People Around Here is a community arts charity based in Cardiff. We believe in the potential of the arts to educate, enable and inspire, to build community and to encourage people to realise their potential.

People Around Here use the arts to boost confidence, encourage positive community relationships, develop new skills, and inspire people to work together to create something they can be proud of. We are committed to ‘hands on’ projects, bringing music, visual art, dance and drama experiences to schools and community groups, particularly in disadvantaged areas. These diverse arts activities help to unlock potential and creativity, inspiring people from all backgrounds to reach higher, shout louder and close the gap between their dreams and their realities.

Since 2006, we have worked with well over 3000 people in Cardiff and across Wales. We partner with local organisations, including the Youth Offending Team, Communities First teams, Community Focused Schools, Power of the Voice, Age Concern and Cardiff Council.

We work with all ages from primary school children to pensioners, and actively promote intergenerational activity. Recently we have been focusing on large-scale collaborative community murals in public spaces and film-making workshops bringing together teenagers with older people in their communities.

If you’d like to know more about People Around Here, get involved, or take advantage of their services you can find them here:
Web – www.peoplearoundhere.com
Email – info@peoplearoundhere.com
Phone – 02920 494 745 / 07989 713 696

Here’s some more information about CLN from Colette Maxfield, the Community Information Officer:

The Celtic Learners Network is a new organisation that provides a wide range of Humanities courses in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan. Set up by three experienced and enthusiastic partners, we have a young, vibrant team of tutors that offer courses in a diverse range of subject areas such as creative writing, photography, art, history, mythology, future ethics, criminology and literature.

We provide workshops, lectures, day schools and weekly classes using central venues within Cardiff, Barry and Llantwit Major: these venues include St Davids Hall, Chapter Arts Centre, Barry Library and Llantwit Major Town Hall. Our goal is to create a friendly relaxed environment for all students, whilst giving the widest possible choice of innovative and thought-provoking subjects. Between Victorian Folktales, Old Norse Sagas and Serial Killers, we really do have a course for everyone.

We are just preparing our Spring programme which will be launched very soon. Our courses are structured in various ways, so that they can be accessible to everyone, and are offered at very competitive prices. Early booking will be given a discount, so look out for our brochure or visit our website soon!

You can find out more about CLN on their website, through email (celticlearners [at] btinternet [dot] com), or give them a ring (07870 888 368 / 07654 470 090).

Challenge Wales is a fantastic charity offering young people the opportunity of sailing on a 72ft around the world yacht. It can be an excellent way of engaging young people from disadvantaged backgrounds into a new exciting diversonary activity.

Having sailed around the world twice in the BT Global Challenge Races, Challenge Wales is a big boat experience in Cardiff for young people and adults. As the largest sail training vessel in Wales you can learn skills such as teamwork, communication, respect for others and self-esteem. Adults can join Challenge Wales for fundraising trips which include big boat sailing days, evening sails and trips that are further afield. It’s also an excellent way for companies to entertain clients while giving something back to a local charity. And if you enjoy sailing or want to take sailing up then you can let Challenge Wales train you and you could help become a volunteer crew member!

If you would like more information be sure to check out the Challenge Wales website.

Journeys takes a holistic approach to overcoming depression, building the skills and strategies that lead to long term wellbeing.

In recognition of their achievements, especially in relation to their “Depression Busting” course, they were awarded the Prince’s Trust for Integrated Health (Runner Up) Award in their first year.

If you’d like more information about how you can get involved with Journeys have a look at their website.

Andrew is currently preparing to swim a distance equal to 10 times the circumference of the Queen Victoria cruise ship to raise money for children in need. You can sponsor Andrew and get more information about the swim and other events that Jollie Hollie is involved in at his website: Jolly Hollie.

Here are some of the charities that Jolly Hollie supports:

• Vision 21
• Latch
• Teenage Cancer Trust
• Help for Heroes
• Cancer Relief Wales
• Action for Children

Thank you Jolly Hollie for giving back to the Cardiff community and those in need.

Here’s what someone said about JumpMAD through our submission form:

JumpMAD organises groups of people to make sponsored skydives for charities.

JumpMAD was set up as so many good organisations have amazing causes but because they’re so dedicated to that cause they also have very little time to fundraise for it; thus they do all the time consuming work for them. The organisation promotes the opportunity to jump for their (or another) charity to their members/affiliates and provide JumpMAD the details. JumpMAD then do everything else required.

They stay alive by keeping the discount gained from being an agent for the dropzones and by booking large groups of jumpers – thus if a charity organised a jump themselves it would ‘cost’ the same.

The organisation is based in Cardiff and run to help charities access high-level fundraising not to be profitable.

From JumpMAD’s website:

JumpMAD was created and launched by TJ Wheeler after he found that charities rarely had time to organize any really adventurous fundraising events. Having some experience in the skydiving market he set about designing and launching JumpMAD to allow charities access to the high levels of fundraising without all the paperwork, planning and bureaucracy which normally stops them from doing so.

If JumpMAD sounds like a good solution to help your organisation continue to do the good work it’s doing then shoot TJ an email.

• Cookery Class
• How To Classes – form filling, making appointments with doctors and dentists, etc.
• Women’s Only Sessions – knitting, embroidery, English skills

And coming soon Oasis will begin to offer Parent Craft classes and a Play & Learn course.

If you know of someone that could benefit from these services or you would like to help out visit the Oasis website for contact details.

• Paradise Run: a soup run that takes place every night between 8 and 9PM. Food and drink are given out to anyone in need.
• Welcome the Stranger: food parcels are provided to asylum seekers once a week.
• Saturday Service: provides a church experience for the homeless that have felt alienated at “regular” churches. A meal is also provided.
• Food Hampers: boxes of food are provided to individuals or families that are not homeless, but still in need.
• Love in Action Groups: groups that meet monthly to prepare sandwiches and other food that will be distributed to the homeless.

If you feel like Rainbow of Hope is an organisation that you’d like to help out, either financially or through giving of your time or other resources, head over to their website and find out more about what they do and how you can get involved.

• to promote groups and organisations in Cardiff and South Wales that are making a positive difference.
• to give users and followers of Cardiff Connect the opportunity to connect with these organisations and help out in any way that they can.
• to promote new ideas. Our hope is that Cardiff Connect becomes a breeding ground for new ways to reach Cardiff in positive ways and make a difference in the lives of those that truly need it.