Crafter offers free creative experiences for families over school holidays

Tammy Grigg has partnered with the SPRING program (Age UK Northamptonshire) for over eighteen months and hosts creative experiences to nurture the soul during term times.

These sessions aim to improve the lives of many participants, many of whom are living with long-term health conditions.

Tammy was referred to SPRING by her doctors when suffering from a drastic dip in her mental health.

SPRING, who are social prescribers based in Northamptonshire, recognised that she would benefit from hosting a craft group, and funded the group, which is open to their participants.

Age UK Northamptonshire partnered groups are based in Corby and Kettering and offer free craft activities every week.

Being a mum of four children, Tammy is also passionate about enriching the creative lives of children and their parents/ carers. She believes that often families struggle to find the resources and ideas to get creative.

With this in mind, Tammy wanted to host free craft sessions for all the family over the summer holidays.

These community projects have been funded through Well Northants North and will benefit Avondale and Grange, Kettering, Kingswood and Hazel Leys, Corby neighbourhoods.

The themes of the groups will include: In the Garden, To the Castle, Under the Sea, At the Circus, Up in Space, and Down to Wonderland.

These groups will be held from 2-4pm, staring on the 4th August and are as follows:

Mondays - Grange Primary Academy (Jean Rd, Kettering, NN16 0PS

Tuesdays - Cornerstone Methodist Church (Kingsbrook, Corby, NN18 9HY

Thursdays - St John's Hall (Edith Rd, Kettering, NN16 0PZ

Fridays - Cornerstone Methodist Church (Kingsbrook, Corby, NN18 9HY)

The groups will offer a safe, inspiring environment to keep the kids entertained and give parents the confidence to try more crafting themselves. Therefore, she applied and obtained the necessary funding to make her dream a reality, and will be holding these groups in Kettering and Corby for three weeks during the school break.

Children and parents/ carers will have the opportunity to take part in fun, simple, and rewarding craft activities, and all for free!

Each session will have multiple projects available, all based on exciting summer themes. There will even be a tuft tray available for sensory free-play.

All materials are provided and if a child does not feel up to engaging or completing a craft, they will be able to take unfinished projects home to complete in their free time.

Tammy has seen first-hand the benefits that crafting offers.

"I've found that crafting allows people to fully immerse themselves in something positive. Clients can chat with each other, learn something new, and work together. And when they're finished, they come away proud, with something that they've made themselves." Tammy says.

She believes that building up confidence and taking time to de-stress is especially important in these challenging times, and that by coming together, and working as a team, everyone can benefit.

Booking is required. Further information is available on the Discover Craft facebook page.

While these groups are open to all, people living on the estates the funding is intended for, will have priority when booking up until 1st August.

Any questions or queries can be sent to [email protected] or by contacting Tammy on 07947 051 507.