Liverpool charity The Rotunda celebrates its work and women at special event this Friday

There will be arts activities, wellbeing help and advice, a networking event, a guest speaker and more at the day-long venture to mark International Women’s Day.

Liverpool charity The Rotunda is hosting a special event this Friday to highlight its work and welcome more women to the Kirkdale centre.

Jane Eccleston, co-ordinator of the Rotunda’s Women’s Hub is hoping women from across the city will attend.

“You don’t often see too many Women’s Day events held locally and this is a chance to mark International Women’s Day itself and celebrate what we do at The Women’s Hub and The Rotunda.

“The Rotunda has been going for more than 30 years and, while it’s well-known around the Kirkdale area, it’s not quite as well-known beyond that, so this is a chance to come and meet other women, and to see and meet us and find out more.

Jane Eccleston. Image provided by The Rotunda.

“You can just pop in for one or two activities, or you can make a day of it.”

Other than a healthy lunch special in the bistro, everything will be free throughout the event which will go on from 10am to 3.30pm.

“It will be an informal day which we hope will be fun and interesting, and a chance for women to get together and support each other – something women do very well,” adds Jane.

The Rotunda Women’s Hub is part of the wider Rotunda charity based in Great Mersey Street which has been providing education and learning opportunities, as well as community events, skills workshops, a food bank, great green space and more, for more than three decades.

The Women’s Hub has only been going two years, one with former head teacher Jane at the helm, but is already having an impact on the lives of women across Liverpool.

Principally, the Women’s Hub is a place women can go to to get help with further education, training, voluntary work, or employment.

And each person who is eligible to attend gets support tailored just for them from Jane.

She says: “I use the GROW coaching model to identify the steps a person needs to take to achieve their aim or goal, and these steps can be very small.

The Women's Hub . Image provided by The Rotunda. — The Women’s Hub . Image provided by The Rotunda.

“Sometimes the smallest step is the right direction ends up being the biggest step of someone’s life. I always say tiptoe if you must – but take a step.

“Women come here from a range of backgrounds,” continues Jane. “Some feel isolated because they have got young children and no support networks around them, others have had challenging experiences and are doing their level best to turn things around, and some are non-native speakers who are trying to forge a life here.

“There are women who have felt that their job was to bring up a family and are now being encouraged by grown up children to get out there and learn new skills for work, and others who perhaps didn’t do so well at school.

“Many lack confidence. Some women just want to meet others to support their wellbeing – on a Monday it’s drop-in and we’ll often go for tea and a chat in the café.

“There are formal courses and support, and not so formal too. It depends on each individual and what she wants … there is a multitude of reasons why people come here.”

To be eligible for the Women’s Hub programme you need to be 19 and over, female, and in receipt of work-related benefits.

“Although some are just above the threshold and are in a different situation,” says Jane. “We’re here to give practical help and advice to those who want it, and to those who simply want their hand held for a while, we’ll do that too.”

If you’re interested in signing up, you can pop along to The Rotunda and talk to a member of staff, call them on 0151 207 2176, email them at womenshub@therotunda.org.uk, or apply using an online form on their website here.

“But anyone is welcome to come along on Friday and celebrate International Women’s Day with us, so we look forward to seeing as many women as possible.”