intheknow

newsletter winter 2014

Volunteer Event

Fundraising Focus

Benefit Checks

..and much more

The Cherry Tree’s Poet and Artist

Winter Warmth Tips

AGM Workshop

Arundel Community Window

Featured inside:

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2 Age UK West Sussex winter 2014

Recent events

Ice-Breaking Events

Two of this year’s events involved

exciting ice-breaker exercises and

fun workshops which got everyone

talking, laughing and sharing ideas

about Age UK West Sussex.

Volunteer Event

Our volunteer event on 4 June at

Field Place in Worthing was

designed to give our volunteers a

chance to get to know each other,

voice their opinions and be heard.

After rating how they were feeling as

they started the day on a star-chart,

volunteers took part in the first ice-

breaker of the day. It saw everyone

meeting fellow volunteers and

making introductions based on what

they had for breakfast that morning.

Once laughter from the ice-breaker

had died down, Diane welcomed

everyone and thanked our team of

volunteers for their ongoing

commitment; the charity would not

exist without their work.

Volunteers were then asked to

attach a sticky note with all the

positive and negative aspects of

their roles to a silhouette of a

volunteer. The number of positive

aspects far outweighed the negative

and included making new friends,

mixing with people of all ages, giving

something back, working with

personal abilities in new ways and

learning to adapt to change.

Alongside discussions about who

our customers are, there were

shared ideas about ways to improve

the experience of being a volunteer,

these included group meetings or

forums, using people’s individual

skills and seeking feedback.

The day ended with a choice of

playing pitch and putt or taking part

in a quiz before everyone returned

to the star chart to rate their feelings.

There had been a rise from 63% to

91% of people feeling either good or

very good during the day, with most

saying very good. What a fantastic

day with our volunteers.

If you would like to volunteer or are

a current volunteer and want to join

our volunteer working party to

develop the volunteer charter please

let your local centre manager know

or send and email to:

admin@ageukwestsussex.org.uk.

AGM Workshop

The AGM took place on 24

September at The Redwood Activity

Centre. The day of the AGM was

filled with activities, laughter and

delicious food as part of an Involving

Older People workshop.

We invited Age UK West Sussex

activity centre members, volunteers,

customers from our one-to-one

services and professionals from

other organisations to take part in

the workshop, which focused on

levels of engagement with the way

the charity runs.

The day included a summary from

Diane about funding as well as

feedback from our volunteer event

and staff conference, before the

popular ice-breakers. Great fun was

had making flags for Age UK West

Sussex like the ones below.

The flag exercise highlighted how

vital participants find the centres as

places to go for friendship, fun and

food as well as highlighting the

centres’ activities and accessibility.

As a result of the workshop we have

increased the number of newsletters

throughout the year; are setting up

customer forums; have increased

use of social media (see the back

page for our Facebook and Twitter

details) and will continue to improve

the way we communicate. Thank

you to everyone involved for

creating such fun, informative days.

In our latest edition of intheknow we have listened to the feedback

from our AGM workshop and are focusing the newsletter more on

our customers, celebrating the wonderful things they do and ways

they help us shape the way we work.

CEO Diane Henderson and all the staff at Age UK West Sussex

would like to wish everyone a happy and healthy 2015.

Participants of the Volunteer Event

www.ageukwestsussex.org.uk 3

Customer Focus

The Cherry Tree artist

Bob Scott, 76, has lunch with friends

most Thursdays at The Cherry Tree

Activity Centre and takes part in the

centre’s art classes on Fridays.

Eighteen months ago, Bob first

visited The Cherry Tree on the

advice of his doctor. He had been

part of a regimental association but it

was a distance from his home and

because of his degenerative joint

disorder, Bob and his doctor felt a

closer social hub would be more

suited to his changing lifestyle. The

Cherry Tree then gained one of its

most poetic and artistic customers.

Bob brings a wealth of experience to

the Burgess Hill activity centre,

having previously been a boxer, a

keen cyclist and, during his time in

the army, a long-distance runner.

Bob says: “We come to the Cherry

Tree and 6 to 8 of us take part in art

classes. It’s so peaceful and

relaxing. When I’m here I feel more

relaxed and by the time I go home, I

feel a weight has been lifted off me.”

Bob is especially impressed by the

centre’s art-group leader, Billy Bond

of Burgess Hill Artists, who he feels

is an artist who helps the group

expand their range rather than a

teacher. He says: “Billy gives her

expert advice if you ask, she doesn’t

lecture. I’m amazed how I’ve really

improved since I’ve been here.”

While his passion for art was one of

the things that led Bob to The Cherry

Tree, he is also a respected

researcher who has helped Balls

Falls Museums in

Canada collate

information about

Sir Isaac Brock,

who defended

Canada against the

Americans in the

War of 1812. Bob’s

link via his own

regiment with

Brock’s

amalgamated

regiments, the 49th

and 66th of Foot, led

him to connect with

Linda Stanley, founder of Canadian

Art Cards, who raises awareness of

both Canadian art and the War of

1812 at which Brock was killed.

Linda was put in touch with

Bob by the museum to help

her finish researching a

pictorial history book for

children.

Since working together on

the book, Linda now

champions both Bob’s

research and his poetry,

another skill which is

celebrated by fellow

customers at The Cherry

Tree. Bob often draws on

his military interests and

background for his poems

but is quick to say that

anything can inspire him.

Bob’s selection of poetry

ranges from works honouring those

who died in war to others, such as

O! Tower, written after seeing a

news story about the Tower of

London’s Blood Swept Lands and

Seas of Red ceramic poppies

installation. He has also written The

Book Spine! That is Me and For the

Love of Trains, inspired by the world

around him and is currently working

on a poem to fit the theme ‘ebb and

flow’ chosen by his

fellow members of

Burgess Hill Poetry

Society. Bob has

kindly allowed us to

Minute of Silence as

well as Hibiscus in

watercolour pencil

and Battle Horse in

carbon pencil.

Bob says: “People

say to me ‘your stuff

is marvellous’ but

when you see the

others here at the

centre, the ladies who crochet for

example, well what they do is

wonderful, there is so much talent.”

Bob Scott

Minute of Silence

4 Age UK West Sussex winter 2014

Cross-county news

Another great

success with The

Big Knit. The

Redwood Activity Centre created an

amazing 4230 hats for Innocent

smoothie bottles and The Cherry

Tree Activity Centre knitted 1200.

The money raised from the hats

goes towards the centres’ Winter

Warmth campaigns and provides

both hot lunches and warming

parcels containing items such as

thermals and gloves. The Cherry

Tree’s total was increased by W.M.

Collins Funeral Directors who, along

with other members of Dignity,

contributed an additional 562 hats

and have agreed to be a collection

point for future Big Knit campaigns .

Tamarisk Transport

Arun Co-Ordinated Community

Transport will provide a bus service

for The Tamarisk Activity Centre

from 5 January. The door-to-door

service collects customers at

9.30am and leaves the centre at

3.30pm, for £3 per single journey.

Please contact the Tamarisk for

further information or to book

transport please contact ACCT

directly on 01903 723 584 or by

emailing enquiries@arun-cct.org.

Outings

Customers of The Cherry Tree have

enjoyed a series of outings in recent

months. They went to Miss Mabel’s

Magnificent Emporium and Vintage

Tea Shop; went shopping at M&S in

Shoreham - by - Sea, followed by

lunch at The George and took a trip

to McBean’s Orchid Nursery.

The Redwood had a great trip to

The Poppy Factory in Richmond

where poppies, crosses and

wreaths are made for the Royal

Family and Royal British Legion’s

Poppy Appeal. The Redwood’s

customers are also seeing When

the Lights Go On Again at Farney

Close School on 10 April.

Armistice

The Laburnum Activity

Centre hosted

Armistice celebrations

attended by the mayor

and mayoress of

Bognor Regis. It

included two minutes’

silence, themed food,

a raffle plus The

Variety Show of

Shows and Old Tyme

Music Hall Finale.

Crawley Move

Although we do not yet

have a new base to

replace The Silver

Birch Activity Centre in

Crawley, there are

exciting plans

unfolding. Manager

Tracy Olckers says: “Huge thanks to

my customers, team of staff and

volunteers for their patience and

hard work. It is disappointing that we

could not move to Bewbush but let’s

look forward to our new venture.”

Community Stars

Burgess Hill’s Birchwood Grove

School, The Gattons Infant School

and All Saints United Reformed

Church all kindly donated produce

from their harvest festivals to The

Cherry Tree. Myrtle from The Cherry

Tree explained during The Gattons’

harvest assembly how the food is

used to create Winter Warmth gift

bags for Cherry Tree customers.

Community champions, Jo Covey

from Tesco and Pauline Payne from

Asda have selected Age UK West

Sussex as their chosen cause.

Jo spends time at The Cherry Tree

and Pauline at The Silver Birch.

They welcome our customers to

their stores for tours and treats as

well as volunteering in the centres

and promoting our work to Tesco

and Asda. They also kindly provide

raffle prizes for Christmas and

materials throughout the year for

the centres’ classes and projects.

Sparkling Arundel Window

Help at Home Manager Jenny

Fenwick created a window display

of Age UK West Sussex services in

Tarrant Street Arundel recently,

Martin Steels’ Community Window

www.ageukwestsussex.org.uk 5

thanks to Martin Steels Ltd who

generously donated their community

window space.

The space has been reserved for us

by the optometrist for a series of

dates in 2015, so be sure to look

next time you are in Tarrant Street.

Home from Hospital

If you, a friend or loved-one are

going into hospital for a short visit or

longer stay but are concerned about

recuperation afterwards, our Home

from Hospital service can help.

Age UK West Sussex work in

partnership with Age UK Horsham

District and Guild Care to provide a

county-wide service. We offer up to

six weeks of person-centred, home-

based support after a hospital visit.

After an initial in-home assessment

once the patient has been

discharged, the support can vary

from ensuring food is available and

the heating turned on, to volunteer

companionship for follow-up home

visits, escorted walks, help with light

shopping or just tea and chat.

Take Home and Settle

There is also a new complementary

Take Home and Settle service which

has been tailored for vulnerable

people who visit Accident and

Emergency, do not need to be

admitted but have no network of

support so cannot be sent home. We

are able to take referrals directly

from accident and emergency from

which patients would otherwise not

be discharged without support.

Take Home and Settle co-ordinators

are on call at the hospital to take

people home and settle them safely.

We also run an information-based

Relative Support service, providing

practical advice about care at home,

paying for care, moving to residential

homes, benefits, information on

home adaptions and more.

Take Home and Settle and Relative

Support is available at hospitals

across the county. For further

information contact your local team:

Age UK West Sussex 01903 717 130

Guild Care 01903 334 977

Age UK Horsham District 01403 751 321

New Respite Service

The Elderberry Club is a respite

service running in

Haywards Heath and

Littlehampton for carers

of people with dementia

and in Crawley for

carers of people who

are becoming frail and

elderly.

Run in partnership with

Age UK East Grinstead

and District, Coastal

West Sussex Mind and

Crossroads Care South

Central, each day of

respite provides carers

with the chance to meet

fellow carers, enjoy an

activity or simply relax

as our dedicated team

cares for their spouse,

relative or friend. The

Elderberry Club’s

customers are cared for

during the day for as much time as

they and their carer feel is

appropriate. Customers take part in

discussion groups, brain-stimulating

games, musical activities or may

simply sit and enjoy the company of

those around them.

For further information please

contact: Amanda Singers for

Haywards Heath 01444 450 248;

Bernie Millam for Littlehampton on

07840 652 054 and Nicky Cooksley

for Crawley on 07904 977 251.

Knitted Poppies

The Redwood’s Knit and Natter

group knitted poppies for this year’s

Poppy Appeal, halving the proceeds

with The Royal British Legion who

received £55 from the group.

Home Helpers available in your area

We offer a reliable, high-quality service that is tailored

to your needs and convenient for you.

♦ Competitive prices

♦ Police checks on all our staff and Home Helpers

♦ Unparalleled after-care and customer service

For more information, call us on

01903 726 276 Or visit www.ageukwestsussex.org.uk

Home from Hospital The Redwood Knit and Natter group

Take Home and Settle

6 Age UK West Sussex winter 2014

Fundraising Focus

Laburnum Fundraisers February 2012 was an emotional

time for Audrey who volunteers at

The Laburnum Activity Centre.

Having had three friends die in rapid

succession, Audrey had the

daunting task of finding a new home

for their belongings.

After considering various options,

Audrey realised the items could be

sold to benefit the Age UK centre. In

memory of her friends, Audrey

began the first wave of fundraising in

the style it continues to this day.

Initially Audrey and fellow volunteer

Joan ran The Boutique, as the shop

was originally known, between them.

They sold a range of bric-a-brac,

bedding, books, music and jewellery

using whatever was available to

create a stall; sometimes they used

tables, other times borrowed trolleys

from the kitchen for displays.

The new Laburnum Shop was

created when manager Gary

Hardley took up his role and

together with the fundraising group

has developed the ideas from

Audrey and Joan's early trailblazing.

Now the Laburnum and all the

centres need your help. If you or

family and friends are having a clear

-out, good-quality items are always

gratefully received. Each centre sells

items, either at its own stalls, indoor

markets or centre shop .

Paula, who volunteers as the

accounts administrator for the

Laburnum shop, says: "We used to

raise £200 per week through the

stalls and shop but is has recently

dropped to £100. Whether people

bring in items or encourage friends

and family to call-by when they are

looking for a gift, it all get us back on

track for reaching our targets."

Paula, Audrey, Arthur, Pip, Diane

and Maureen are core members of

The Laburnum’s fundraising group,

which is open to all and meets

monthly with members of the Age

UK West Sussex staff to plan the

year’s fundraising activities.

The centre raised £7100 between

April and the end of September

2014 which is a fantastic £1000

more than last year but they need to

keep raising funds to reach their

goals by 2016.

Paula adds: "Please support The

Laburnum as well as the other

centres and clubs - if we don’t all

bring in additional funds we won’t

have the ability to run such a variety

of activities and events."

There is also a

fundraising group at

the Tamarisk Activity

Centre and groups

planned for all centres.

Money raised through

events and projects run

by the groups is ring-

fenced for the centre at

which it was raised and

is used for specific items in addition

to funding activities and developing

the centre itself.

Anyone interested in joining a

fundraising group or volunteering for

fundraising activities should contact

their local centre manager.

The Laburnum Shop is open daily

and the Tamarisk Activity Centre

holds regular indoor markets and

fayres, details of which can be found

in the centre and online.

There will be a 50% off January sale

in The Laburnum Shop - call in and

snap up a bargain.

Fitness Fundraiser

Mike Martin, owner of Personal

Training for Health, had raised

£2811 at the time of going to press

for The Elderberry Club at Haywards

Heath by holding a fitness fundraiser

at Clair Hall on 16 November.

Mike was inspired to hold the event

by his dance instructor Neil

Johnson. Neil cares for his mum

Barbara who has dementia and is a

core member of the Saturday club.

Having visited the centre with Neil

and Barbara, Mike set an initial

target of £500. Mike says: “We’re

delighted with how the afternoon

went and especially with the amount

of money raised, which we hope will

make a significant difference to the

members of the Redwood Centre.”

Participants of the Redwood Elderberry Club Fundraiser

The Laburnum Shop

Inside The Laburnum Shop

www.ageukwestsussex.org.uk 7

Winter Focus

Spread the warmth

Each winter, one older person dies

every seven minutes from the cold

weather. Many more become

seriously ill living in a cold home.

These deaths and health problems

could be prevented by warm homes.

Join Age UKs across the country in

a week of action and public

campaigns organised by the biggest

alliance to end fuel poverty, the

Energy Bill Revolution.

Help raise awareness of the lack of

suitable houses by knitting a warm

home for Cold Homes Week (2-6

February 2015). Let us know you’re

kitting a house and encourage your

MP to lobby for change.

You could can find out more about

the campaign, download knitting

patterns and enter Age UK’s

competition for the best knitted

home to win a Husqvarna

Viking E20 sewing machine at

www.spreadthewarmth.org.uk.

Heating Help this winter

Winter Fuel Payment

If you or someone in your

household was born before 5 July

1952 or receive certain benefits, you

are entitled to an annual payment to

help you with winter heating costs.

Most people do qualify for the

payments. In 2013/14 the amounts

received were between £100 and

£300, depending on age.

These amounts will be paid again in

winter 2014/15 unless the law

changes. You only need to claim

once to ensure the payment is

made automatically each year.

Call the Winter Fuel Payment

line 08459 151 515 for more

information or guidance.

Cold Weather Payments

If the weather has been very

cold and the average

temperature has been, or is

expected to be, 0ºC (32ºF) or

below for seven days in a row

you can get an extra £25 per

week if you get Pension Credit

or certain other benefits. If you

think you should have received

a payment, contact the Pension

Service on 0800 731 7898 who

will be able to look into the

status of the payment

and give advice.

Warm Home

Discount

If you receive Pension

Credit or you’re on a

low Income you may be

entitled to a discount

on your electricity bill

by your energy

supplier.

The one-off discount

is usually made between October

and March.

Check with your energy supplier, or

find out more online at:

www.gov.uk/the-warmhome-

discount-scheme.

Benefit surgeries

As part of the Text Santa appeal,

Age UK West Sussex successfully

applied for a grant to help alleviate

winter poverty.

Our aim is to hold benefit surgeries

across the county, in sheltered

housing, community halls, carers’

support groups and any other venue

where people regularly meet.

We can make a home visit to

anyone with disabilities and are able

to carry out a benefit check, help

with budgeting and carry out a warm

homes check too.

Our Information and Advice team

can discuss benefit surgeries,

winter fuel payments, cold weather

payments plus much more.

Call them any week-day between

10am and 2pm on Freephone 0800

019 1310 or email them on

information@ageukwestsussex.org.uk

Keep Warm and Well this Winter

Keeping warm

Dates for your diary

2015

5 January Transport available through Arun Community Transport Tamarisk

5 January Coffee with the Manager Laburnum

21 January Volunteers’ Meeting Cherry Tree

23 January Volunteers’ Party Tamarisk

23 January Adur Senior Forum Marsh House

28 January Volunteers’ Meeting Silver Birch

4 February Volunteers’ Meeting Redwood

28 March Easter Fayre

(plus Mum and Baby stalls) Laburnum

6 April Volunteers’ Meeting Laburnum

10 April When the Lights Go On Again

(Farney Close School) Redwood

14 April Volunteers’ Meeting andCoffee with the Manager Tamarisk

27 April Volunteers’ Meeting Silver Birch

12 May Volunteers’ Meeting Redwood

30 May Spring Sale Laburnum

6 July Coffee with the Manager Laburnum

25 July Summer BBQ and Bazaar Laburnum

28 July Volunteers’ Meeting Silver Birch

13 August Volunteers’ Meeting Redwood

26 September Autumn Sale Laburnum

5 October Volunteers’ Meeting Laburnum

28 October Volunteers’ Meeting Silver Birch

10 November Volunteers’ Meeting and Coffee with the Manager Tamarisk

25 November Volunteers’ Meeting Redwood

28 November Winter Wonderland Laburnum

There are many other events and activities going on throughout the year as well as a broad range of

services to ensure everyone feels able to enjoy later life. Please telephone the number below, call in to

your nearest centre or community club or visit www.ageukwestsussex.org.uk for more details.

Published by: Age UK West Sussex, Suite 2, Anchor Springs, Littlehampton, West Sussex. BN17 6BP

T: 01903 731800 E: admin@ageukwestsussex.org.uk W: www.ageukwestsussex.org.uk

Find us on social media:

@AUKWS www.facebook.com/AUKWS

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Age UK West Sussex is registered charity number 1086323. Company number 4146487.