Play It Again Sport

Spectacle Theatre was established in 1979 and has developed into an international award-winning company. They specialise in participatory arts to engage with people of every demographic, from young children to elderly people in care homes. The work they do is extremely diverse and is a credit to the talent of the staff and volunteers.

A men’s mental health group was thought up by the young people already involved with Spectacle. We, as an organisation, were brought in to help diversify the staff present at the meetings. Suicide is the biggest killer among males under the age of 40 and we believe that locally people are much more aware of men’s mental health, so it’s important we get the community and young men on board.

Currently there are young men attending the group from Treorchy and the surrounding areas. If the staff present believe those attending may benefit from other services, they can help those attending locate these services.

The young men who are currently involved are very proactive in their approach and are great at coming up with fresh concepts to keep the ideas rolling. Come along and join us – we’re all there to help each other.

James Watts-Rees

James.Watts-Rees@peopleandwork.org.uk

07392 072115

Our original intention had been to provide games for those that were attending – particularly for any children, and to find out what type of activities we could possibly provide in the church hall in the future.

However, the size of the church hall, along with the numbers of people that attended (202!) meant that this could not happen; there were just too many people in the hall for us to deliver any sports.

We saw this as a great opportunity to engage with those that were attending and find out what the people of Ynyshir would like to see the church hall used for.  We spoke directly with people from all demographics, from those still at school to those long since retired and everyone in between!

There were over a hundred suggestions, and many of them can be supported by Play It Again Sport.

We look forward to working with St Anne’s Community Group to help them establish a community centre with something for everyone.

BCBRL were hosting their annual awards ceremony on Saturday 25^th January 2020 and asked us along to take their donations.  As many of the runners were running at Porthcawl Parkrun prior to their awards ceremony, we decided to open up our donation bins to everyone who was at parkrun.

The weather was freezing!  But it didn’t stop many runners bringing along lots of their old kit that still had plenty of life left in it.  As always, we explained prior to the event that we are happy to take ALL SPORTS RELATED DONATIONS! Subsequently, we had our first set of skis donated!

In total we received approximately 1200 units of clothing and equipment donated to us.

We received nearly 400 race t-shirts, which we’re hoping to recycle into alternative items to raise awareness of the importance of sustainability at running events.  This was echoed by the BCBRL in their awards ceremony – no t-shirts were given as prizes, instead winners were given wooden trophies, biodegradable and with a smaller carbon footprint.

Due to the success of this donation we are now going to be at Pontypridd Parkrun on February 22^nd February and at Bryn Bach Parkrun on March 28^th 2020.

These items are then put for sale in Too Good To Waste in Ynyshir (near Porth) at affordable prices, so everyone can afford to buy the kit they need to take part in sport.  The money raised from these sales then supports local sporting projects, such as walking rugby.

For more information on Play It Again Sport, please contact Natasha Burnell:

Natasha.Burnell@peopleandwork.org.uk or 07375 894007

During the Cardiff half marathon contestants can throw their clothes into a donation bin. These are then donated to a charity. This year we were the charity of choice. The volume of clothes that is donated is dependent on the weather. For example, if it is very cold, contestants tend to keep their over layers on to keep them warm or if it is too hot then contests may only wear what they intend to run in.

Participants are made aware that any clothing they remove is donated to a local charity.

We filled a van with the clothes, which were then sorted by local volunteers from Treorchy library. This was done by filtering items to see what was suitable for resale and what needed to be recycled.  This was an interesting task as people had mistaken the donation bins for actual rubbish bins so we had everything from bacon rolls to banana peels amongst sweatshirts and hoodies!

The clothes that were suitable to be sold were then sent to Parc Prison (which has a partnership deal with our partners, Too Good To Waste) where the prisoners washed the clothes – this is part of the prison’s scheme where prisoners can earn money for the work they do, and is part of their rehabilitation process.  The prison was perfect for this as they have the capacity to process the volume of clothing we had.

When the clothes were returned to us, the volunteers then helped hang and price the clothing. This was a tremendous help – we would have struggled to do it on our own.  This volunteering event was covered by BBC Wales and you can find the link here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/cymrufyw/50368765 (Welsh website); https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000b7wc (Radio Cymru in Welsh – listen at 45:30).

These items were then put out for sale in Too Good to Waste. The money raised from this pays for sporting activities to be delivered in the Rhondda.

We would be more than happy to support events like these in the future and if you would like us to be at your event please find our contact details below.

Contact: James.Watts-Rees@peopleandwork.org.uk    07392 072115

The Upper Rhondda Colliers Walking Rugby team was created in partnership with People & Work,  Martyn Broughton of Active Nutrition and Welcome To Our Woods, a third sector organisation operating in the upper Rhondda Valley tackling issues such as health, wellbeing, mental health, skills and jobs, helping people within the community gain valuable life and employment skills.

The kit that we played in was sponsored by local companies, The Lion Hotel and Selsig Travel, for which we are extremely grateful.  Without these sponsors we would not be able to have had our brand new kit for this tournament and all future tournaments: it really helps to build a team identity and unite us.

The walking rugby tournament was hosted in Treorchy School by the Upper Rhondda Colliers and was supported by volunteers and the Welsh Rugby Union.  The night was a great success with teams attending from Cambrian, Kingswood, Taff’s Well and many others.

The aim of walking rugby is to engage people in a fun physical way which also positively impacts on mental health. As it is open to all ages and all abilities we believe this sport is for everyone.

After every walking rugby training session we all go for some food or a coffee, which we as a community feel is really important to unwind with friends around us. This is used to extend the bond from the rugby pitch into friendship

One of the players stated that “walking rugby has introduced me back into rugby which I hadn’t played since school, I also enjoy the banter and good exercise during the week”.

We meet every week at The Play Yard in Ynyswen between 11 am and 12 pm and would love to see new faces, male or female, and any age.

In the coming months we are looking to set up numerous clubs and activities such as a chess club, and Polish language club, which will be run by young people. If you have any ideas or would like to take part, please get in touch with us.

James Watts-Rees

Contact: James.Watts-Rees@peopleandwork.org.uk    07392 072115