Community outings help Compassion in Action Cadets learn to ‘Love Where They Live’
Compassion in Action Community Cadets have been learning to ‘Love Where They Live’ during a series of outings in the Borough.
Supervised by our Youth Consultant Leigh Nash and supported by volunteers, the Cadets have visited both Spinning Gate Shopping Centre and Sandringham Court – a retirement community of 49 properties in Lowton.
Promoting communication, confidence and skills development, the visits are part of our 12-month structured programme, which has an ethos of whole-person care.
“I would like to thank Karen Cox and her amazing team at Spinning Gate and Noreen Booth and her wonderful colleagues at Sandringham Court for giving our young people such a warm welcome,” said our Founder and CEO Pam Gilligan.
“The knowledge and experience our Cadets have gained during their visits will serve them well – helping them to grow as caring, compassionate and capable young citizens of Leigh.”
Spinning Gate Shopping Centre – Security and Maintenance
Following her visit to our headquarters at Patrick House, Karen invited the Cadets to meet the security and maintenance teams at Spinning Gate for a ‘behind the scenes’-style insight into their working lives.
Our Cadets learned how staff patrol and clean the Shopping Centre, and took part in equipment demonstrations. They also had the opportunity to see the safety posters they had designed, with advisory warnings for shoppers, on prominent display in public areas.
“This visit taught the Cadets to value the hard work involved in keeping our shopping centre clean and safe, as well as raising awareness of why good behaviour benefits us all in shared spaces,” explained Leigh.
Sandringham Court – Residents Visit
Later in the Summer, our Cadets visited Sandringham Court, where Noreen introduced them to the residents during their weekly coffee morning.
The Cadets practised their conversational skills to find out more about the residents, as well as to share their experiences of being on our programme. They also toured the site – including the laundry and garden terrace, which is sponsored by our charity.
“We then visited a vacant apartment to look at the type of accommodation residents typically live in – giving the Cadets further insight into the daily lives of our amazing older people,” added Leigh.
Spinning Gate Shopping Centre – Trick or Treat Project
Most recently, the Cadets revisited Spinning Gate to distribute handmade postcards to shoppers – offering a different perspective on trick or treating at Halloween.
“Not everyone likes to take part in Halloween,” said Leigh. “It can be frightening to have unwelcome visitors knocking on your door. The Cadets designed their own postcards that shoppers could take and display in their window at home if they didn’t want trick or treaters. Speaking to shoppers about the idea behind the postcards was another great opportunity to practise confident conversations and to consider how our actions can impact others. The Cadets had a great response, with many people appreciating the message and praising their artwork. Sincerest thanks to Karen for promoting the trick or treat project on social media.”
Community Cadets continues weekly on Tuesday evenings throughout term time.
