Compass School and Our Community Kitchen team up for project

Growing Friendships brings pupils from The Compass School together with clients and volunteers at Our Community Kitchen.

Together, they enjoy activities and form friendships.

Elaine Gale, founder of Our Community Kitchen, which aims to tackle social isolation and loneliness by bringing people together round the dinner table, said: “We are being guided, trained, and supported by Generations Working Together to follow their UK pilot Creating Intergenerational Communities Programme to help address the issues of loneliness and isolation. 

“Our project logo was designed by Fergus at the school and we love it!”

An initiative bringing together The Compass School and Our Community Kitchen has been hailed a success (Image: Contributed)

The group was formed before the school holidays but aims to resume as youngsters return to school.

Mrs Gale described the project as having been “massively beneficial, as some wonderful friendships have formed across the ages”.

An evaluation session took place ahead of the summer break.

Those involved had the chance to say what they had enjoyed about the project and if they were confident speaking to people from a different generation.

Among the responses were: “We still all have a lot in common but it is very interesting to learn about new interests and experiences”, and “I enjoy seeing Pat and having a laugh. I like the cake and dancing”.

Meanwhile, other youngsters, when asked what they had learned through the project, said their “new friends are just like us”.

Mrs Gale told the Courier: “The project has been so successful, and an example of some of the activities we carried out together are exercise and dance, flower hammering, watercolour painting, a sing-a-long, creating hanging baskets, board games and an activity where we imagined Haddington in the future.”

Our Community Kitchen meets in Haddington Bowling Club and offers people the chance to enjoy a freshly cooked meal.