Representatives from Healthy n Happy were in London to collect the prestigious GSK Impact UK Award. The local charity was 1 of 10 winners on the night who were selected out of 400 organisations from all over the UK.

This was the awards 20th anniversary that recognises excellence in charities improving health and wellbeing in their communities.   Healthy n Happy were given the award for providing opportunities such as volunteering, one-to-one support, health and wellbeing activities and initiatives like CamGlen Radio and Bike Town for local people to actively improve their lives.

As part of the award the charity received a much needed boost of   £30 000 in funding, as well as expert support and development from The King’s Fund.

Brendan Rooney, Executive Director of Healthy n Happy said, “We are thrilled to win this award which is actually the fourth award we have won in a year. To have the impact of our work on improving people’s health and wellbeing recognised in this way is a testimony to the hard work of our staff and volunteers.”

The Kings Fund has also produced a video detailing the work of Healthy n Happy which is available to view here.

The first week in June is always an exciting time for Healthy n Happy. Volunteers Week is a time for all the staff and board to show their appreciation to our volunteers who truly are the lifeblood of this organisation. 

This year we organised an evening BBQ over at Bike Towns Cycle Hub to get everyone together and celebrate all those who give up their time and devote so much hard work and enthusiasm to improving our local communities and wellbeing of residents within them. All the attendees gladly shrugged off the weather to enjoy some great food, play some games and catch up with familiar faces.

Over the course of the week Healthy n Happy also hosted 8 activities as part of VASLans Treasure Trail, which gave local people the chance to get a taster of various volunteering opportunities across South Lanarkshire.

We are delighted to announce that, on behalf of the communities of Whitlawburn & Springhall, Little Rascals Toddler Group have been successful in securing funding of £69,542.19 to refurbish the toddler play park at Whitlawburn Community Resource Centre. The award was made by the Big Lottery Fund as part of the Our Place programme for Whitlawburn and Springhall which will see investment of around £1million across the neighbourhoods led by the priorities of local community members.

More information on timescales and further plans will follow shortly and the group will be hosting a community information day very soon to keep you all up to date.

Young People Lead on Smoking Research

Healthy n Happy have been working in partnership with young people, shopkeepers and residents to find out what people think about smoking and tobacco use in our community. Through this research we hope to find out where and how tobacco products are accessed by young people and what their thoughts and opinions on these issues are.

We worked alongside 23 young people to develop a questionnaire and they hit the streets to ask their peers, neighbours, group users, organisations and shopkeepers their opinions.

We have just concluded the face to face surveys and will now be collating all the opinions which will form a report for the wider community. 

Helping Whitlawburn See Lasting Benefits

Healthy n Happy have been assisting Whitlawburn Community Resource Centre (WCRC) to consult with residents of Whitlawburn and Springhall to ensure their future priorities meet the needs of the local people.  WCRC are currently finalising a funding bid which will be submitted to the Big Lottery Fund as part of the Our Place programme which will see substantial investment in both neighbourhoods over the coming years.

The development of a community hub with activities such as digital inclusion, financial advice, early years and sports will be welcome in the area and centre staff were keen to hear from a wide range of residents to get their views on how it should look.

We have just concluded the face to face surveys and will now be collating all the opinions, ideas and views.  These will be shared with the wider community and we are delighted with the wide range of opinions from the community.

We are now offering individuals the chance the add their name to a list of interest to take part in the Scottish Mental Health First Aid course. Add your name to the list and we will contact you upon announcement of the next available course.

The certified course is relevant to everyone, providing you with the knowledge on how to respond person if they are in distress which is something that can occur at any moment.

"I did my Mental Health First Aid Certificate with Healthy n Happy CDT and have found it to be a great help within my workplace as I am able to help clients who coming along to my workplace and have different difficulties within their own life and I have referred them to Healthy n Happy CDT for stress management."

For more information, or to register, e-mail donna@healthynhappy.org.uk, or call Donna on 0141 641 5236.