The Devon-wide health and wellbeing charity, Westbank Community Health and Care, is delighted to welcome Ian Hobbs, a former social worker and social care professional, to its Board of Trustees.
After 42 years working in a range of roles within Devon County Council, Ian is bringing his considerable skills and leadership experience to the third sector. As a Trustee, he is looking forward to helping the team at Westbank to deliver its ambitious programme of interrelated services and to make the changes that will be needed to adapt to the future.
Westbank Community Health and Care has celebrated the 20th anniversary of its dedicated childcare facility, Kidzone, with former and current attendees. The Ofsted-registered facility at Exminster cares for more than 140 children in total, offering nursery, pre-school, holiday clubs and wrap-around school care for children up to 11 years old. From early summer this year, Kidzone has accepted babies aged from 5 months, and this age group is slowly building.
Employee Jennifer Knight attended Kidzone herself when she was younger. As did 15-year-old Hannah McDonald from Exminster, who...
A team of staff and volunteers from local charity Westbank Community Health and Care, who took on a fundraising challenge this month to collectively walk 360 miles - a distance equivalent to the circumference of Devon - have already exceeded their goal by walking more than 600 miles so far.
This month, Westbank is celebrating the 21st anniversary of its extensive Health Walks programme and Project Lead Debbie Hutchinson came up with the idea of linking all of the different routes by organising her ‘Walk for Westbank’ challenge. She has been joined on the various stages of her...
Devonwide charity Westbank Community Health and Care is expanding the Conferencing and Hospitality services it offers at its Healthy Living Centre in Exminster, near Exeter.
Best known for its wide range of preventative health initiatives to combat loneliness and social isolation, Westbank also brings people together by providing first-class Conferencing and Hospitality 'with a heart'. Profits made from these services are ploughed back into the charity’s numerous self-funded community initiatives to support the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities across Devon. These...
Westbank Community Health and Care is marking Warm Welcome Week (20 - 26 January) with an upgraded warm space for members of the community in and around Exminster, seeking a welcoming, heated place during the daytime where they can share a cuppa and conversation this winter.
January can be a particularly challenging time of year, with Blue Monday a low point for many. To help combat the winter blues and ease cost-of-living pressures for those who are struggling to heat their home or feel isolated within their own four walls, Westbank has once again opened the doors of Warmwell...
Up to fifty older people who are regularly supported by the Exminster-based health and wellbeing charity Westbank Community Health and Care have enjoyed a sociable Christmas lunch laid on by The Royal Oak pub in Exminster.
The pub has been an ardent supporter of the charity for several years and once again provided a fabulous 3-course meal to spread some festive cheer. The Year 6 choir from Exminster Primary School provided the entertainment, singing Christmas carols to the lunchgoers.
100-year-old Ruth Coren from Exminster, a former nurse who turns 101 in the New Year, has...
More than 40 volunteers have attended a special celebration organised by Westbank Community Health and Care to thank them for their tireless hard work and dedication throughout the year.
The Exminster based charity relies on an army of volunteers to deliver its extensive range of health and wellbeing services across Devon. These include Devon Carers, which supports around 32,000 unpaid carers across the county; Westbank’s Neighbourhood Friends and Patient Transport services, which support vulnerable and isolated people in the community; the Community Cookery School; Exminster based...
Pupils at Exeter Pre-Prep School in Exminster have recently run the equivalent of four marathons as part of a sponsored fun run to raise money for Westbank Community Health and Care, a local charity that aims to improve the health and wellbeing of people across Devon.
With 72 children under the age of seven, the school hoped that pupils and staff would be able to run a collective marathon (26 miles) throughout the day, with each class taking turns to run laps around the school grounds. However, they managed to clock up a combined total of 112 miles, the equivalent of more than four...
Marc Astley, a well-known local journalist and news editor, is the latest trustee to join the board of Westbank Community Health and Care and says he’s on a mission to spread the word about the work of this fantastic, community charity.
As an experienced media professional and a former editor of the Exeter Express & Echo newspaper, Marc is well-placed to do this. His achievements include co-founding the UK Daily Ltd, a stable of 10 online news and feature platforms including The Exeter Daily. He also set up the successful Exeter-based PR and Marketing Agency, Astley Media,...
The expanding pre-school within Westbank’s centre at Exminster has recently developed its facilities with a view to providing high quality, individually tailored education to more 2-, 3-, and 4-year-olds in the area.
The ‘Kidzone’ at Farmhouse Rise in Exminster offers a large, bright room with an amazing view over the Exminster marshes towards Woodbury. The outdoor space has recently been extended to give the children plenty of room to ride bikes and scooters and run around and will have free-flow play inside and out.
An OFSTED registered pre-school, Kidzone encourages 2...
