Daring to make a difference at St Just Miners Chapel!
The Who Dares Works project, led by award-winning Community Interest Company Active Plus, has just completed a month of activity at the Miners Chapel in St Just.
Funded by the European Social Fund and Big Lottery Fund, the project has left a lasting positive impact for the Chapel and for the people who took part. The aim was to support the renovation of the Chapel and to raise awareness of the support available through Who Dares Works throughout the local community.
At the heart of the activity was Who Dares Builds, led by Rebuild South West, supporting a group of participants to gain valuable skills and work experience through renovating some of the rooms and the graveyard at the chapel. In addition, local people had the chance to meet the Active Plus team of military veterans, to take part in community art through Wild Art Cornwall and in community cooking and growing led by Whole Again Communities. A family event with pre-loved children’s clothing and activities organised by the Chaos Group topped off the month of community engagement activities.
Jane Rowe, a participant on the Who Dares Works project said: “It is great to be part of a project where there are so many opportunities and everyone is so enthusiastic. I feel so much more confident about my future than I did!”
Carolyn Webster, Project Manager for Who Dares Works, said: “Reaching people who may not normally have the opportunity to access projects in their community is really important to us. Our engagement activity at the Miners Chapel has given people a host of opportunities to pop along and explore for themselves what Who Dares Works can offer in reconnecting with work, education or training. We have a brilliant team of partners in the project delivering something for everyone.”
Tim Cocks, founder of Active Plus said: “Who Dares Works gives everyone the chance to find their own way – it is just as valuable to find out what you don’t want to do as what you do – and when you have found your calling the buzz is great ”
Who Dares Works is a unique project that helps people in West Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly who are over 18 who are not working to think about their next steps into work, training or education or to tackle any barriers they are facing. The project runs until the end of 2019 and has already supported over 250 people.
Who Dares Works has £3.3 million of investment from the Big Lottery Fund and the European Social Fund and is part of the Building Better Opportunities programme. Led by Active Plus, partners are Addaction, Pentreath, Chaos, ECCABI, Dyslexia Cornwall, ReBuild South West, Cornwall Food Foundation, United Response, Surf Action, CRASAC, CLEAR, Gooseberry Bush, RJ Working, School of Cornish Sardines, Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service, and Whole Again Communities.