Key facts
Area: Bristol
Grant recipient: Light Box
Project: The Happiness Project
Programme: Reaching Communities
Date of award: June 2012
Amount awarded: £199,372
Light Box Project is a not for profit Community Interest Company and is run by three core staff with a team of volunteers. They are based on the first floor of The Galleries Shopping Centre, Broadmead, Bristol. The project brings Bristol a resource dedicated to increasing the strength and happiness of the city’s population.
Light Box provides a supportive environment for socially isolated people who can meet others in a safe space, engage in group discussions and be creative; the workshops help to improve their social confidence. This approach brings people of all experiences and backgrounds together promoting social inclusion.
In June 2012 they received a Big Lottery Fund grant of £199,372 through Reaching Communities to continue and expand an existing project to develop mental well-being in the Bristol community.
Lucy Duggan Head of Business Development says:
“The Big Lottery support we are receiving through the Reaching Communities fund has made the simple difference between the Light Box Happiness Project continuing or closing down. We feel like we have hit upon a unique, inexpensive and really effective approach to promoting public mental health, one that we imagine could be applied nationally one day. The support we are getting is giving us a chance to build on our success and plan a sustainable future for this enterprise.”
The Happiness Project runs workshops to promote health and well being that increase strength and happiness to the mind. They are a fun and accessible way to learn about how to boost well-being. They explore ten different themes taken from Applied Positive Psychology All the workshops take place in the Light Box shop, which provide information, group discussion and creativity. Everyone takes home something to remind them of their time at Light Box whether it’s a gratitude book that they’ve made or a jade plant to nurture.
The Light Box’s vision is a world where people value mental well-being, creating strong and happy lives.
Sarah a Light Box participant says:
“Light Box has helped me make a significant difference to my life. I have been receiving counseling and by coming to the workshops I have developed in different areas of my life. I believe that attending the workshops is really helping towards my growth and recovery. Since I've been attending, my anxiety levels have reduced and I am learning so much about myself, learning to accept and be kind to myself, learning that I am worthwhile. A major breakthrough for me is that I have finally discovered, after years, that I do have some qualities and I am learning to accept this and that I am ok as a person. “
The Light Box is run by three staff and volunteers. Some of the volunteers have attended the Happiness Project as participants and come back to help out where they can. As well as making a difference to others, it has been found that volunteering can help to increase skills, confidence and self-esteem.
Alice Hickson a volunteer at the Happiness Project says:
“Volunteering on the Happiness Project helps me to grow and have pride in myself, as well as learning how a community project like this is run. It’s helping people make changes in their lives and I am proud to be a part of it.”
Watch our short video to find out more about the Light Box and their Happiness Project.
You can also see more images from Light Box’s Gratitude Workshop.