More than 150 staff and volunteers from across the community sector attended online sessions organised by Cheshire West Voluntary Action (CWVA) as part of Wellbeing March, helping them look after their own wellbeing during challenging times.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought many hurdles for everyone and looking after your own wellbeing has never been more important.
During Wellbeing March, regular online sessions took place, highlighting the wellbeing support offered by CWVA’s members that staff and volunteers from other charities and community groups can take advantage of, such as:
The vast majority of the sessions sold out as CWVA members took a break from their busy schedules and aimed to equip themselves for the future with some new skills and techniques.
One person who attended the session about reaching your potential through strengthology said: “It’s really opened my eyes to how I’m using my top strengths and how I could be overusing them.
“It’s definitely given me a lot to think about and I’ve taken away information from the talk that I feel will benefit me not only in a workplace, but also in my personal life.”
Someone who took part in the session about creative writing said: “The workshop was inspiring and has helped me define and understand what it means to write creatively.
“The idea of engaging the five senses in the development of a piece of creative writing is an effective way of integrating wellbeing into the practice.
“As with learning most new things, it’ll take practice to improve creative writing skills, but the session was invaluable in terms of providing the foundations that I hope to now build on.”
John Buchanan, Training and Development Officer at Cheshire West Voluntary Action, added: “We’re delighted with the response we’ve had to Wellbeing March, with many of our members across the community sector getting involved.
“The feedback has been very positive and it’s clear this has been a boost for our members in difficult times.
“We’re now looking to embed wellbeing sessions into our training offer in the longer term as we recognise the impact it can have on both staff and volunteers.”
