A girls' youth group in Heywood has found a friend in us – receiving financial help and careers advice.
Girls’ Friendly Society is a feminist charity supporting girls and young women. Its Heywood branch provides a welcoming and supportive environment for local girls aged five to 16 at The Heady Hill Community Centre. Meetings are held on Tuesday evenings during termtime, helping members to build confidence, form friendships, and develop key life skills.
GFS Heywood successfully applied to the Love From Anwyl initiative for support with its running costs and received a £1,500 donation. As an added bonus, some of our team visited one of the sessions and gave the girls a talk about the career opportunities within housebuilding and construction.
Trusts and donor care coordinator Dee Kennedy said: “The enthusiasm and guidance of our volunteers have been instrumental in making the group a success. The girls have taken part in a wide range of engaging activities, designed to boost their confidence, encourage creativity, grow their agency and foster teamwork.
“They’ve designed their own clay towns and discussed how they’d like to see their local area improved; made collages of their current and future selves, thinking about their dreams and ambitions. They’ve also made bunting challenging stereotypes about what girls can and cannot do, and created posters celebrating the idea that “girls can do anything”.
“The Anwyl talk about careers in housebuilding and construction fits well with this and has encouraged them to think about the kind of jobs they might want to do themselves. We’re grateful to Anwyl for taking the time to visit and for their donation towards essential costs such as venue hire and activity materials, which will help to sustain and grow the group.”
Love From Anwyl is a voluntary scheme attached to the 120 new homes being built by Anwyl at Whittle Brook Park in Heywood.
Other successful applicants to receive financial support Love From Anwyl included, H'All Things Drama, First Heywood Scout Group, St John's Church, Hopwood CP School PTFA, Rochdale Mayfield ARLFC and Home-Start Rochdale and Bury.
Area sales manager Amy Houlihan said: “Clubs like GFS Heywood play a vital role in the community, helping young people learn new skills and form life-long friendships. We’re pleased to have been able to contribute towards their running costs and offer an insight into the varied roles they may want to consider for their future careers in housebuilding and construction.”
Whittle Brook Park is one of five Anwyl sites to host work placements under the Home Builders Federation’s Women in Home Building programme.
For more information about Anwyl see our website.
