Wednesday 27 June 2012

Out and About - come rain or shine!

The 2nd Meadow Road Community Games 

 

Scaling new heights!
The 7th June saw the 2nd Meadow Road Community Games,  despite the pouring rain we still had over 100 people attend and enjoy the climbing wall, golf, dance mats, face painting and dance displays by Dance Fusion.   Work starts now with our partners in this event (Stafford Borough Council and the Penkside Champions) for next year and we will remember to order better weather this time!

If you are a regular reader of the Blog you will know we like to ask ourselves the same question after everything we do....  'So What?'  It helps us to focus on the purpose of our events and how we could do things better in the future!

So What?
Working in partnership with other organizations helps us reach local communities which sometimes don’t have the opportunities to engage with each other whilst linking directly to the Health and Wellbeing agenda.

Dance Fusion proving rain doesn't
have to dampen communtiy spirit!

Reaching out to our Rural Neighbourhoods


Over the last month or so we have been taking our Mobile Office out to talk to members of our communities in Milwich, Gnosall and Eccleshall. 

Milwich Pre-School approached us at the end of 2011 about a strip of unused and overgrown land behind the Village Hall. Since then we have worked with the school, teachers, parents and local councillors to transform the area into a safe and attractive garden where the children have already started growing cabbages, beans, courgettes, chives, marigolds, geraniums and more. 

Milwich Allotment
The site has been named the ‘John Babb Memorial Garden’, after a dedicated community volunteer who sadly passed away earlier this year. Over 50 people turned up to the Launch Event which was also a Big Lunch Jubilee Celebration where all the children were dressed as Kings and Queens. We were there with our Jubilee themed Mobile Office giving out SARH goody bags and promoting our services.

In Eccleshall we based the Mobile Office alongside the Student Firefighter Appliance on our 2 largest neighbourhoods and welcomed over 40 customers to tell us about any issues they had in the area, get fire safety risk checks and take part in some quizzes.

At The Burgage in Eccleshall
As part of the celebrations for the Queens Diamond Jubilee the residents local to the Impstones Community Room, Gnosall put on a ‘Big Lunch Event’with the help of the Community Involvement Team .  This was part of a nationwide campaign to get communities joining in with the national festivities by arranging their own local party.  Apart from a fabulous spread of food, there was a Jubilee quiz and a special visitor to the party. Can you spot her in the photograph?

Partying with Royalty in
Gnosall!
So What?
These sort of events really bring communities, big or small, together.  By offering opportunities to celebrate national events  on their doorstep we are underlining our commitment to engage with all SARH communities at a local level at a time and place that suits them.

You can see more photos of these events in our Flickr Gallery below: www.flickr.com/photos/staffordandruralhomes

In July we will be heading out to Great Haywood so watch this space!

Adult Learners Week

 

Adult Learners Week in
Stafford Market Square
Adult Learners Week took place from 14th – 18th May. We linked up with a number of partner organisations from Stafford to promote and encourage all kinds of adult learning. There was Effective Job Hunting, An Introduction to Care Work and Face Painting sessions, attended by 25 people. Free hand massages and a family history session are examples of other activities taking place at Stafford Market and Stafford Town Centre. Through the week we spoke to over 200 people and gave out plenty of SARH goody bags. Representatives from Stafford Borough Council, Staffordshire County Council, Staffordshire University, NHS, Stafford Fire and Rescue Service, Whitebeam Holistic, University of the 3rd Age, Stafford FM, and Carers Association Southern Staffordshire (CASS) all had involvement in the week.

So What?
SARH did lots of networking and partnership building throughout the week. The mobile office was out in the community attracting attention and raising our profile. Due to a high demand the Effective Job Hunting taster session resulted in an extended 3 week course which has taken place during June. 


Olympic Torch


The CRC get into the Olympic spirit!
On Wednesday 30th May the Olympic Torch Relay came past the Community Resource Centre (CRC) at Greyfriars so we joined in with the celebrations, decorated the windows put the bunting out and generally got into the spirit of the day!  We handed out flags, light refreshments and SARH goodie bags all of which were received well. 

So What? 
Stafford and Rural Homes and the local community were brought together for one day to celebrate and recognize the start of an important summer of events for the Nation.  Our team of volunteers again assisted us in engaging and involving the wider community.

Lipsticks and Dipsticks


Christine getting to know the Mobile Office 
Community Involvement Team members Pam and Christine got their overalls on and got stuck in to learning how to maintain the mobile office. The session took place at C & S Haynes car garage in Silverdale, Newcastle Under-Lyme. They offer free training taught by women, for women. Pam and Christine learnt all the basics including how to check the oil, put new wiper blades on, check tyre treads and change a wheel. You can find out more by liking their facebook page:


http://www.facebook.com/pages/C-S-Haynes-Ltd/172801776109849

So What?
The team can now make regular checks on the mobile office to make sure it’s topped up and healthy. Maintaining a vehicle properly is very important to make sure it stays in working order, helps to avoid unnecessary problems and this is particularly important as we use it so much in our rural areas.

Community Learning Programme


Grow Your Own
During May, 39 people attended 4 different courses - Microsoft Excel, An Introduction to Fundraising, Face Painting and Grow Your Own. A wide variety of skills were shared from making spreadsheets to planting tomatoes. Miss Edwards told us the Grow Your Own course “will help me to look after my garden better”. Mrs Myatt who attended Face Painting said she “can’t wait to use her skills on the girls at Brownies” and Mrs Burt who attended an Introduction to Fundraising is “more confident to fill in application forms for future funding”.

So What?
People have gained a wide range of skills and new hobbies. Mr Burns has attended all of the IT courses including Microsoft Excel. Before this he had never used a computer and didn’t even know how to use a mouse. He created a spreadsheet and practiced using formulas. He also had a bit of time left to practice using the internet. He said he would like to buy a laptop now he feels confident enough to use one.


Stafford Art goes on tour!

Students visiting Lichfield Court
Students from Sir Graham Balfour School came along to some of our Independent Living Schemes to show off the work that they did with some of our customers last year.  Funded by the Customer Initiative Scheme the students spent their half term working with residents on pieces of art to reflect the past and present times of Stafford and what Stafford meant to them.  many wrote about their family, friends and hobbies but all reflected a great deal of love and pride for where they live.  Some fantastic pieces were created and they are currently being taken around to other schemes before being returned to the students to take home.

So What?
By bringing older and younger generations together to work on a common project we are bridging the gap that often exists between generations.  This helps to challenge stereotypes and build a stronger community bond.

COMING SOON...


From our Community Learning Programme:



  • We will be heading out with our Mobile Office to Great Haywood and other rural locations later in the year!
  • In August we are sponsoring an event at Stafford Castle - more information coming soon!
  • We are currently recruiting some new Customer Inspectors to help us improve the services our customers receive.  For more information please email: cp@sarh.co.uk or call 01785 216673.
Youth Groups Answers:
For those of you interested in the solution to the Youth Group Problems in the March Blog the answers are as follows...
Q1        The man has a sister who is a surgeon
Q2        The law

*** STOP PRESS ***

Our partners the Penkside Champions have commissioned some Keep Fit Classes to be held in their community!
Keep Fit for Beginners
Mondays 2-3pm, July 9 until August 13 (more classes may follow)
£2 per class
Silkmore Children’s Centre
Led by  Abbi Tyson
For more information:

abbi@athealth.co.uk or call 07896 259735


That is all for this time!  See you soon and if you have any ideas for future Blogs please do not hesitate to get in touch!
AMc
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