July 2026: Summer Fun, Community Spirit and Inspiring Moments

July has been another fantastic month across Independence Support, with clients and colleagues making the most of the summer through days out, gardening projects, baking sessions, fundraising events and plenty of opportunities to come together as a community.

One project that united every one of our supported living services this month was our ISL Bunting Project. Clients from across the organisation designed their own unique bunting flags, each showcasing their creativity, personality and what makes their service special. The designs will now be combined to create colourful ISL bunting that will be displayed across our services – a wonderful way to celebrate individuality while bringing everyone together.

Here’s a look at what everyone has been up to throughout July.

Crewecial Crisis Café

There was plenty of fun to be had at Crewecial Crisis Café this month.

Clients welcomed a very special new mascot, Fudge, who helped spread important heatwave safety messages during the amber weather warning. Thanks to his popularity, Fudge has now been turned into an official ISL cartoon mascot and will continue helping us share wellbeing advice in the future.

The café also enjoyed a busy day of baking a homemade blackberry crumble using berries picked nearby, alongside games, arts and crafts, karaoke and a mini disco that had everyone singing and dancing together.

Baking group remained as popular as ever too, with clients creating delicious French crêpes with their favourite toppings, followed later in the month by a beautifully baked blueberry loaf.

Tranmere

Our Tranmere clients made the most of the summer sunshine with some lovely trips out together.

There was a relaxing afternoon at Eastham Ferry enjoying drinks in the sunshine, followed by a visit to Walton Hall Gardens where clients met some adorable animals – including peacock chicks!

Alsager

There was a fantastic atmosphere at Alsager throughout the Women’s World Cup, with clients gathering in the communal area to watch England’s matches together on the projector screen.

The service also hosted a brilliant Summer Fun Day featuring live music from the Making Noise group, a delicious BBQ, Australian Summer Christmas songs and a fundraising tombola in aid of Alsager Foodbank. It was a wonderful day full of laughter, music and community spirit.

Cross Green

Clients at Cross Green continue to enjoy coming together for regular communal meals. This month everyone tucked into a classic favourite of sausage, chips and beans while enjoying each other’s company.

Sandbach

July was another busy month at Sandbach.

Clients and colleagues cooked up a delicious homemade salt and pepper chicken, receiving rave reviews from everyone who tried it.

The gardening project is continuing to flourish, with donated flowers blooming beautifully alongside tomatoes, chillies and impressive sunflowers beginning to grow.

There were also plenty of laughs during a paper aeroplane challenge. While a couple flew brilliantly, others were perhaps a little less successful, with one client joking that the captain had declared, “Brace, brace, brace!”

One of the funniest moments of the month came when client Floyd convinced almost everyone on our internal communications platform that Deputy Manager Wes had caught a giant canal carp known as “The Elworth Monster”. The photo looked incredibly convincing until Floyd later revealed it had been created using AI—followed by another image of Wes proudly holding a shopping trolley he had apparently “caught” too! Safe to say everyone enjoyed being part of the joke.

Clients also came together to enjoy a traditional meal of Jollof rice with turkey and Titus fish, giving everyone the opportunity to experience new flavours and cooking techniques.

Stoke

The gardening project at Stoke continues to produce fantastic results.

One client proudly harvested an enormous courgette before turning it into a delicious dinner by stuffing it with rice and cheese—a perfect reward after months of caring for the vegetable patch.

Middlewich

Creativity was flowing at Middlewich as client Kilo explored his artistic talents by creating decorative masks from polystyrene. Known for his fantastic graffiti-style artwork, Kilo thoroughly enjoyed trying something new and produced some brilliant creations.

Macclesfield

The tomatoes at Macclesfield have finally begun to appear after months of care from clients and colleagues.

The team also enjoyed a brilliant evening at the Shine A Light Festival, making the most of the sunshine with music, dancing and burgers together.

Chapel

Client MS continues to push himself outside of his comfort zone with the support of Support Worker Shalini.

This month they enjoyed a fantastic hiking trip to the stunning Malham Cove, meeting new people and embracing the challenge together.

The pair have also returned to playing tennis after a short break and continue to enjoy developing their skills together.

Blackpool

This month’s most inspiring story came from our Blackpool service.

Two of our clients showed incredible bravery after noticing two young girls struggling in the sea. Without hesitation, they entered the water and safely brought both girls back to their parents.

Their courage, quick thinking and selflessness have rightly earned them both an ISL Courage Award. We couldn’t be prouder.

Morley

The garden at Morley continues to grow into a beautiful outdoor space.

Clients have been planting new flowers, growing potatoes and installing colourful solar-powered hot air balloon lights, creating a peaceful place for everyone to relax and enjoy throughout the summer.

York

Clients enjoyed another busy month together at York.

Baking sessions produced some delicious vegan Biscoff oat bars, while a museum visit gave clients the chance to explore York’s Viking history, dinosaur exhibitions and fascinating deep-sea displays.

Back at the service, everyone enjoyed a competitive evening of Monopoly, bringing plenty of laughter to the communal area.

York also hosted a fantastic Summer Fun Day in support of their charity partner, St Nicks, raising an incredible £160. Clients enjoyed games, activities, tasty treats, specially designed T-shirts and plenty of smiles throughout the day.

Burton

Our Burton service continues to settle in brilliantly.

Clients and colleagues came together to watch the Women’s World Cup semi-final in the communal area, complete with player masks and lots of team spirit as they cheered England on together.

Rathmell

Rathmell hosted a wonderful Summer Fun Day in support of their charity partner, Equine Pathways.

Clients spent time meeting the therapy horses before enjoying delicious cakes, bratwursts, fundraising games and a tombola back at the service. Wellness goodie bags were also handed out, making it a fantastic day that combined fundraising, wellbeing and community spirit.

Rapid Response

July marked an exciting milestone for our Rapid Response service with the arrival of its very first ISL-owned Ford Tourneo.

Purpose-built to support the continued development of our specialist Rapid Response service, the new vehicle represents another important investment in delivering safe, secure and compassionate mental health transport across our NHS partnerships. Rapid Response Manager Paul had the honour of taking it out on its very first journey.

Head Office

Head Office colleagues completed an incredible charity Step Challenge throughout July, walking an astonishing 5.2 million steps—the equivalent of approximately 2,386 miles.

Not only did the team exceed their walking target, they also smashed their fundraising goal, raising an amazing £1,540 for our charity partners across the North of England. Every penny raised will help support the fantastic work these organisations continue to do within their local communities.

You can read the full story over on our dedicated Step Challenge blog.

Looking Back on July

From inspiring acts of bravery and exciting new milestones to creative projects, fundraising and summer adventures, July has once again been packed with memorable moments across Independence Support.

A huge thank you to all of our clients, colleagues, families, volunteers and community partners for helping make another wonderful month. We look forward to sharing even more stories with you in our August Round-Up.