GOOD NEWS - 15th December

With the schools about to break up for the Christmas and New Year holidays, it's been lovely to see the pictures of the children, parents and staff enjoying nativity plays, concerts and other festive fun. And many of the nurseries and schools also do great work supporting community fundraising projects and wellbeing initiatives ...

We've shared before the Baby Bank based at Skools Out, Fleetwood Road.

They've had two very successful events this year and thanks to some generous donations from everyone at Cardinal Allen High School, there's another on Sunday 18th December from 10am to 2pm. Pop along if you are looking for something for you little ones. > See Skool's Out on Facebook for info

There's a new addition to the team at Shakespeare School ... This handsome chap is Cooper, a 19-month-old Labradoodle who will be joining in the New Year having completed his training as a dog mentor. With his great temperament and friendly demeanour Cooper will help reduce anxiety and stress, encourage relationship building and other wellbeing themes, as well as probably getting lots of cuddles!

Several schools have been holding Elf Runs to support local charities including Flakefleet Primary raising an amazing £2,000 at their event for Brian House Children's Hospice.

And we take this opportunity to thank all the staff who work so hard at our local schools to educate and support younger residents - we hope you enjoy the upcoming holidays.

The Social Prescribers at Fleetwood Primary Care Network also got into the festive spirit this week. Staff and members of the bereavement group that's been running for the last few months met for a Christmas lunch at The North Euston - a good time was had by all!

There's still plenty of fun to be had in the run-up to Christmas ...

... including the Christmas Tree Festival at Fleetwood Methodist Church.

Call in to see the dispays and for the stalls and refreshments. It's on Thursday and Friday 1.30pm - 5pm, Saturday 11am - 4pm, admission is just £1 for adults and 50p for children. There's also a service among the trees on Sunday at 10.45am. > More details on Facebook

Santa's Grotto at The Mount is open over the weekend and dates next week. Book your tickets Marine Hall Box Office or phone 01253 887693. There's also a Christmas Celebration for babies to 11 years on Tuesday 20th December at The Family Wellbeing Centre, Milton Street with fun and games, disco, messy play, refreshments and more. Telephone 01253 741117 to book.

Christmas is a time of joy but also can be challenging and we have been contacted by several residents asking what groups, activities and venues will be remaining open around the upcoming Bank Holidays.

If you run a group, or are the manager / owner of a cafe or community venue, which will be opening to visitors in the days between Christmas and the New Year weekends, please let us know what you can offer and we can share the details in next week's GOOD NEWS, across our social media and with our partners.

Please contact us by email to listening@healthierfleetwood.co.uk

A couple of drop-ins at our Information Centre, Affinity Lancashire coming up. Tomorrow, Friday 16th, we welcome the West Fleetwood Computer Clinic from 11am to 2pm. Call in for advice with your digital device, getting connected and for any tech issues - no need to book. If you'd like to know about the opportunities and rewards of becoming a foster carer, the team from Lancashire County Council are with us on Tuesday 20th from 12 noon to 2pm.

And finally, we mentioned last week that a party from NHS North East and Cumbria had visited Fleetwood, joining our open meeting and also meeting with residents, health, education and community leaders. We'd like to share the lovely message Dr Mark Spencer received recently ...

"Many thanks for your hospitality during our visit to Fleetwood earlier this week. It was a truly humbling and inspirational experience - in particular hearing the different stories and testimonies from the community group on Wednesday evening, and sharing lunch at the Men's Shed on Thursday. Wonderful to see how much joy was being shared across individuals and communities. Please pass on my thanks to the community for being open to us as visitors. You've clearly got something very special, built on trust, honesty, solid relationships and song!" Once again the Fleetwood community is working together and helping to inspire others. Until the next time ... take care.

TO RECEIVE THE 'GOOD NEWS' DIRECT TO YOUR INBOX EACH WEEK WITH ADDED IMAGES AND FEATURES - USE THE SUBSCRIBE FORMS ON THE HOME PAGE/CONTACT PAGE OF THIS WEBSITE. THANK YOU.