Walking, learning and sharing ideas

There is never a ‘quiet’ time at a regional grant maker. The Two Ridings calendar is planned around new grants opening most months, community decision-making panels regularly taking place, monthly Drop-Ins to enable community organisations to learn and share, and events and visits to keep us in touch with supporters, leaders and our sector. 

And then there are the events we can’t predict but need to react quickly to. Most recently heavy rainfall in Knaresborough saw over 50 households suddenly find themselves flooded. Two Ridings quickly connected with North Yorkshire Council to activate an emergency recovery fund, working closely alongside the brilliant Chain Lane Community Centre to get money directly to those affected.  

So sometimes it hard to fit in a restorative time as a team to reflect and reinvigorate.

But this week most of the team got together to discover and ponder at the wonderful Yorkshire Sculpture Park.  

We walked and talked, marvelled at herons, enjoyed the Highland cows and took in the art in many different ways. A picnic saw us sharing food together, discussing communities and thinking through how we could do better for the many people and places we serve.  

Sometimes it can be tempting to take team wellbeing for granted when there are so many other pressing priorities, but at Two Ridings we know doing that a healthy team is crucial to our capacity to support others better. 

We came back refreshed and ready for the next round of funding to be made.  

Celia McKeon commented: 

“We know that there are many aspects to wellbeing at work, and to creating a genuinely inclusive workplace. When we developed our wellbeing framework together, we agreed on the importance of social time in creating community. It’s been brilliant to spend the day in a beautiful setting, enjoying the many benefits of being in nature, and connecting with each other.”