With Kids Edinburgh Open Day

On Friday 18th October, we had the With Kids Open Day at our Edinburgh office to meet the families in and around Edinburgh.

Thankfully the rain stayed off for most of the day, meaning we could get outside and have fun with lots of different activities!

Here's another HUGE thank you to everyone that helped to make the With Kids Open Day at our brand new Edinburgh Office a huge success.

We had such a great afternoon and look forward to seeing you all again really soon!

Here are some photos from our Open Day in Edinburgh...

To find out more about With Kids Edinburgh, please do not hesitate to contact us either on Facebook, Twitter or you can call us on - 0131 453 6937.

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Fundraising for With Kids

Have you been sticking to your New Year Resolutions? At With Kids, we have slipped up more than a few times now and had one too many biscuits!

Do you need a little help in getting back on the right track? By setting yourself a challenging goal like running a 10k you could get fit while fundraising to help others in need.

We would love you to get involved with fundraising for With Kids!

You might have your own ideas of how you would like to do this or if you would like to discuss various options then please contact us and we will support you in all of your endeavors.

If you have any fundraising ideas or if you would like to get involved - please contact Suzy on 0141 550 5770.

You can download our With Kids Sponsor Form and our Gift Aid Donation Form.

Pop over to Facebook and Twitter to let us know your fundraising ideas and to help inspire others!

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What's going on at With Kids

With Kids run a variety of free groups, workshops and events which you can participate in. However there are limited spaces so we recommend that you book early to avoid disappointment. 

In order to keep you up-to-date with what's going on at With Kids, we are starting a new fortnightly email bulletin! Please join us for news and views from the sector. You can sign up online HERE.

To book a place at one of our activities or if you have any enquiries - you can give Suzy a call on 0141 550 5770.

We're always adding new things to our programme, so why not give us a call to find out what's happening each month. Or if you've got an idea for a group or workshop - get in touch!

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With Kids Ladies Lunch - 29Glasgow

With Kids would like to invite you to be part of our inaugural Ladies Lunch, taking place in 29 Private Members Club on Sunday 27th January 2013. With Kids seek to break the cycle of deprivation by intervening in the lives of young children with play therapy schemes that seek to strengthen their self esteem and bring out their innate gifts.

The Ladies Lunch promises to be an afternoon you and your guests will not forget and you will help raise funds for some of Glasgow and Edinburgh’s most disadvantaged and vulnerable children.

The afternoon, hosted by With Kids Ambassador Kathleen McDermott, will begin with a champagne reception, followed by a delicious 2-course lunch, and will include entertainment by the fabulous Edward Reid - semifinalist on Britain’s Got Talent and tribute band Could it Be Take That.

The event will be organised by Fatbuzz in aid of With Kids, the charity that seeks to offer a new approach to help vulnerable children and families.

There are a variety of ways in which you can help. You could become a sponsor for the afternoon or you could take a table. A table for 10 is priced at £500 or individual tickets can be bought for £50.

If you are unable to attend perhaps, you could help in some other way? We are looking for auction and raffle prizes or maybe you would simply like to make a donation?

To book a ticket, or table, please email events@fatbuzz.com

You can now follow With Kids Glasgow and Edinburgh on Twitter, where you can keep up to date with our latest news and information.

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JCI Glasgow 75th Anniversary Dinner

JCI Glasgow has been helping young business people and entrepreneurs grow and develop for the past 75 years, and to celebrate their 75th Anniversary Dinner, they are lending some support to With Kids.

Formed as Glasgow Junior Chamber of Commerce in 1937, JCI Glasgow is a not for profit organisation run by its members, for its members.

JCI Glasgow is affiliated to Junior Chamber International and is part of an international network of 200,000 business people in their 20s and 30s across more than 100 countries.

The 75th Anniversary Dinner, in support of With Kids, will be held in the Grand Room of Grand Central Hotel in Glasgow on Friday 16th November 2012.

The evening of dinner, drinks and entertainment will start at 6:30, and tickets are available now, priced at £60 for JCI Members, £75 for non-JCI members, and £750 for a table of 10.

Included in the price of your ticket is:

• Champagne reception
• 4 course dinner and half bottle of wine per person
• Corporate gift bag
• 20% off room rate at Grand Central Hotel for attendees
• Charity raffle and auction

Sponsorship

For anyone interested in sponsoring the 75th Anniversary Dinner, sponsorship opportunities are still available:

Main Sponsor - £3,000

1 x Top Table guest from your organisation 2 x Premier Table for 10 (closest to speaker’s podium)

Branding on all advertising material, tickets, front page of official programme, on big screens on stage and on small TV screens

One full page advert in official programme, mentioned in all publicity, 10 x premier goodie bag and opportunity to include advertising material in same goodie bag.

Major Sponsor - £1,500

Premier Table for 10, one full page advert in official programme, advertising on small TV screens, 10 x premier goodie bag and opportunity to include advertising material in same goodie bag.

If you require more information on sponsorship, or want to book tickets, please contact Iain Brown, at iain_brown@jciglasgow.com or visit the JCI Glasgow website.

Alternatively, you can book online HERE or download the booking form HERE.

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Happy Campers

Just over a week ago, With Kids packed our bags and headed to Auchengillan Outdoor Centre for a fun-filled weekend of camping, sponsored by the astounding efforts of Andrew Muirhead & Son Ltd.

Colin Wade, the Managing Director of Andrew Muirhead & Son, walked the West Highland Way and raised £7000 for With Kids, which was an amazing response and was mostly raised by staff, family and friends of the company.

To honour that generosity, we were delighted to name the camping trip as sponsored by them.

We hired a cabin out in the woods so people could choose whether to camp or sleep in dorms, and when we arrived at Auchengillan Outdoor Centre on the Friday, we were greeted with sunshine and spectacular views across trees and fields.

Being so isolated meant the kids were free to run around and explore safely, which was ideal as they did a huge amount of running around!

We had 24 kids so there was a lot of excitement and very little sleep on the first night, followed by some very early morning rises on Saturday morning. 

We had some fairly tired grumpy parents, kids and staff on Saturday, but everyone quickly cheered up with activities including climbing, go karts, grass sledges, waterwalkerz and orienteering, as well as a BBQ!

Thankfully, the sun shone throughout, and as everybody had had such an exhausting day, they were all asleep early on Saturday night... hooray!

Many of the families faced new challenges and different experiences, but everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves and said how good it had been meeting new people and trying different things.

These are just some of the stand out quotes from the weekend:

"Me and the kids absolutely loved it. We've had a brilliant time."

"It was great meeting new friends and spending quality time with the kids." 

"Watching the kids have fun and having new & scary experiences was great."

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Once Upon A Time - A Real Fairytale

As many people are no doubt aware, With Kids' ambassador Robert Carlyle is currently starring in the hit American fantasy-drama, Once Upon A Time.

Robert's involvement with our charity was highlighted by members of Once Upon A Fan, the major online resource for fans of the series, who then decided to help with fundraising.

In an incredible real life fairytale for With Kids, they have, to date, raised £3,475 of a £5,000 target.

As if that wasn't enough, Once Upon A Fan are running a With Kids charity auction from Monday 24th September to Sunday 30th September 2012.

Pieces for auction will include jewellery, original fan art pieces, rare autographed posters, journals, Emmy DVDs and lots more.

The final, ultimate auction for the ‘chipped cup’ from Skin Deep, signed by Robert and Emilie de Ravin, will take place on the 30th September.

Gareth Hughes, the founder of Once Upon A Fan, said: “The support we have received from all over the world has just been incredible. It has blown me away. Not just in terms of donations, but the kindness shown.”

In our second guest blog post, Gareth delves into his past and explains why With Kids are so close to his heart.

Every Fairytale has a Happy Ending

I became aware of With Kids through fans of Once Upon A Time, who recommended watching the videos that Robert had done. 

I could really relate to the difficulties that disadvantaged families go through and the idea that everybody deserves a chance, or a happy ending.

I grew up in a very poor part of Merseyside on a council estate where chances in life seemed limited. 

Early on, I made a conscious decision that I could do well in spite of the barriers that society sometimes places on people.

I went to university and I am now a manager of a brain injury unit in Cheshire.

I can relate so much to what With Kids are trying to do because my mother and father never had that kind of support.

We were lucky in the sense of having a local community of neighbours that pulled together and supported each other, but nothing like With Kids existed.

So, when I learned about With Kids and what they do, it was just instinctive, as the fan site grew in popularity, that we could use this huge following to do some real good.

My life could have gone down a very different path so the idea of building resilience and self esteem in children from a young age is so important to me, so that they find pride in themselves and achieve their goals, however big or small those goals are.

That's why I love what With Kids are doing.

The love is mutual Gareth. The love is mutual.

If you would like to submit an item for the Once Upon A Fan With Kids auction, contact Gareth at gareth@onceuponatimefans.co.uk

You can donate to With Kids, via Once Upon A Fan's Just Giving page.

If you would like to follow in Gareth's footsteps and write a guest blog post for With Kids, please email s.blair@withkids.co.uk with your ideas and suggestions.

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With Kids are Having a Ball!

At With Kids, we always make sure some of Glasgow's most disadvantaged and vulnerable children are having the time of their lives, but next month, they really will be having a Ball.

That’s because on Friday 14th of September, we are hosting our second With Kids Autumn Ball and Fashion Show!

Taking place in the luxuriously refurbished Grand Central Hotel in Glasgow, the evening, organised by fatBuzz Ltd, promises to be a night to remember.

Featuring clothes from Falk&Ross UK Limited, as well as exclusively designed t-shirts made by the children and their families, the children themselves will take to the catwalk to strut their stuff.

Letting the kids take centre stage on the night will undoubtedly help boost their confidence and self-esteem, and subsequently, could really help change their young lives.

April Clark, a student at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, will be managing production and choreography, while students from Cumbernauld College will be taking care of hair and makeup.

After the fashion show, the party will continue with Michelle McManus and Scotland’s top female tribute band, Feeva.

The event will be hosted by BAFTA award winning actress and With Kids’ Ambassador, Kathleen McDermott Carberry, alongside celebrity designer and television presenter, John Amabile.

Kathleen, who was born and bred in Barlanark in the east end of the city, has previously spoke of her pride in being an Ambassador for With Kids.

She said: “I am extremely proud to be an Ambassador for With Kids because the area in which they work is very close to my heart and it saddens me that so many children living in Glasgow are still in need of the help and support With Kids provide."

This fashion show will not only raise much-needed funds for one of Glasgow's most important charities, but the children will be undertaking something that can empower them in a way that they have never experienced.

A table of ten for the With Kids Autumn Ball and Fashion Show will cost £750 and we’d be delighted if you, your friends and clients could join us for a memorable night of drinks, dinner, fashion, and entertainment.

We are delighted to have a number of category sponsors onboard, but there are still sponsorship opportunities available. If you want to support this event, you can be assured that With Kids have considerable experience of event management and corporate partnerships and will maximise the opportunity for you.

Finally, the With Kids Autumn Ball and Fashion Show promises to be a fantastic event, but we depend on auction prizes to make a healthy amount of money for some of the most vulnerable and excluded children who desperately need the support of With Kids.

For more information on booking details, sponsorship or auction prizes, please contact events@fatbuzz.com.

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3rd Year Students win us £3K!

Trinity High School in Renfrew recently were participants of the Youth Philanthropy Initiative. 3rd years students from various high schools were asked to research a local grassroots charity and carry out a presentation on it with the chance of winning a whopping £3000 for their chosen charity.

The pupils of Trinity High School chose to focus on With Kids and we're delighted to announce that Trinity won! A huge congratulations and thanks to Catherine, Rachel, Theigan and Joanna who's fantastic presentation on With Kids won us the prize.

It was a pleasure to work with them and we look forward to seeing them again next month at the Youth Philanthropy Initiative celebration party in June.

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The Art of Noise.. GSA Students support With Kids !!

They will be the artists and architects of the future, but the students of Glasgow School of Art, will be focusing their artistic talents to music, as they will form the first choir the school has had in decades.

It's set to be a great event, and what has made it even better, is that the students have chosen to donate all proceed to With Kids !!

Jamie Sansbury, Architecture student and creator of GSA's choir, is keen to revive the school's musical spirit, that seemed to be so lively in the early 1960's.

"I want to give people who were classical musicians and individuals, rather than bands, an opportunity to perform in an "official" concert where all they really needed to do was rehearse and perform.

"It's a chance to allow inexperienced musicians chance to join in and improve their singing, as well as being part of this new venture which, i hope will become a regular feature on the GSA calendar."

We cannot thank Jamie and the Choir enough for their support, because we rely on donations such as this to keep doing the work we do, support like this is much appreciated !!

The concert will be held at:

Adelaide's 

Pitt Street

Glasgow

G2 4HZ

Tickets are £5 and are available from the MASS Bar (Bourdon Building) or by email: j.sansbury1@students@gsa.ac.uk or for any choir member. 

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What's on at With Kids in May...

I think you will all agree with me when I welcome in the month of May, as we get closer and closer to summer! We have lots going on this month at With Kids.

We have many events on this month that you may have seen before, for the parents as well as the kids, sadly most of the events have limited places, so make sure you book your place!

The following events are making a return this month:

Family Club

Cinema Club

Mum & Baby Group

If you would like to know more about these activities, please contact us as soon as possible, as there are limited spaces. 

If you have found this post interesting please use the "Share" buttons below to tell your online community about it, there's a good chance they will find it interesting too. Thank you.
 

You can also follow With Kids on Facebook - please click here

Freak Carousel workshops at With Kids...

At With Kids, we're always looking for new, innovative ways to entertain our friends at With Kids entertained.

We're delighted to announce that during May we'll be hosting Freak Carousel, who'll be doing resin jewellery workshops. We're really looking forward to trying out something a bit different. The workshops will begin on May 10th and will continue for 4 weeks.

Freak Carousel is a weird and wonderful collection of completely handmade jewellery - You'll find everything in their shop from skulls to cupcakes, comic prints to vintage charms!

They also offer a custom jewellery design service and have created many one-of-a-kind pieces for special occasions, even weddings!

You can keep up to date with what Freak Carousel are up to if you:

"Like" them on Facebook 

Or...

Follow them on twitter: @FreakCarousel

If you would like to know more about these workshops, please contact us as soon as possible, as there are limited spaces. 

If you have found this post interesting please use the "Share" buttons below to tell your online community about it, there's a good chance they will find it interesting too. Thank you.
 

You can also follow With Kids on Facebook - please click here

Exciting News! We're going global...

We're very excited to announce that we will be hosting live training from Child Trauma Academy in Houston, Texas.

'The Child Trauma Academy (CTA) works to improve the lives of high risk children through direct service, research and education. A major activity of the CTA is to translate emerging findings about the human brain and child development into practical implications for the ways we nurture, protect, enrich, educate and heal children. The "translational neuroscience" work of the CTA has resulted in a range of innovative programs in therapeutic, child protection and educational systems'.

Over 10 weeks With Kids will participate in live conferences via the internet and be covering a variety of subjects including sleep problems and maltreatment, secondary trauma, neurobiology of empathy and music and the brain.  We have also invited other interested parties and early years workers to join us during these sessions. It's a fantastic opportunity to learn about the cutting edge research and development on the human brain and children which is only recently emerging.

To read more about the Child Trauma Academy and their cutting edge work please go to: www.childtrauma.org/


If you have found this post interesting please use the "Share" buttons below to tell your online community about it, there's a good chance they will find it interesting too. Thank you.
 

You can also follow With Kids on Facebook - please click here

Primary Pupils spread Christmas Cheer

Pupils from St Joseph’s Primary School, Milngavie were delighted to play Santa and hand over a sack-load of stocking-filler gifts to charity last week, on Friday, December 2nd.

Children from the school handed in over 50 presents as they visited Santa in his grotto during their fundraising Christmas Fayre last month (Nov 26) to be donated to With Kids.

With Kids works with families and children in the east end of Glasgow, where there are some of the highest levels of poverty in Scotland and the UK. St Joseph’s Primary Acting Head Teacher Ann Rice said:

 “Christmas is a time for giving as well as receiving and the children here have shown great generosity in choosing, wrapping and donating these presents for other children their age who are not as lucky as they are.”

Collecting the gifts Suzie Blair from With Kids said:

“This is an amazing gift will make all the difference for other children who live not so far away on Christmas Day.

“All families can find they have difficulties from time to time and there can often be other factors which mean parents struggle at this time of year. With Kids is there to support the needs of children and parents all year round.”

St Joseph’s Primary PTA Christmas Fayre took place on November 26th and raised £1,800 which will go towards a new interactive whiteboard for the school.

Co-chair of the PTA Emma Whitfield said:

“Not only have the families, parents and carers of St Joseph’s shown great generosity in fundraising for new much need school equipment, but that pupils have shown they are thinking about those who don’t have quite as much as they do as well - which is what Christmas is all about.”

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Can you help us create our Winter Wonderland Christmas party?

October has arrived, there are a considerable amount of leaves on the ground and a chill in the air. This can only mean one thing, Autumn is upon us and before we know it Christmas will be here. Yes we said it...we are officially talking Christmas talk. Christmas is nearly here so we may as well start preparing. Although, we do suspect that there are many of you who are super efficient and have started planning already.


We love Christmas and we especially love our Christmas party that is held at With Kids head office. The kids loved it last year too and this year we want it to be the biggest and best yet.

We are looking for help from our friends to help us create the best Christmas party this side of Lapland by making the With Kids party area a winter wonderland. Can you or anyone you know help us? We are looking for anyone who has experience in graffiti, model making or theatre set building to help us create the best setting for our Christmas party. Do you know of anyone that can help us with arts and crafts? Please contact us if you would like more information or if you think you or any of your friends could lend a hand.

You can contact Suzy: s.blair@withkids.org.uk or by phone: 0141 550 5770
You can also contact us by joining our Facebook page or Twitter page.

By sharing this post you will help us spread the word and someone you know from your online community may like to help us. If you have found this post of interest then please feel free to share it with your online community via the share buttons below. Thank you.

We are in the shortlist!

With Kids have been placed into the short list of The Royal Bank of Scotland's Community Force initiative and we need you help! With over 1000 projects and charities from all over Scotland entered into the running, we need as many votes as we can to be in with a chance of being awarded £6000 from RBS. This money would make a huge difference and would help improve the services we provide.

The voting opens on the 26th of September and we are asking for your support and help. To get a better understanding of what we do and how the award will help With Kids please click HERE. Please take the time to vote for us and spread the word by asking your network of friends to vote for us too. You will be helping us improve our services and in turn, help us to make a difference. 

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Clare's Law:

A recent article in the Metro reported that in England and Wales, two women in England and Wales are killed by a former or current partner, every week. Whereas 10 per year fall victims to this crime in Scotland.

Clare Wood became one of the victims in 2009 when she was strangled by her boyfriend, George Appleton, a man with a history of violence and known to the police, who she met on the internet.

The Government's Victims' Commissioner Louise Casey is mounting a campaign called Clare's Law to allow people to find out whether new partners have a violent past. Police would be able to warn women if a new partner had a violent past under plans to reduce the number of deaths and injuries from domestic abuse.

A campaign for the change was launched in July 2011, with the support of police chief. The proposal, which is modelled on Sarah's Law, is backed by Ms Wood's father Michael Brown, comes amid concern that women are increasingly meeting men via the internet with little or no knowledge of their pasts.

Ms Blears said: ''Women in Clare's situation are often unaware of their partner's previous relationships and this can mean they start a relationship with someone with no idea if they have a violent past. Clare's tragic death shows how vulnerable women aren't always protected under the current law, and until women are given the right to know if their partner has a history of serial domestic abuse, they can't be sure of the risk that they face."

Ms Blears believes that changing the law women will be empowered to take informed action about their relationship which will give them the chance to protect themselves and prevent domestic abuse from happening before it begins.'

There has been a lot of media coverage regarding the proposal, with varied opinion. One report from the Guardian states that "Clare's Law" is based on the assumption that people would make safe choices about relationships if they were better informed.  However, it's thought that the proposal would not be able to stop serial abusers to continue. The Guardian's Lucy Reed continues, the scheme could allow the sharing of information, however, she also predicts potential victims being persuaded that the accusations to be malicious gossip, a misunderstanding, perhaps mistaken identity or, that their partner was defending themselves against a violent ex-partner.

Domestic violence is at epidemic levels in this country and Libby Brooks is concerned that resources for those escaping it are badly funded and under-imagined. After reading into this, it is clear that there are many opinions and contrasting views on this subject.

But what do you think? Should this law be past? Do you think this would help reduce the number of cases of domestic violence? Or do you think that it would be a false sense of empowerment? We would really love to hear your opinion on this subject, so please let us know by commenting on our facebook page or you can tweet about it and follow us on twitter.

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Allied International Credit (UK) Pedal for Scotland to raise money for With Kids...

Allied International Credit (UK) have 12 members of staff participating in the Freshnlo 'Pedal for Scotland' Event on 11th September. Cycling from Glasgow to Edinburgh (51 miles) to raise money for With Kids.

Allied International Credit (UK) continually show their support by volunteering with us and giving us their time to help with our events and our Kids Summer Programme, which is a major part of what we do. We are so grateful for their continued support and we are delighted that they have decided to take part in the cycle event to help raise money for us and the kids we work with.

Please help the AIC UK team reach their target by donating on their JUST GIVING page.

If you would like to know more about what we do, please visit our website or contact us via our facebook page.

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With Kids Camping Success!

The With Kids camping trip at the weekend was a total success. Our families went to Ardgartan Campsite and where made to feel very welcome.

All the families had fun and got involved in all the weekend's activities.  Our swim in Loch Long was a highlight for everyone.  On Saturday the children collected mussels, which they cleaned and when cooked they enjoyed as a tasty snack. The pesky Midges’ were out in force, but we didn’t let that spoil the fun.

We would like to offer a very special Thank You to the British Army 32 Signal Regiment, who were on their kayaks on the loch on Saturday. They were so kind in letting the children enjoy some time on the water with them. Below is a picture of some of the kids enjoying their time on the kayaks.

We would also like to thank all the families that took part and we look forward to our next camping trip. Have you ever been to Loch Long? Or have been camping recently? Please let us know if you have any comments or feedback on this post by sharing your thoughts on our facebook page or why not follow us on twitter.

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What's on at With Kids..

At With Kids, we have a variety of groups, workshops and
events that you can join in with, some of which can be seen below. We are constantly changing our programme so why not give us a call to see what's happening this month. Or if you've got an idea for a group or workshop then please contact us. These groups and classes are not just for the kids, there are different events where parents can attend, have fun and learn just as much as the kids can.

Feel free to join us on one of our Cinema Nights, these consist hotdogs, popcorn, sweets and juice for all the family. So you can snuggle up with your loved ones and watch a movie.

We currently have a number of therapists working in schools and nurseries in the East End of Glasgow. The therapists work on a one to one basis or in group sessions and can be referred to by the child themselves or by a parent, carer or teacher.

As promised we host regular Cookery Classes for Parents. Run by an experienced catering chef from our premises in Annfield Place. Classes include basic to more advanced recipes.

During the summer holidays we run a range of activities for kids and families. As well as arts, crafts, games and barbeques, we also have trips in and around Glasgow and to further afield like Millport and Loch Lomond. We've been cycling, pony trekking and visited loads of interesting places.

If you would like to be involved in any of the classes/workshops, or have any ideas of your own that you would like to suggest, then please do not hesitate to contact us.


We have more activities on, and as we said before, we are constantly updating our programme, you can find a list of what's happening in the Groups and Classes section of the website.

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