Over seven dates this summer, volunteers will deliver nutritious lunches and creative, nature-themed activities to young children across Chelmsford.

We were hoping to welcome the young people back in-person after over a year of home deliveries but sadly, due to rising numbers of COVID-19 cases in Essex, we decided to continue our successful remote sessions for the safety of our staff, volunteers, service users and the Lunch Club community.

But that won’t put a stop to the artistic, therapeutic activities our Lunch Club is known for. Keep an eye on this blog for weekly updates:

Theme: Nature

All the activities for our summer sessions will focus on the great outdoors and wellbeing. Vicky, one of Kids Inspire’s Art Psychotherapists said:

“Being out in nature is a great way to reconnect with yourself, your body and to release anxiety and tension. We can probably all recognise the positive effect on our wellbeing from going on a short walk or simply sitting outside in the fresh air.”

Wednesday 28 July

It was go go go today with volunteers delivering the first of our Summer Lunch Club deliveries thanks to funding from Gadsby Wicks.

Today our Lunch Club families received a tasty, nutritious lunch provided by Abigail's Delicatessen in Ingatestone alongside a creative therapeutic “Rock Painting” activity kit.

Ruth, a member of our therapeutic team, came up with the idea of the “Kindness Rock”:

“This week’s activity is the kindness rock. It is simply a rock of any size or shape decorated with vibrant colours and/ or an inspirational message. Once you decorate a stone, the idea is to sprinkle positivity around the community by leaving it somewhere for another person to find and enjoy. Leaving a surprise message of love or compassion can brighten someone’s day by bringing them much joy.”

New member of the Kids Inspire team Layah, our Research Assistant and Data Analyst, also got involved with the deliveries.

Thursday 29 July

Today, two wonderful volunteers from Utilize came to Hargrave House to deliver a tasty lunch and a fun, therapeutic activity to children across Chelmsford.

We would not be able to carry out our Lunch Club without the kindness of the wider Kids Inspire Community, who continuously show up to support children in their communities.

Wednesday 4 July

It's Day 3 of our Summer Lunch Club and the sun is out!

Today, the children will be decorating wind chimes, giving them an opportunity to get creative and spend some time in the sun listening to the healing sounds.

A note inside the deliveries said:

“Wind chimes were originally invented for sound healing as certain frequencies of sound can heal our physical and emotional body. The sound vibrations and gentle melodic chiming that is produced promotes positive energy and healing. To magnify the positive effect, think up a happy saying and repeat this as you hang the wind chime up.”

Mentor, Rachel, kindly volunteered today to deliver the creative activity and an ever tasty Abigail's Delicatessen lunch to some of our Lunch Club community.

This week’s deliveries were made possible through funding from the Boreham branch of EMR Recycling, thank you.

Wednesday 11 August

Let's take a look at the volunteers who made Day 5 of our Summer Lunch Club possible.

Volunteer mentor, Rachel, picked up the lovely Abigail's Delicatessen & Lifestyle lunches before delivering to a number of families across Chelmsford.

An amazing volunteer from Utilize Plc and dedicated supporter, Martyn, were also on hand to deliver to families. Martyn was at Hargrave House for another reason too, to look after our garden, a volunteer role he has been kindly carrying out for over a year.

Today some of the families received a Birdhouse Design Kit whilst others received a Kite Making Kit:

“Let your dreams fly like a kite and see where it will take you.”

Thank you to our fantastic volunteers for their support and to Great Baddow Parish Council for funding today's deliveries.

Wednesday 18 August

It’s the final day of our Summer Lunch Club 2021 and the young people received some very exciting activities alongside their tasty lunch.

The activities included a creative “Mosaic Picture” activity pack and an amazing “Bug Catching” kit. We encouraged the young people to find a safe outside space and get exploring!

As always, fantastic volunteers were on hand to deliver, including volunteer mentor Bev and Helena and Lucy from Fairview New Homes.

Thank you to Utilize Plc for funding today’s session and to everyone who has supported our Summer Lunch Club 2021, we could not have done it without you.