THE latest community news from Tywyn

Wellbeing group

THE Tywyn Community Wellbeing Group, which was launched in November last year, has received a financial boost from the town council in the form of a donation of £500 to help with cost of activities.

The cheque was handed over to the group by Tywyn mayor Alun Wyn Evans last week.

He visited the group at their meeting place in the Dysynni Room at Tywyn Memorial Hospital to deliver the donation.

The group, which is a project of the Meirionnydd-based charity Tan y Maen Wellbeing Centre and which is led by Eileen Griffiths, has the backing of local GPs and the Community Mental Health Team and has already received a large number of referrals for people in need of support, many of whom have attended the fortnightly sessions which have included introductions to Mindfulness and the Five Ways to Wellbeing programme.

Eileen said: “We are very grateful to the town council for this generous donation which will enable us to offer an increased range of activities and support to the people of Tywyn and the surrounding area.

“Anyone who feels they would benefit from either one-to-one support or group activity to improve their mental wellbeing should make contact straight away.

“Many people experience mental health issues and deal with them by isolating themselves from the rest of the community, sometimes due to stigma and fear of being labelled.

“We can provide people with non-medical non-judgemental holistic support which will improve and hasten their chances of a full recovery from any iss­ues they may be experiencing.”

A spokesperson for the town council said: “The council is very happy to support the Tywyn Community Wellbeing Group and recognises the invaluable work that is being done for community.

“Mental health is such an important but under-recognised concern and Tywyn Town Council is glad of the opportunity to play a small part in bringing the issue to the fore.”

Anybody interested in joining the group or finding out more about the support and activities available is welcome to contact Eileen on 07495 127245 or [email protected]

Rotary Club

ON 5 April, members invited Brian Welam to give a presentation about Wales Air Ambulance.­

Brian started off by showing the group a short film of patients thanking the charity for their rapid response and urgent, life-saving help from the air ambulance crews.

Brian then gave a very interesting presentation on how the service had been set up.

Wales Air Ambulance is fully funded by charitable donations, retail shops or fundraising activities.

In 2001, the organisation acquired its first EC105 helicopter that operated out of Swansea.

By 2009 the fleet numbered three EC135 aircraft operating out of Swansea, Welshpool and Caernarfon. By 2013 they had flown over 18,000 missions.

By 2017 the older aircraft were replaced by modern Airbus H145 T2 helicopters operating from Caernarfon, Welshpool and Llanelli and to date Wales Air Ambulance has flown over 27,000 missions.

The service also has a fourth on-loan helicopter on standby in Cardiff, equipped for and dedicated to pediatric support. This aircraft is only used for providing time–critical maternity support and for rapid movement of newborn babies between hospitals in Wales.

There is now a team of 24 fully trained critical-care consultants and 18 paramedics, nurses and midwives.

Club president Nancy Clarke thanked Brian for his interesting and informative presentation and as is the custom with all their speakers, presented him with a cheque for £200 that Brian will pass on to Wales Air Ambulance.

If you’re a member of a club, society or group, send your news to [email protected]