Volunteers are so important to our community.

 This month we wanted to focus on how Volunteers and some Community groups work with the Community Council to make Pontyclun even better.

If you have lived here a little while, you will know that Pontyclun is a fantastic and busy community, with lots of things going on for all ages. What you may not know is that lots of what goes on wouldn’t be possible without the help of some extraordinary volunteers. Some of these work week in week out to help run local groups and organisations which benefit many of our residents.

Occasionally we also get some groups who step up to do some one off voluntary work for us.

During July we were extremely fortunate that a group of about 40 volunteers from the Church of the Latter-Day Saints in Rhiwbina came along and helped with some important work for us in Ivor woods.

We have RINA, a firm with offices on Clun Avenue coming along in September with a group of staff to help with some more in Ivor woods. Throughout the last few months you may have seen the wonderful Cardiff Conservation Volunteers helping build a new fence along the riverside walk.

Since becoming a Keep Wales Tidy Hub, we have been inundated with requests for community groups to use the equipment in order to help keep the village clean and litter free.

The fantastic gents at Men’s Shed have a schedule running all the way up to December of the dates they will be out and about. Our wonderful Brownies and Scout groups have taken their groups out with a huge amount of enthusiasm and smiles all round.

As well as the fantastic larger scale volunteering we have going on, there are also plenty of other groups that we are working closely with:

Many local businesses continue to support the Refill Pontyclun Scheme, where you can take any refillable drink bottle in, and they will refill it with water free of charge.

Our local history trail is in motion, to build on the current 50 history points we currently have in place. Local historians have been pivotal in getting the information and accuracy in place.

The Ramblers Association were instrumental in the Walking Leaflets we developed, showcasing 6 of the best walks around the area. These can be collected from the Council Offices, the library or online.

Our local Road Runners are working with us to develop some Running Routes leaflet. This will show several local runs of varying length and difficulty for anyone wishing to run Pontyclun. There will also be cycling routes in development soon.

Pontyclun Community Garden continues to be a wonderful part of the park and attracts lots of attention. This group is run solely by volunteers, and they work hard to try and grow things they think the community would want to see. Pontyclun Environment Group help look after our Riverside walk and regularly participate in litter picks. Groesfaen Gwyrdd work tirelessly to ensure Groesfaen is always full of colour and a definite talking point.

There are also a huge vast array of other volunteers and charity groups who give up their time and effort to support all the community events and to raise money for so many worthwhile causes around the village and beyond. Without them this wouldn’t happen. From Cancer Support groups, Foodbanks, Animal welfare trusts, Refugee support and the wonderful 2Wish. Far too many to list individually but all so important in the work they do.

So, from all of us at Pontyclun Community Council and I am sure, on behalf of our Community, we would like to say thank you to everyone who supports us and our wonderful village and helps us to make it an even better place to live and work.