What we did in March

The Mobile Office being
shown off at the Burton Manor
Open Evening

This month Burton Manor Community Association organised an open evening to take place at Rising Brook Community Fire Station to encourage local people to join the group. There was a slide show of photographs showing what the group has achieved and it was an opportunity for local residents to get to know each other in a friendly environment over a cup of tea, ask questions and find out what the group does. 
We also introduced our Mobile Office and showcased all our involvement opportunities.


So What? A total of 15 people attended including 2 members of SARH staff, 1 volunteer, 7 members of the group, and 6 new people. The event must have been a success because the new locals showed further interest in becoming involved by turning up to the groups’ next meeting. One couple found out about SARH's
Community Learning Programme and have booked onto courses including Complementary Therapy and Grow Your Own.


Penkside Newsletter

The Community Involvement Team along with partners and volunteers have been producing the Community Newsletter for Penkside (Silkmore and Rickerscote areas of Stafford) since September 2011. We thought it was about time we went to find out if the locals read the newsletter, what they think of it, and to gather suggestions for improvement. We surveyed 49 people and on a whole the response was very positive. “I found out about the community choir. It offers help if you need it and brings the community together. I wouldn’t improve anything.” This is just one example of the benefits the newsletter has had.  We found that 34 out of the 49 read it, 32 like the design and 29 like the content. We got lots of constructive feedback too, a common suggestion being that more photographs/pictures as well as stories showing achievements would make people more likely to read the newsletter.

So What? The results have been shared with everyone who contributes to the newsletter and these suggestions for improvement can now be exercised to make it more community friendly, increase readers and in turn, increase awareness of the project and amount of involvement in the community.

Mr Myatt at the
Memory Book Session

March was another packed month for the Community Learning Programme. Six courses took place and 28 people attended: Presentation Skills, Triple P Parenting, Microsoft Word, Fire Safety, Treasurers Skills and How to make a Personalised Memory Book. A huge variety of skills and advice were shared from how to speak confidently in front of others, advice on how to manage common child behaviour problems, how to write a formal letter, how to identify fire hazards in the home and tips on keeping the accounts for a community group.

So What? Mr and Mrs Myatt frequently attend our Community Learning courses after hearing about us at Stroke Club. This month they attended ‘How to Make a Personalised Memory Book’. Afterwards, Mr Myatt told us “the session will help keep my memories alive. Thank you. I always look forward to these days. I did not think I could do half of the things that I have done”. After attending Presentation Skills, one lady told us “It will help with future interviews.

CI's report on Repairs First

The Customer Inspectors (CI's) are a group of customers who have been trained to inspect the services that SARH deliver to customers.  March has been a busy month for them as they have been finalising the report of the Repairs First (SARH’s repairs service) inspection.  In May the CIs are presenting their findings to the Leadership Team of SARH (The Chief Executive and Directors).  Improvements will then be made based on the recommendations from the CIs’ report.

Later this year we will be looking at recruiting more CIs to the team.  If you have some time to spare and would like to help improve the services customers receive from SARH, call the Community Involvement Team on 01785 216673 or email cp@sarh.co.uk .

So What? The Customer Inspectors are able to make a real difference to the services that customers receive from SARH. The report is taken seriously by the highest level of management and changes and improvements are made as a result.



Project Officer John Allen, (far Left)
 from the Asset Management Team 
 discusses a bid

The Customer Initiative Scheme was launched this month. Every year SARH make £100,000 available to communities to bid for improvements in their area.  This can be anything from landscaping a communal garden to assisting an inter-generational project (where the younger and older residents of an area are brought together for a common purpose such as creating artwork).

The deadline has now passed for this year but be sure to get thinking about possible projects for next year!  If you have any ideas and want to know if they might be suitable, or if you just want more information, contact the Community Involvement Team on 01785 216673 or email cp@sarh.co.uk.

So What? The Customer Initiative Scheme provides an opportunity for customers to annually improve the area where they live in whatever way they feel is needed.  Aiming for a common goal helps bring communities together and change the area for the better.  This is a real opportunity for customers to have a say in the way their neighbourhood develops.

Easter Event at the CRC

In March we were busy getting ready for our Community Resource Centre (CRC) Easter Event on the 2nd April. This year we thought we would do something different and have a go at "Hobby Pottery" a very popular past time in the USA. So to get our Paint Pot" event off to a good start, we went to a Stoke on Trent company called Cromartie who supply everything you need to get going. The staff there were very helpful and we now have bisque items (fired unglazed ceramic pottery), paints and the spray sealant we need for what we hope will be a different but fun event.

So what? By trying something different we hope we can encourage the local community to come together and enjoy a few simple pleasures which can lead to them having better links with others in their local community.

Katie Morton and Karen Foster
from the Independent Living Team
test drive the Mobile Office, ahead 
of the Health Promotion Events.

The Mobile Office Programme for 2012 kicked off in March with the Independent Living Team's Health Promotion which has events covering the Borough of Stafford and runs until August. Invitations went out to our customers and the first event attracted a whopping 20 customers. At these events customers receive advice and tips on how to stay healthy and get their blood pressure taken.

So What? The Mobile Office is being used by Teams to deliver services deep into the heart of our Communities - and being recognised by customers as a useful service brought right to their doorstep – we are connecting and communicating!

Our new market stall

We have negotiated with the Manager of Stafford Indoor Market to utilise a market stall to promote the work of SARH Community Involvement Team, and in March we set up our stall. We put up display boards and pop up banners and decorated tables with our key documents - the Customer Learning Programme and the A to Z of Involvement Opportunities. We also left plenty of give aways freebies like pens, rulers, post it notes etc. We re-visited a week later to find most of the freebies had been taken along with a many of our key documents so we know people are taking the opportunity to have a look at what we do.

So What? One of our key roles is to promote the opportunities for customers to get involved in shaping services and improving their communities, and securing a Market Stall is an ideal opportunity to catch busy customers who visit the Indoor Market.   

Members of the U3A

In the last blog I mentioned that the University of the third age (U3A) was using a room at our Community Resource Centre for their craft club. We are delighted to report that the numbers attending the craft club have increased dramatically and members of the group regularly tell us how much they enjoy using the facilities.

So What? The Community Resource Centre is a valuable facility that is available to communities, and it is important that we engage with all ages.



The CIT celebrating



The Community Involvement Team wins an award, and is shortlisted for another award!

We are delighted to advise that we were voted runners up for SARH's Team of the Year Award. Everyone in the organisation has the opportunity to submit an entry form and the Leadership Team make the final decision.

We treated our selves to a posh lunch at the local restaurant with our £50 prize. First prize went to our Organisational Development Team (formally the Human Resources Team) who win a fun packed team building away day, a very well done to them.


Coming up -

Charted Institute of Housing
Award

We submitted a Housing Heroes entry form to the Chartered Institute of Housing and we have been shortlisted for Tenant Empowerment Team of the Year award. We will find out how we have done when we attend the awards ceremony in London in May.... we will keep you posted!

So what? It is important and very satisfying to have your work recognised and celebrated.





Programme of week long events

We have been working with our Organisational Development Team to assist with rolling out a programme of events to celebrate Adult Learners Week commencing on the 14th May.We kick of events with an exhibition in the Town Centre and our Mobile Office takes centre stage promoting the event. Look out for posters and flyers and check out our website http://www.sarh.co.uk/for details of various events throughout the week




 CEO Karen Armitage very kindly 
gifted her prize towards the
next competition

 
And Finally, we held a competition last month amongst all SARH staff. Everyone was asked to guess how many links were in the February Blog and our very own Chief Executive Officer, Karen Armitage won the prize - a big box of chocolates. Karen usually gives out awards to staff, so it was nice to see her on the receiving end for a change. 

Sandra Shipperley signing off for March - remember to catch up with our April blog coming out soon and please feel free to comment on our blog, we appreciate feedback.