At the end of November we had a visit from Greater Manchester Police, East Salford Division.  They brought along some new recruits to talk about what it is GEARS+ does and how we can be of mutual benefit to each other.

December saw us having our second Annual General Meeting, the report is available for viewing on this website, the meeting was well attended and the buffet, from Liz's cafe, very well received! Trish Bartlett (CEO) took the opportunity to thank all of the team and the board for their efforts, and also took time to welcome the newer members of the team.

 On Sunday 6th December team member Jonathan Flynn donned a red Father Christmas outfit and got into the christmas spirit by taking part in a 3km jog at Salford Quays in aid of the British Heart Foundation.  At 10.45am a sea of red running santas set off, Jonathan completed the run and raised around £50 for the BHF charity.

December 2009,  a staff development day saw the whole team heading off to the beach!  The challenge was to make something in the workshop to cook on and then make everyones lunch.  After a hefty lunch of chicken kebabs, cheese fondue, bread and soup, Dave Eccleston (Special Projects Co-Ordinator) and Trish Bartlett (CEO) set the rest of the team to work on the beach with a metal detector.  There were fourteen pieces of metal to find each with a letter on, once all of them had been found the letters needed arranging.  It spelt HAPPY CHRISTMAS!  The day was enjoyed by all the team.  (More pictures are available in the gallery)

The beginning of 2010 saw us welcoming the Salford Advertiser.  Reporter Kate Watkins visited the premises at Orchard Street and tried her hand at a variety of things, including plasma cutting.  The article was featured in the Salford Advertiser on Thursday 21st January 2010 and all the team were excited to see GEARS+featuring on the front page.