Uplands Playgroup Committee
We are a Community Playgroup and as such are a registered charity. The Management Committee is a voluntary group of committed individuals from the parent group and local community. The main roles are Chairperson, Treasurer, Secretary and General Committee members. Without these roles being filled we are unable to run the playgroup. If you would like to join our committee please get in touch via uplandsplaygroupcommittee@gmail.com
What does the Committee do?
We oversee the management of the playgroup and support the staff and extended playgroup family.
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Playgroup relies heavily on GCC funding and fee paying parents, this covers the cost of staffing and basic overheads, all other costs need to be generated from fundraising and this is the primary purpose of the general committee. We fundraise for the playgroup to keep it in supplies of sellotape, paint, glitter, paper, books, toys, and all the other wonderful things the children need to have the best playgroup experience.
All maintenance and repairs to the playgroup are fundraised for and there is always something on our wish list. In 2014 the committee raised an amazing £38,000 to refurbish the playroom and garden area. In 2018 we installed new mini toilets and sinks for the children, in 2020 we replaced our falling down shed with a purpose built one, in 2021 we will install recycled cladding to replace crumbling render and insulate the building.
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Meet the Committee
Ellys Beale
Chairperson
Ellys has recently joined the committee, more info to follow!
Anna Rennolds Cook
Former treasurer - handing over the reigns
Anna knows all the words to The Little Mermaid and is addicted to chocolate. She has a Fine Art degree but the most artistic thing she currently does consists of stealing her children's colouring books. She loves to go to gigs and festivals and 2020 was the first year of her adult life where she hasn't been to a festival. Both of her daughters have been to Uplands Playgroup and she loves a good old playgroup jumble sale.
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(Anna is age 2 or 3 in this photo.)
Charlotte Potter
Secretary
Charlotte has recently joined the committee, more info to follow!
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Hanna Cherrington
Former chairperson - handing over the reigns
Hanna lives locally to playgroup, her youngest daughter currently attends Uplands and her eldest daughter recently started school after attending Uplands for 2 years. Hanna is primary school teacher, working in Gloucestershire and leading the development of English. When she isn’t teaching, Hanna can be found behind her camera snapping family life’s candid moments so that nothing gets forgotten!
(Hanna at playgroup age in this photo.)
Jess O'Connor
Treasurer
Jess has recently joined the committee, more info to follow!
Charlie Thomas
Committee Member
Charlie has recently joined the committee, more info to follow!
Succesful fundraising:
We organise raffles and prize draws (our most recent christmas draw raised over £600).
We love a good jumble sale and clothes swish with a reputation for great stuff people travel from across the county to attend our sales.
We organise collections for the bags-to-school initiatives.
We organise sponsored events such as parents (past and present) running Stroud Half Marathon.
We host quiz nights at local venues and virtually.
We organised our first Playgroup Pumpkin Trail in 2020.
We organise bake sales, plant sales etc.
We work in partnership with local buisinesses to promote local and enjoy profit shares.
We use online shopping platforms to generate cashback such as easyfundraising.org and AmazonSmile.
We apply to organisations for funding such as Tesco's Bags For Help and The Co-operative community fund and the Summerfield trust. These applications usually correspond to larger projects such as the renovation of out toilets, the purchase of a new shed, and currently the replacement of our crumbling render with recycled cladding.
What can the committee offer you?
What can you offer the committee?
You will be part of the thriving playgroup community that we are all so proud of. The committee needs dedicated people who are excited to get involved, be it running a 5k or a marathon, helping out at the summer sizzle, hosting pumpkins on the Halloween trail, baking cakes, or organising toy Santa races at the school fayre. You can offer the committee your skills and enthusiasm. New ideas are always needed and people to see them through from concept to fruition.
The committee can offer you the opportunity to learn new skills and make new friends, to be part of a community that will continue long after your children have moved on to school. We are proud of the cycles of friendships that start at playgroup and continue to adulthood, and then re-start as the next generation attends.