Play Partnership Hailed a Great Success in Doncaster  

A charity supporting women, children and families to create better futures in Doncaster has teamed up with local entertainment venue Play Valley.  

YWCA Yorkshire’s Green Gables provides a range of safe housing and wrap-around support to 75 families across Doncaster. The charity also has projects in Sheffield and Rotherham, supporting more than 250 people experiencing homelessness, escaping domestic abuse, financial hardship and family breakdown.   

Earlier this year, Green Gables Project Worker Natalie Almond reached out to Play Valley Owner Sarah Jesson to explore partnership working.   

 Play Valley Doncaster Owner, Sarah Jesson, said: “We were delighted to support when Natalie got in touch. The work that Green Gables does supporting families and especially children across Doncaster aligns perfectly with our Play Valley ethos. I have personal experience of being a young mum and know only too well how vital it is to access community facilities that can help support a child’s development and deliver new experiences and connections for parents. This felt like the perfect opportunity to give something back locally.”  

Play Valley in Doncaster offered 15 free play sessions and refreshments to Green Gables families, and local parents and children are already benefiting from this new partnership.   

YWCA Yorkshire, Green Gables Project Worker, Natalie Almond, said: “This new partnership has given our families the chance to socialise with other parents in our Green Gables community which is key to growing those all-important peer-to-peer support networks. It is a space for our children to embrace creative play with a range of age groups in an inclusive, safe and supportive environment. As Project Workers, we can observe this play away from the home setting and offer families the right support to help build confidence in these new social situations. There are so many benefits to this! We are incredibly grateful to Sarah and the wider Play Valley team here in Doncaster. On behalf of our families, we’d like to thank them for investing in the future of local people.”     

The free Green Gables sessions are being held on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. The first session welcomed seven families and five Project Workers to Play Valley on Water Vole Way in Doncaster. Families have hailed the partnership a great success, commenting on the benefits of meeting and connecting with each other and their Project Workers outside of the usual home or Project settings.   

For many of the families supported by Green Gables, this type of activity is outside of their reach financially, and lack of access to shared community spaces can exacerbate the isolation they experience. The Green Gables and Play Valley ‘play partnership’ is helping to break down barriers for families, supporting people to build new friendships and connections and to have new positive experiences.   

If you are a business, education, skills, play or support provider in Doncaster and you would like to learn more about partnering with a local charity to support women, children and families in your area, please contact: susan.riggott@ywcayorkshire.org.uk