GFS Bishop Auckland opening brings new vertical group cluster to the community

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Following the great success of GFS AYCC, we made the choice to expand our reach in the community by opening a second group for the younger girls of Bishop Auckland.

On Tuesday 5 July 2022, we successfully launched GFS Bishop Auckland – our second group for the area.

Multiple GFS staff members and the Regional Chair joined in for the last launch before summer break.

CEO, Laura Sercombe, sang her praises for Bishop Auckland’s Group Coordinator, Emma Tindale, as well as her volunteer team.

Laura described the volunteers as ‘very enthusiastic’, and really appreciated Emma’s organisation and gentle leadership style.

Together, Emma and her team did a great job making the girls feel settled, ensuring they all had lots of fun.

Laura shared just how lovely their experience was, watching new friendships bloom between the girls in this first session.

I saw girls gaining in confidence in the short time we were with you and I saw others who really needed GFS in their lives for this to happen.

 

I had a lovely chat with a mum who told me her daughter was not left anywhere ever, other than school, and that’s why she stayed in the background.

 

However she asked her daughter if it was ok for her to leave her next week and she said yes… for the first time! A major milestone in her life and her confidence.

 

-GFS CEO, Laura Sercombe

We can’t wait to hear more from GFS Bishop Auckland, and see how it develops alongside it’s sister group at AYCC.

But if you’re still wondering why we decided to open a second group in this community, that’s easy to answer.

It’s because we think the good people of Bishop Auckland deserve access to more and more spaces like ours.

With our brand new group now open, we now have a vertical group cluster for longer-term support.

A vertical cluster means girls won’t have to ‘age out’ of their group and leave GFS, unless they wish to.

It also means girls can get support in spaces targeted more specifically to their age group. With that thinking in mind, our brand new Bishop Auckland group will work with girls aged 7-11, while our pre-existing AYCC group will continue its work with girls aged 11-14.

To find out more about GFS Bishop Auckland, visit their group page.

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