Celebrating 15 years of community engagement

We are celebrating 15 years of community engagement this year…yes 15 years!

It was in 2008 when a Community Engagement Team was established as part of the then new Peninsula Dental School. I am really proud that I was a founding member of that original team and was instrumental in developing community focused teaching and learning modules for students across the University of Plymouth’s Faculty of Health.

Here’s 5 things you may not know about Well Connected…but you do now!

1: In 2008 a small but perfectly formed team of 2 worked hard to raise the profile of healthy and happy smiles in the community whilst also creating effective inter professional engagement modules for dental and medical students.

2: We passionately believe in partnerships; many of our original connections are still in place today because we truly believe in what we do. We are proud that we are an authentic and trusted organisation.

3: We are super creative! We really enjoy developing materials and resources which are effective, enjoyable, and fun. We also love sharing our work and approach with others; you could say we are loud and proud!

4: We use our community insights to enhance and develop learning opportunities for students, taking their learning beyond the text book. We have created opportunities for them to meet people, to hear their stories to better understand how health impacts on daily lives and activities.

5: We are ambitious and excited about the future; we use our knowledge and understanding gained from previous experiences to create new programmes and areas of work. We are delighted that we are now working as community consultants for organisations including Cardiff Medical School and are looking forward to developing this aspect of our work.

I am so proud that we are still in touch with many of the graduates who are now practicing clinicians and they often tell us that they can still hear me say…..”and don’t forget, community matters!”

So, now is the time to pause and consider how the past will continue to influence our future. To celebrate all that has been achieved and to thank everyone who has helped, supported and encouraged us along the way.

Here’s to the next 15 years!

Wendy Smith MBE