The 2010 Dreamscheme got under way today focusing on Green Lane Playgroup and Ada Belfield House in nearby Field Lane.
It’s already been making headlines in the Belper News which carried this article in its most recent edition.
Tots and elderly folk will benefit from a summer holiday scheme aimed at helping kids to get involved with their community.
Twenty youngsters aged between 11 and 14 will spend a week working to improve facilities at Green Lane Playgroup and Ada Bellfied House in Belper as part of the Dreamscheme.
The initiative, which is being run by Hope for Belper, will also see the young people chatting to elderly people at the Field Lane home to learn about the history of the town.
The Dreamscheme is now in its third year. Last year a group of children cleared and redesigned the garden at the Sure Start Children’s Centre, on Alder Road, as part of the project.
Helen Greenwood, one of the organisers, said: “It’s fantastic working with the young people. Every year they’ve exceeded our expectations.
The projects have become a little bit more complex as we have realised just how much they can do.”
This year the group, which is from the Belper area, will be working on the garden areas at the two venues. They will also hold a tea party for the residents of Ada Bellfield and the families who use the playgroup.
At the end of the week, as a reward for their hard work, the group will go on a trip to a venue of their choosing. They have gone to Alton Towers theme park in Staffordshire for the past two years.
But it is not only the reward which the children get out of the week-long exercise, which is running from Monday, August 16 until Friday, August 20. Helen said: “I think they get a lot out of it.
They learn new skills, they work together, and they leave a lasting impression on the community.”
This year’s project is unique in its efforts to combine local history with the physical aspects of the week.
Volunteers from the Strutt’s Mill will be joining the young workers at the beginning of the week to help them talk to the elderly residents of Ada Bellfied House. It is hoped they will produce a booklet or something similar at the end of the week.
Helen said: “Hopefully it will bring out some memories from some of the older people and the young people will learn something about Belper and get something really positive from it.”
Hope for Belper is a group which links churches in the area for the benefit of the community.
Hope for Belper 