After being switched off for over six years, the floodlights at Saltworks skate park have finally been repaired and turned on by Cheshire West and Chester Council, thanks in large part to the work of Waterside resident and Kindness Café creator, Helen Watson.

"However, what the Council have found is that the lights aren't really adequate for the area," Helen adds. "So within the next few months they're going to improve the lighting even more, which is really good."

Having visited Saltworks – along with other Waterside ward residents – nearly every evening since the beginning of March, Helen has been the driving force behind this development, which comes as her other community and youth engagement initiatives continue to gather pace.

A Kindness Café for local residents

The Saltworks Kindness Café, through which Helen offers local children and families hot food and drink at a nominal charge, has been running for several weeks now, with residents enjoying a curry night earlier this week.

The Kindness Cafés have been made possible through donations and support from local people, but to make sure that such community events are sustainable Helen and other Waterside residents have now formed a Waterside Kindness Board, which will seek grant funding for further projects.

This group has already been offered support from Cheshire West and Chester Councillor Lynn Riley, Frodsham Transition Initiative and the Lache Project in Chester, which provides health and wellbeing activities for its local community.

"It's great to have more people on board and more joined-up working!" Helen says, adding that she and the Waterside Kindness Board and Café are now looking to organise youth activities over the summer from organisations such as the army.

To foster a stronger connection between older and younger park users, Helen would also like to invest in an Obie for residents who are elderly, vulnerable or living with dementia.

This device employs an interactive projector and sensor to transform floors and walls into a game or puzzle which people of all ages can enjoy. Helen hopes that this will encourage greater engagement between the different groups that frequent the playing fields area.

Fundraising events

In order to kick-start the fundraising needed for these community projects, Helen will be running a plant sale this weekend. Hosted by the resident of 1, Waterside Drive from 6pm on Friday until Sunday afternoon, the sale will include a variety of perennial plants.

This will be following by a drive sale occurring on alternate weekends, where people dropping by will be able to buy second-hand books, toys, kitchen equipment and the like. Any local residents are having a clear-out of their house are very welcome to donate saleable items to this cause.

Similarly, if you have any old garden or wooden furniture that you no longer need, Helen is seeking donations for her 'friendship bench' idea, through which local residents will be able to sit and offer their companionship and a 'listening ear' to people who may be lonely or vulnerable.

The young people who gather at Saltworks have been invited to decorate their own bench, which they will then look after for other members of the community who may want to use it.

This forms part of Helen's plans to expand her Kindness Café to the whole of the Frodsham community, by setting up 'kindness boards' in various locations around the town.

These boards, to be displayed in businesses and public spaces, will give people the opportunity to write a note to local residents who might be feeling isolated, to offer them friendship, support and understanding.

Helen has also enlisted the help of the children who use Saltworks skate park to create artwork for these boards.

"Last year, a local girl drew a 'Be Kind' rainbow for me," she says, "so we will use that and the children at the skate park can put their slant on it as well. I will leave it up to them to use their creativity because I want this to come from them."

Any local business that would like to house one of Helen's Kindness Boards is welcome to contact her via the Wacky Watson's Waterside Kindness Board Facebook group.

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