The City of Wolverhampton Council's WV Holiday Squad has become WV Virtual Squad and showcases a wide variety of arts and crafts, cooking, learning, wellbeing, sport, entertainment and music opportunities being offered by local, national and international organisations.
Full details of the activities and events available can be found on the WV Virtual Squad website with more being added all the time.
As well as Wulfrunians, people from nearly 60 countries around the world have logged onto the website, including the USA, Canada, Australia, Spain and France. Organisations which have online activities or events which they would like adding to WV Virtual Squad are asked to do so via the website as soon as possible.
The WV Virtual Squad will be in operation throughout the coronavirus emergency, not only providing opportunities for children and young people throughout the Easter holidays, but also in the weeks afterwards.
Councillor John Reynolds, the City of Wolverhampton Council’s Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said: "We’ve had a great response to the launch of the WV Virtual Squad – we’ve had around 13,000 unique visitors to the website from people not just in Wolverhampton, but all around the world.
“And with more activities being added every day, there’s plenty to keep children, young people and families entertained even in these most challenging of times. Please check out the website and join the WV Virtual Squad today!"
Local organisations involved in WV Virtual Squad include WV Active, The Way Youth Zone, Wolverhampton Library Service, Wolverhampton Music Service, HeadStart Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton Wanderers, InPower Academy and the Babies’ Academy of Music. There are also activities provided by national and international organisations including the BBC, Edinburgh Zoo and even NASA.
Meanwhile, there's still time for children and young people to enter two WV Virtual Squad competitions. In the first, children are invited to design and colour their own Easter egg. There are 3 age groups, 5 and under, 6 to 9 and 10 to 12 years, and the winner in each group will receive a £20 Amazon voucher.
The second competition calls on young people aged 13 to 18 to write a rap, song or poem, or create a poster, gif or TikTok video on the theme of social distancing and why they’re staying inside this Easter. There are £30, £20 and £10 Amazon vouchers up for grabs for the top 3 entries.
The closing date for entries is Friday 24 April, with the winners being announced the following week. For full details, and to enter, please visit Competition.
The latest information and guidance around coronavirus is available at GOV.UK and on the council’s own coronavirus pages at Coronavirus advice and information. There’s lots of advice on how people can protect themselves and their families from coronavirus from the NHS at Advice for everyone – Coronavirus (COVID-19).
The council’s Stay Safe, Be Kind campaign offers clear and simple advice about how people can help themselves, and how they can support others who may be particularly vulnerable at this time. For more information, please visit Stay Safe, Be Kind.
