We don't usually drink in the day - we are asking you all to believe that it's really unknown for us to uncork a bottle together on a Friday afternoon. But yesterday was different.
It's been a special week for MPCP. Until now, the delivery of all our mindfulness courses and workshops with disadvantaged families have been grant-funded. But now, after nearly 6 years of unpaid planning, meetings, promotion, explaining, MoMMs, signposting and funding applications, we have just been awarded a grant by Quartet Bristol to fund 6 courses for the parents of children in inner-city Bristol schools over the next two years and a half-time development post.
Just a week ago, we were really staring into the abyss. Just how long could we keep up this level of extra, essential activity unsupported by any funding at all - since 2015?! Now we know, thanks to Quartet, that we can not only continue, but we grow our work and support more families who really need it - and set MPCP on a new and firmer footing for the future.
We are chuffed for many reasons - mostly for the parents and their children who, research and our own evaluations show, benefit massively from our courses. The skills learnt, the connections made and the emotional support received can - and does - change lives. But also high up on the list of things we are grateful for is the knowledge that the importance of mindfulness and the work that we do in supporting the mental health of parents now has the formal recognition of an important local funder and Bristol City Council. This is seriously good news.
So - we now are 'putting our money where our mouths are' and really savouring these moments. On Friday (yesterday), we allowed our attention to rest on the warmth and gratitude that came with this news.
And the fizz? We really savoured that too!
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