Alcedo Care's Christmas Toy Appeal in Southport

ALCEDO Care's Christmas toy appeal has arrived in Southport, with 5 of its Merseyside-based branches currently collecting new toys for Alder Hey Children's Hospital.

The Alcedo teams in Southport, Wirral, Liverpool (Speke and Kirkdale) and St Helens have not only donated gifts themselves, but are also encouraging individuals in the local community to support their toy appeal too.

With patients at Alder Hey Children's Hospital up to 16 years, a large range of items are required to suit all ages, from babies through to teenagers. Alcedo hopes to deliver circa 100 toys to the Hospital.

To drive awareness of its toy appeal, Alcedo is hosting Christmas Grottos across Merseyside at each of its 5 branches, transforming its recruitment vehicle into a festive wonderland.

Children and adults alike are enjoying magical Christmas cheer with the Alcedo team, with the events already proving to be the perfect time the local community to come together and donate new and unwrapped toys, books and board games for Alder Hey patients.

Adam Garvey, Group Events Manager at Alcedo Care, says:- "In 2022 we launched our Christmas Toy Appeal campaign and it was hugely popular at each of our branches with both staff and local families."

Clare Murray, Head of Complex Care, at Alcedo Care, adds:- "We wanted to repeat it again this year, and as we care for children with complex care needs, liaising with the doctors and nurses at Alder Hey Children's Hospital, it was only right to provide gifts for their patients this year. Being in Hospital isn't much fun, especially at Christmas, so an extra present to open is much appreciated."

Adam concludes:- "Our Christmas Grottos are super fun for all involved and it's been great visiting the Wirral branch, as well as those in Liverpool, St Helens and Southport too, bringing lots of festive cheer and goodwill."

Alcedo Care will stopped collecting donations on an Amazon Whishlist, on  Friday, 15 December 2023, to enable the team plenty of time to deliver the toys to Alder Hey Children's Hospital.

The Alcedo Care Services Group now has 20 offices within North of England and Wales, in:- Birkenhead, Blackburn and Darwen, Blackpool & Fylde, Bury, Chester, Crewe, Lancaster and Wyre, Liverpool (Kirkdale), Liverpool (Speke), Ormskirk, Preston, Southport, South Lakes, St Asaph, St Helens, Trafford, Ulverston, Warrington, Wigan and Wirral.

The family owned and operated Group is on track to meet its target of owning and operating 30 branches across the North of England and Wales by the end of 2025. Alongside its geographical expansion plans, the innovative Group is also on track with its mission to continually expand its portfolio of quality care services, with a particular emphasis on developing its Complex Care and Live-in Care services alongside its Young People's residential homes. For more information, please visit:- AlcedoCare.Co.UK.

A 'library of the future' and a Police safety scheme have helped revitalise a Liverpool high street

SPELLOW Library, on County Road, has been transformed from a dated 1960s building into a digitally connected facility with meeting rooms, laptops and advice offered about employment, skills, benefits and the cost of living.

The cash also funded a Police pilot scheme, Operation Abbeyvale, which dedicated a team of 11 officers to County Road to crackdown on crime, engage with the community and support vulnerable people.

The improvements came from the Mayor's Town Centre Fund which set aside £6m; up to £1 million for each of the city Region's 6 local authorities; to support plans to revitalise town centres.

It has funded masterplan strategies, public realm improvements, physical and digital infrastructure, business support, town centre management and events and marketing activities.

Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said:- "Devolution has given the Region the chance to chart our own course with local people choosing the priorities for our area. I launched my Mayoral Town Centre Fund when I was 1st elected to help rejuvenate our high streets, helping local Councils to invest and to inject life back into the hearts of their communities."By working with our local authorities we have taken action to ensure they thrive over the next 20 years and now we are starting to see the results in our local communities. Empty shop premises are being transformed to create new spaces fit for the 21st century, high streets are being updated and important infrastructure has been put in place. This is proper levelling up in action, giving local people the space and support they need to create, to learn and to build a brighter future for themselves."

The Town Centre Fund provided £644,000 to the refurbishment of Spellow Hub and £236,000 to the dedicated Police Team with Onward Housing and Riverside providing match funding for the initiative.

A business grants scheme worth £66,000 was set up to help with recovery from the pandemic and a creative community programme of £40,000 was used to attract visitors to the high street.

Elaine McCausland, Head of Service, Liverpool Adult Learning Service, said:- "Spellow Library is a 1960s building which has had a massive refurb and it is absolutely brilliant. It is now going to re-open as the Spellow Hub. We are very proud to have a brand new, digitally connected modern facility right in the heart of the community, bringing people together to connect and to get help advice and support."

Councillor Harry Doyle, Cabinet Member for Culture and Libraries, said:- "Spellow Hub is just wow! If you saw what it looked like before, you won't recognise it. It's the same building from the outside, but inside it's been completely transformed into this wonderfully welcoming, inclusive and safe space. It's been designed to encourage learning and creativity for people of all abilities and you can feel that the moment you walk through the door. The equipment and resources on offer are just top notch. The people of Walton have been very patient waiting for their library to re-open; and thanks to Mayor Steve Rotheram's Town Centre Fund they've been rewarded because they've got a fantastic facility that is so much more than a library."

Sgt Amy Crowder, of Merseyside Police, said:- "The team was made up of 8 officers, 2 PCSOs (Police and Community Support Officers) and myself as sergeant, dedicated to disrupting criminal activity, supporting the local community and helping vulnerable people. We received a lot of useful intelligence and the relationship between the Police and the community really improved. We did a lot of community activities, such as the Boxing 101 Merseyside initiative to engage with young people and the Walton Lane Community Fridge, which allowed us to direct food paid for by Councillors direct to vulnerable people without the need for food banks. You wouldn't normally have such a big team focussed on a small area such as this and we used the project as an overall plan of how we can go into an area and make things better. We are now looking into extending the scheme into other areas."

PC Craig Davies, a member of the pilot team who ran Boxing 101 Merseyside, added:- "Working on Abbeyvale allowed me to think about how I wanted to make a difference and part of that was using my own upbringing and experience as an amateur boxer. We used partner agencies like local charities and local Schools; boxing gets me in there, we speak to the young people, I share my own honest opinions my own experiences then we talk about relevant subjects like knife crime, county lines, stop and search and anti-social behaviour. Although Abbeyvale has now stopped we are looking to kick on the project in other areas; it is getting bigger and better."

Councillor Mike Wharton, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Portfolio Holder for Economic Development and Business, said:- "This fund has clearly had a positive effect on our high streets and town centres and the sheer range of schemes is a testament to its success. From health and advice centres to community safety, creative spaces, cycle facilities and shopfront renovation, each of the 6 local authority areas has found ways to address issues which are important to their residents, adding vibrancy and making our communal spaces more attractive."