About Us
Greenbuttercup CIC - a History
‘Greenbuttercup’ became a Community Interest Company in May 2015 with Pamela Eastwood, Richard Le Peuple and Andrea Ross-Bain as its Directors.
Our Community Interest Company is all about promoting ‘Independent Living’ and ‘Wellbeing’ through workshops and activities that benefit everyone in the community, especially:
- minority, disadvantaged and socially isolated groups;
- vulnerable individuals and groups;
- children and young people with additional needs;
and those who support them, like relatives and carers.
For the first five years, Greenbuttercup CIC had paid staff and volunteers working in various community areas. But everything changed with the Pandemic. Because of the nature of our work with vulnerable individuals and groups, we had to stop all face-to-face activities right away. With no idea when or if we would be able to start again, all paid staff needed to find new jobs.
Throughout the Pandemic, Greenbuttercup CIC focussed on providing services to people with Dementia who were living at home – as they were a particularly vulnerable group of people at this time. Funding was secured to create a free ‘Home Activity Programme’, with activity packs delivered every fortnight of Lockdown to those who signed up to the scheme. As the Pandemic (and Lockdowns) continued, the packs were extended to other vulnerable groups. Monthly ‘Dementia Activity Groups’ started up again in late 2020 with a restricted number of participants, but it was September 2021 before we were back to a regular programme of activities – albeit with masks and social distancing.
Since then, activity groups for those living with Dementia has been the mainstay of Greenbuttercup CIC’s activities, with more groups and an increasing number of people using the services.
Why did Greenbuttercup CIC start providing Dementia Services ?
ROMDAG was founded in 2015, partly in response to Romsey being declared a Dementia Friendly Town, but also because feedback from local residents showed that they felt isolated and confused once receiving the diagnosis.
ROMDAG is all about:
‘Helping families who are living with dementia find the right support and information, and making them feel more confident when they are out and about’.
In 2016, ROMDAG members identified several activities that research had shown could enhance the lives of people living with dementia. One of these was ‘art’, and Greenbuttercup CIC was asked to run a fun ‘Arts & Crafts’ group in Romsey on ROMDAG’s behalf for people living with dementia and their carers or relatives.
Since then, our volunteer-run activities have gone from strength to strength, increasing in variety and frequency – for more details click on ‘Our Activities’.