Defibrillator
Our first major target was £1000 to purchase a Community Defibrillator for Station Approach. With the help of donations from other local businesses in Station Approach, it was achieved by Summer 2018. It saved a life in 2020, so it has made our efforts to place one here worthwhile’ Since then, Penarth Station placed another Defib in the Station Approach so they were able to donate this one the the Cliff-top next to the childrens playground.

‘32’ WW1 Project
In 2018 they organised a project to commemorate local lives lost in WW1 .
‘Our second major project was ‘32’. These were the 32 names on the commemoration board in our local parish who had died in WW1. The project saw current residents from the addresses the men (boys mostly) had left to fight in the war coming in to make a wire poppy. We brought in local Sea Cadets, air cadets, & brownies to make their own versions of glass poppies. All proceeds went to the Royal British Legion, & all who participated learnt about the very young lives lost locally, & took their poppy home when the window display was over.’

In 2019 they supported The Welsh Charity Awards by making runners up glass stars using the ‘Community Projects’ to fund the work.

In 2020 they again supported Marie Curie Hospice with the making of their 60th anniversary plaque recently unveiled by HRH Prince Charles. ‘It was an honour to witness this, just before Covid & we didn’t get to see it installed in the foyer until 2023!’

They also wanted to share the joy & their knowledge built up over the years of making by teaching others. From the outset they developed a varied teaching programme that taught stained & fused glass & the leaded light (window) process as well.

National Lottery Community Fund
In 2021 they were approached by a mum to develop a glass making project for her 8 year old son in hospital isolation. ‘He didn’t like the boring options only available & had been to us the previous Christmas & had loved what he could do with the decorative process of fused glass. We were able come up with a feasible project & were able to fund this again. This was a lightbulb moment for us. We realised there was a need to bridge the gap from our studio space directly into the community. By talking with our students of all ages we knew how beneficial our workshops were for their mental well being, & this had become more apparent as a stress reliever & sharing time together following Covid. Being lost in the moment of creating we already knew was important for ourselves, & sharing this joy to all, not just those who could afford a private course was our aim.’

The art work was brilliant, made up of small squares that when put back together formed an overall glass picture. This was so they could work on 1 square at a time when feeling up to it. It was a positive experience for both mum & son during a long isolation. The finished project was displayed in an exhibition in Turner House Gallery in 2022.

They applied for funding via The National Lottery who supported them to take their skills directly to those who needed art as a healing tool. So 2023-4 was spent delivering this directly alongside various charities which included Horatios Garden, Marie Curie Hospice, Maggies Cardiff, 2Wish, Ty Hafan Children’s Hospice, Woodys Lodge for ex-service personnel & a dementia charity…..