Summer was certainly... different this year. As the country went into lockdown some months back, there was little hope for an exciting, social season. Uncertainty and worry swept the nation and we had to say goodbye to a lot of our favourite things. But when life gave us lemons, ICS made lemonade and shared it with our community and what a summer we had! And now as colder months approach, we wanted to reflect on Summer 2020 here at Irish Community Services…
June
Back in June, we were elated to introduce our ‘ICS Community Online’ project to you all; dedicated to keeping the community connected, providing social activities and ensuring that no-one was forgotten at the height of these challenging times.
With something for everyone, our goal was to ensure that all members of the community felt catered to and supported.
The project has seen exponential success since its launch and has successfully united members of our community and delivered a sense of camaraderie for you all.
Our online community project is still going and, in fact, growing as we prepare new activities to introduce to the community.
If you are interested in getting involved, head over to our ICS Community Online page for the full schedule of activities.
July
We then sped into July- running shoes on- and ready to race. We were proud to have organised a 50K relay race around Bexley and Greenwich. With due attention to COVID safety and precautions, we were able to have a wonderful day. It was great to see other members in person, have a cuppa and a laugh- all the while raising money.
Over £3000 was raised which is phenomenal and we would like to say thank you, again, for everyone that did participate, donate, and support us.
August
Onto August and we swapped jogging warm ups for vocal warm ups. After months of online sessions, our choir group was finally able to reunite for a catch-up, laughter and beautiful harmonies! The group met up in Danson Park and rehearsed songs they had been learning as well as adding some new ones.
The members were so grateful to have been reunited after so long apart and properly enjoy the social aspect of the group.
We have had to revert to online sessions for the time being but cannot wait to get the band back together again soon.
Our more recent affairs...
Although the sun began to shy away, the fun certainly did not. As summer drew to a close, we were able to welcome back our walking group which is a great way to be active and socialise. Additionally, we have brought our tea-cake clubs back (with due recognition of government guidelines) which are being thoroughly enjoyed. Soon, we will be introducing Irish Community Services’ ‘Chit Chat Café’ so keep an eye out for announcements surrounding that!
We recognise that this summer has set the bar quite high for us but, don’t worry, we’re sure that autumn and winter here at ICS will give summer a run for its money. Until next time… stay warm!