A NEW charity has unveiled its mission to set up grassroots groups to run free fun activities in the town.

One Okehampton held its official launch at The Fountain Inn on Wednesday evening last week.

The charity, which aims to help more people get involved with town life, was behind the successful Elf Outpost and festive markets held in the town centre before Christmas.

‘Our sole aim is to make ourselves redundant,’ said founder Rebecca Green. ‘We will set up groups, give them the help and support they need to get themselves established, then leave them to it. We are quite good at making things happen that people say won’t work.

‘Our biggest aim is inclusion and the reduction of loneliness. We believe that if people feel valued and happy in the place where they live, then they are more likely to come out and have something to do with the place where they live.’

Just recently, One Okehampton helped start a vegan group in the town and a food club, which sees surplus food from a supermarket that would otherwise be thrown away being distributed to anyone who can use it.

The food, which varies from week to week, is distributed from the Masonic Lodge in Okehampton at 5.45pm every Sunday, with updates posted on the One Okehampton Facebook page. ‘This isn’t food for the needy, it is food for whoever wants to come and get it,’ said Rebecca. ‘It is about keeping food out of skips. But having said that, we have found that those in need do come and get the food, because there is no stigma attached to it. They are doing us a favour.’

Rebecca told the meeting that other plans in the pipeline included an Alternative History Trail, a booklet for tourists to tell some of the forgotten stories of Okehampton, including a jewellery heist. ‘We want to bring those stories alive,’ she said. The One Okehampton charity began as a group of people who got together to run markets to bring people into the town on Sundays last summer.

This led to the Christmas project, which saw charity members and supporters dress as elves and welcome children to their Elf Outpost in the Red Lion Yard.

This was part of festive markets which brought 10,000 people into the town to shop over four weekends.

• The next event will be a coffee morning in the Charter Hall on Saturday, February 3 from 9am to 12 noon, which is offering free stalls to charities. Find out more on the One Okehampton Facebook page.