Living and Working in Stafford Borough

On 22^nd October Stafford and Rural Homes (SARH) attended the Ministry Of Defences Living and Working Fair to give housing and employment advice and information to the armed forces.  The fair was held to support those leaving the services find employment, housing and opportunities in the borough of Stafford.  Over 60 local organisations attended.

By visiting the SARH stand serving personnel and their families could find out information on what SARH had to offer.  From purchasing shared ownership properties or renting a home, understanding the wide range of vacancies offered within the organisation, a Times top 100 Company.  How SARH could support job searching at the Job Club at the Community Resource Centre and on the Branching Out project.  Develop skills through training and learning on the Community Learning Programme and volunteering opportunities.   SARH had it all covered at the one stop pop up shop.  If you would like to find out more about Branching Out-helping young people get on the career ladder and parents back into work  after having a family give us a call on 0800111 4554.  Why not attend our drop in job club for support to improve your employability on Monday, Wednesday and Friday 10-12 at 56 Greyfriars, Stafford, ST16 2RG.

 

So what?:  By attending events, the wider community are able to find out the whole offer of what Stafford and Rural Homes can provide, creating great places to live, work and grow.

 

 

 

 

More for your money: The event provided a great opportunity for networking with the 60+ stand holders who were in attendance.

 

Community Safety Day

The team attended Staffordshire Fire and Rescues Community Safety Day on 1st October 2015 in both Stafford and Stone promoting projects to communities in the area.

Stafford’s Wellbeing mile

This event was to encourage all members of the local community to participate In completing a mile long circuit around a carefully chosen route at Rising Brook Baptist Church and neighbouring green space.  The Wellbeing Mile was completed by any willing members of the Community by any means.  Ranging from buggy strolls to members of the local running club completing as many laps as possible.  For each Community member that completed the Well Being Mile it was counted up towards the total miles completed.  After the end of the event the area with the most miles wins the community prize donated by Tesco.  The prize is a High Tea” afternoon where Tesco provide supporting staff and all provisions, i.e. Tea, Coffee and Cakes/Biscuits/Buns etc.

Several local organisations had stand inside rising Brook Baptist Church relating to community safety and wellbeing. 

Stone

Local organisations were on hand to answer questions about their services in Stone.  The Growing Health project (a partnership project between Stafford and Rural Homes and Stafford borough Council) was offered to Stone families local to Priory Road who wanted to learn more about growing fruit and vegetables.  The project will see former wasteland transformed into allotment plots for families and local community groups who will help clear the land then work with a mentor to develop the skills to plan and manage a plot over the growing season.

So What?  Customers can access services directly on their doorstep, events like this are great opportunities for people to find out about projects they can get involved with close to home.

 

 

 

 

More for your money:  By attending these types of events great working partnerships are formed between organisations enabling joint working to tackle common objectives.

 

Halloween Spooktacular

 

 

Stone residents who engaged in the Growing Health project had a real Trick or treat taking part in an organised pumpkin carving session at Trentham Garden Centre.

The activity was a bit of fun for Halloween but also enabled the group to come together and form friendships to help build the Growing Health community allotment.

The project brings local families together to clear local unused land to transform into community allotment plots.  Once the land is cleared it will be divided into 10 plots for both local families and community groups.  Over the growing season 2016 they will work closely with an allotment mentor who will help families and groups plan their plots and plant out.  A number of sessions will be delivered to instruct what to plant and when, how to deal with pests and when to harvest.  Other community allotment sites include Meadow Road, Barlaston and Adamthwaite Drive, Blythe Bridge.  If you are interested in an allotment plot please contact the Community Involvement team on 0800 111 4554 or email cp@sarh.co.uk

Remember you can eat carving pumpkins however this variety is grown for size and strength for carving and the flesh is not considered to be as tasty as other varieties- add some flavour with garlic, cumin or curry powder.  Whilst in season why not try making some pumpkin soup.

 

Easy Pumpkin Soup Recipe

·         4 tbsp olive oil

·         2 onions, finely chopped

·         1kg pumpkins or squash (try kabocha), peeled, deseeded and chopped into chunks

·         700ml vegetable stock or chicken stock

·         142ml pot double cream

Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large saucepan, then gently cook 2 finely chopped onions for 5 mins, until soft but not coloured. Add 1kg peeled, deseeded and chopped pumpkin or squash to the pan, then carry on cooking for 8-10 mins, stirring occasionally until it starts to soften and turn golden.

Pour 700ml vegetable stock into the pan, then season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 10 mins until the squash is very soft. Pour the 142ml pot of double cream into the pan, bring back to the boil, then purée with a hand blender. For an extra-velvety consistency you can now push the soup through a fine sieve into another pan. The soup can now be frozen for up to 2 months.

So What? Creating activitiesthe family can do together improves family time together strengthening relationships.
 

 

     More for your money: By working with local businesses we can offer a wider range of services working to shared goals and common themes

 

 

      Creepy Crafts and Spooky Cook made for a terrifying Friday

 

 

 

 

 

     On Friday the 30th October we started our terrifying Friday off in the morning at Stafford Children’s Centre on Faraday Road with Creepy Crafts!   The children had the opportunity to make two creepy Halloween decorations, a spider and a scary ghost.  As well as the crafts there was bob apple, eat the doughnut off the ribbon and pin the spider on the web.  In the afternoon we moved onto Stafford Manor High School for Spooky Cook!  While the mum’s were cooking a vegetable curry the children were really busy making monster cress heads or constructing mini pizzas with muffin bases which were cooked there making a tasty snack!.  They also made fruit skewers and for the very brave there was a scary food tasting going for everything from pomegranate, lychees, persimmon and papaya.  You will be glad to hear that everyone survived this full on scary Friday!
At the end of each session every child went away with a zombie hand full of wicked sweets!

     If you want to know more please contact the Community Involvement Team on 0800 111 4554 or email cp@sarh.co.uk


       So What?  Getting parents and children playing together is good fun for all as well as educational encouraging interaction within the family and within the community.
 
      More for your Money: This helped parents with limited budgets entertain their children allowing them to have fun while learning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

     Dates for your diary

 

      Feel Good Food calendar is brimming with loads of interesting sessions up to the end of January 2016. 
November sees the start of the FREE ‘Healthy You’ group every Tuesday morning 10 to 11.30am at the Signpost Centre on Highfield.  By supporting the group to make small changes each week to their eating habits the aim is to help the attendees to follow a healthy balanced diet while cooking on a budget and learning new tasty recipes.  Not only will this improve health but also reduce waist lines!
There will be monthly cooking sessions at Stafford Manor High School with themes of ‘Cooking with Left Overs’ to ‘Batch Cooking for a Healthy 2016’.  These will run 4.30 to 5.30pm with everyone leaving the session with a healthy meal to share with their family. 
For a full breakdown of what is going on please look at the attached calendar.

 

 

    

  

     So What?  Encouraging people to make healthy life style choices through groups and sessions that educate as well as being fun ensure that this progress will be sustainable.

     More for your Money:  By empowering and supporting individuals to make positive decisions relating to their health and wellbeing this will also positively influence other areas of their lives.  By being healthier this will also have a positive impact within the community.

 

     

 

   

   

 

 

     Working with new mums

 

 

     As part to the Feel Good Food project, Kate Chester the Community Nutrition Worker, is involved with a group of pregnant teenagers who meet up at Silkmore Children’s Centre.   Kate will be helping these young mums to make healthy life style choices which they will pass onto their families.  They will be encouraged to write weekly menus and learn to cook healthy meals on a budget.  By eating a healthy and nutritious diet while pregnant this will be beneficial for both mother and baby plus reinforce healthy life style choices once the baby is born.

  

   

     So What?  Encouraging people to make healthy life style choices through groups and sessions that educate as well as being fun ensure that this progress will be sustainable.

    More for your Money:  Individuals are going to be able to budget and make positive choices helping to reduce their need for support.

 

     





     If you want any more information about any of the events that have already happened or that are coming up in the future please do not hesitate to contact us on:

      cp@sarh.co.uk or call us on
0800 111 4554

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    



















   
       If you want to know more about the community involvement team and the projects we deliever please contact the Community Involvement Team on 0800 111 4554 or email cp@sarh.co.uk.