A new Junior Dippers group in the Aberdeenshire village of Echt has marked its first anniversary after a year packed with crafts, cooking, and community.

Launched with support from an SWI start-up grant, the club was set up to give children and young people in Echt and the surrounding area a regular place to come together, learn new skills, and have fun. With few existing activities for youngsters in the village, SWI members were keen to step in. The club now has 22 children registered and 11 SWI volunteers giving their time each month. Over the past year, the children have tried their hand at sewing, knitting, card making, 3D decoupage, pom pom crafts, scratch art, puppet making, and plenty of cooking and baking. A visit to J.G. Ross Bakers in Inverurie where the youngsters made their own butteries and waited eagerly for them to come out of the oven, was a particular highlight.

The club has also developed a partnership with the Elphinstone Institute at the University of Aberdeen, bringing Doric language, games, and rhymes into the sessions, including a special Robert Burns Day with Charley Buchan.

For the SWI volunteers involved, the benefits have been just as real as for the children. The club has demonstrated the value of intergenerational working, with members passing on skills they love to a new generation and finding real enjoyment in doing so. Thank you to every volunteer who has given their time, and to all the young people who have made Echt Junior Dippers such a success. Here’s to many more years to come.

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