The day began with an introduction from Paula Harrison, Community Support Manager, and Katalin Wood, Trainee Community Development Worker, who organised the event.  

Each project was then invited on stage to give a presentation about the work that they do. They highlighted their achievements, and in most presentations beneficiaries gave their own testimonies. There were two slide shows in the course of the morning. Click on the links below to view the two PDF of the slide show. Awards were given to projects that had excelled in a particular area.

ESF Showcase Presentations Part 1 (2.59Mb)

ESF Showcase presentations Part 2 (864Kb)

The Swindon Advertiser attended the event providing much deserved publicity for the projects.  There was a two page spread in the paper the next day. The article detailed what the ESF money has meant to the projects, and beneficiaries’ feelings about the help that they had received. Below are some examples:

• “Going to TWIGS is one of the most positive things that has happened to me since I became ill.  I very much enjoy going, I would spend all my time there if I could.”
• “I had a Degree and a job before I became ill.  I don’t think people associate mental illness with people who have those types of things.  I didn’t.”
• “My midwife referred me to U-Too for young mums to be... It was really good. It helped to build up my confidence, and I got to socialise with other mums my age”

We had some superb feedback from those who attended the event - see Feedback for more details.