wonderful activities each week that make us unique from all the other clubs around.”

The charity was set up in 2019, but was unfortunately hindered by the pandemic soon after.

But they managed to keep their weekly nights going over Zoom, and returned to in-person activities once it was safe to do so. 

They now invite a range of people of all ages, including some from outside the district, to attend every week.

Deputy Leader of the Forest Council and Cabinet Member for Communities, Paul Hiett, said: ““The work carried out by the team at ‘Together We Can’ is phenomenal. Week in, week out volunteers work incredibly hard to provide disabled people a place to go and enjoy a variety of different activities.”

“It is a prime example of the kind of group we wanted to support through our community grant and I’m delighted to hear that they are using their grant to run their activity nights.”

“The community grant showcases just how keen we are to strengthen the forest community as a council. I’d like to thank the community team for all their hard work in setting up, organising and administering the community grant and look forward to hearing more about other recipients soon.”