ILMINSTER NEWS: New Friendship Group to be launched in Ilminster

THE Tesco store in Ilminster is linking up with other organisations in the town to launch a new weekly Friendship Group which will be looking to reach out to those people who are the ‘hardest to reach’ in the community.

The group is looking to welcome people of all ages from Ilminster to the Ile Youth Club at Frog Lane every Thursday from 11.30am – starting next week on Thursday, September 14, 2017.

There will be refreshments, guest speakers and chance to chat and make new friends, while there will be games and things to do for young children.

Crucially the Friendship Group will also be holding a “food share” initiative where Tesco will be providing food which can be taken away by people for free.

The Ilminster store manager Sara Goodchild said that Tesco nationally has promised that by January 2018 it will not be throwing any food away.

The Tesco store in Ilminster already works closely with local schools and a food share group in the town, but still has capacity to do more with unsold food and so the idea of a Friendship Group began to evolve.

The idea has been given the full backing of Ilminster Mayor, Cllr Val Keitch, who said: “I was asked to get involved and immediately I was very keen when I heard what it was all about.

“There are a lot of people in Ilminster who feel as if they are excluded from things that are going on in the town for one reason or another.

“We hope that the Friendship Group will reach out to those people who are ‘hard to reach’ in our community.

“I am 100 per cent behind this and think it will be a great success – it’s another part of the jigsaw to include everyone in something going on in the town.”

The group will be open to individuals, families and senior citizens – everyone is invited to go along.

The Ilminster Lions Club is getting involved as part of the national group’s 100 years of community involvement, while there is further support from the youth club, church and the already up-and-running “food share” scheme operated by the Minster Church from the Sweet Surprise café premises in Silver Street.

The official launch of the new Friendship Group will be held on Thursday, September 14, at 11.30am at the Ile Youth Club in Frog Lane, Ilminster.

Tags:
News.