A New Member of the Team

If you’ve attended one of our drop-in sessions at Melton Mowbray recently, you may have seen a new face.

Anna is our new Melton Centre Manager and she wanted to share what her first weeks have been like at Pepper’s.

“Well, what a lovely (and busy) first few weeks it’s been! From networking with local services in the community to recruiting new volunteers, there’s certainly a lot that goes on behind the scenes here at Pepper’s.

I arrived at 53 King Street for my first day and was greeted by the lovely Pippa. I learnt about the story of Pepper’s and felt thrilled I’d be able to be a small part of the next chapter of the story. It was great to see the new premises for myself and we brainstormed some ideas of how we could make the space even more inviting for members. We’d received some very generous donations of art supplies, games and books so it was time for me to arrange them ready for members to enjoy at the next drop-in session.

I’ve had a wonderful time meeting all of our amazing volunteers who so kindly give up their time to support Pepper’s as well as getting to know those who come along to our friendly sessions week after week. I’ve tried my best to chat to as many members as possible but some sessions have been so busy, I haven’t quite had the chance! In fact, one of our sessions were so busy at Melton we’d just about run out of chairs so fast forward to a visit to Melton Furniture Project the following day.

If you’ve met me already, you’ll have noticed that I do like talking! So I’ve loved having the opportunity to meet with a range of services to tell them all about Pepper’s and listen to the ways in which they support members of the community too. This has included chatting with the team at Phoenix House who offer personal development courses with employment skills, learning about the role of Melton’s Police Community Support Officers and the support offered by the learning and work advisers over at Go Learn!

So it’s on to another busy day for me! Our drop-in sessions at Melton have become so popular it’s time to think about when we can add a few more on during the week. I shall be chatting to new volunteers and designing some posters to let you all know about our opening hours; as well as distributing some leaflets and posters throughout the town so do look out for them! We’re in the process of arranging some workshops at Melton and planning future events too, which I’m very excited about.

I’d like to give a great big thank you to everyone at Pepper’s for making me feel so welcome! I’m already looking forward to our next drop-in session and hope to meet many more faces soon”.