Monday Morning Club is a group of local residents in Benchill who meet weekly to socialise and build friendships. When the founding member of Benchill Over 50’s Coffee Morning sadly passed away, the group wanted to continue meeting, but rebranded to Monday Morning Club, opening their doors to anyone of any age and carrying on the good work that the original group had started. They provide social opportunities, including arts and crafts activities, for residents in the local area. Allowing friends and neighbours to come together weekly, meet new people, have new conversations, and reduce the feeling of isolation and loneliness that many experienced during Covid-19. Monday Morning Club provides residents with the chance to support each other, acting as a regular reminder to residents that they are not on their own. One of the club’s favourite activities is Bingo, where everyone brings a house-hold item to contribute to the prize pot. They found that switching to specific prizes has really helped members with the cost of living crisis. As well as a change in Bingo prizes, they’ve also started taking weekly subs from members, which in the long-term enables them to do more trips out without the group being reliant on funding for this to happen. They have also invited other community groups in the area to visit them at the local community centre where they meet. This has resulted in new friendships and an exchange of skills and resources. In the weeks that followed the initial meeting, members started to attend each other’s groups in support of one another. Members have also started socialising outside of Monday Morning Club, sharing carpools to help one another do their shopping, and taking day trips to new areas. It is always worth remembering that, if you support Forever Manchester, you support all this. The ability of local community groups and organisations to best help people in their community remains dependant on maintaining support for them. To find out more about how you can get support Forever Manchester please email us at marketing@forevermanchester.com or telephone on 0161 214 0940.