Newsletter Summer Newsletter We’re off to the ball!
At the Evaluation Day in February, members requested a celebration event. With the help of the Big Local Radstock and Westfield we have organised a 25th Anniversary ball on the 12th October at the Swan Hotel in Wells.
Tickets are available now from reception £15 per ticket (or £20 including transport). New Sensory and Memorial Garden
SWALLOW’s outdoor space at the Old Engine House has been revived with a new sensory garden and a memorial rose bed.
A team of big-hearted volunteers from M&S swapped spreadsheets for spades when they took a day out of the office to create a brand new sensory garden at our main office. Page 2 Employment
Page 3 & 4 Courses
Page 5 Courses
Page 6 Events
Page 7 Community
Page 8 Other News
Page 2 Summer Newsletter 2017
Employment Thanks to funding secured through Quartet Community Foundation, we now have new C fantastic front of house uniforms with our afe Update café logo and new badges.
News update from Maggie, the Cafe Manager With the summer season comes a busy period, not only with the day to day running of the cafe, but the team have also been busy catering for lots of exciting events including: 100 people at the Dragon’s Den Event, Bistro Night, The Natural Theatre Company and many more to come.
Tasty Treats had its first stall at Kilmersdon Village Day in May. Mike did a brilliant job of selling cakes, jams and chutneys. We have three new members – Tabatha, who has joined the Tuesday team. Jess and Chris who have both joined the Wednesday team. They are all settling in really well. The café is now full to capacity with a small number of members on the waiting list.
Sponsored Swim Splash for Cash Well done to all the swimmers who took part in the sponsored swim on 12th May. Over 400 lengths were completed in total. The current fundraising total is at £300!
A big congratulations to all the swimmers, parents and the poolside helpers for their support. Page 3 Summer Newsletter 2017 Courses
Outreach Lyndon and Scott went on holiday to Pontins & had a wonderful time. They visited Weston-super-Mare & enjoyed racing each other on the go karts. Lyndon said “I had a really good time and can’t wait to go away again”.
Tuesday Art Group Tuesday Art Group have CQC inspections feedback been busy making mosaics. for Base House and Dom Care: The group have been These have now taken place and commissioned to make the draft reports have awarded more mosaics by SWALLOW – GOOD with one SWALLOW to decorate outstanding at Base House. A big thank you to all staff for all their the new office space. hard work and professionalism which has enabled SWALLOW to get such a glowing report from CQC. Well Done! Mosaic by Susie Supported Housing
“Nic and I had a fantastic day visiting Concorde I even went inside and I got to sit in a pilot seat. On the way home we stopped off at the Aston Martin garage and saw some awesome cars. Amazing day.” Paul Davis Page 4 Summer Newsletter 2017 Courses Horticulture Group
Let’s hear it for the Horticultural Group!
The group have been working hard throughout the hot weather to keep our outdoor spaces beautiful, maintaining the flower beds and green house plus creating lots of hanging baskets to enhance local gardens and community spaces.
“I love being outdoors and working with my friends. It’s been a busy summer, but I’ve liked watching everything grow.”
Members in Employment
It is sometimes hard to convince employers of the benefits of taking on someone with a learning disability, but two local companies are reaping the benefits.
SWALLOW members are receiving support to help to find sustainable paid employment with the help of our new employment support coordinator. We are happy to say two members are currently in paid roles, Josh works at Precious Pea in the preparation area making houmous and Chris recently got a job at the Book Barn as a cleaner. Staff from Precious Pea describe Josh as “a little ray of sunshine, he is always willing to help and he is very fast”. Summer Newsletter 2017 Page 5 Summer Newsletter 2017 Courses Percy Centre Bath Bath Rotary Club has made all the SWALLOW members who visit the Percy Centre smile this summer, not only have they donated £1500 for art materials and new laptops for the group, but they have also made it possible for a summer trip to the seaside by donating a further £450. Rotarians, Roger McSweeney and Rodney Photo with them and the group outside the Percy Centre Hodgman, visited the group in May and saw first hand what a difference they’d made. New Memorial Rose and Sensory Garden planted at Head Office A Rose Garden has been planted in memory of local philanthropists, Brian and Margaret Roper, who were generous supporters of SWALLOW. It will offer a spot where members and staff can find a peaceful place in which to remember those who have been important in their lives and who are no longer with us.
Six volunteers from M&S together with SWALLOW members rolled up their sleeves to volunteer their time ‘sprucing’ up the garden area and creating a beautiful sensory garden at our Head Office on Thursday 21 June 2018.
The enthusiastic volunteers dug, weeded, bagged, swept and tidied all afternoon, and with beautiful results. A big thank you to M&S for funding the garden project. Page 6 Summer Newsletter 2017 Events Football Fun Tournament Scorching success! On Saturday 23rd June 2018, we held our Football Fun 6-a-side Tournament. The tournament took place at Cam Valley Sports Ground. We welcomed members, families and local organisations including TSB Bank from Midsomer Norton and Sun Chemicals. It was a close final, however congratulations go to TSB who went home with the SWALLOW trophy. A huge thanks to everyone involved.
Bistro Night Music therapy night at cafe a great success
SWALLOW members took part in an accessible music workshop run by Evolve Music which was enjoyed by all. They worked hard and the result was performed in front of friends and family then everyone enjoyed a tasty supper.
The event was made possible through a grant from the Bath and North East Somerset Community Wellness Fund, administered by the Quartet Community Foundation on behalf of Virgin Care. Summer Newsletter 2017 Page 7 Summer Newsletter 2017 Community Our friends High Tea Charity Event at Methodist Church Thank you to everyone who attended the Westfield Methodist Church, High Tea Event in April. Sally and friends put on an amazing spread and raised a fantastic £500!
Here is a photo of a loyal supporter of SWALLOW Lucille Thomas who has made various donations to SWALLOW, including a recent donation of £100 to go towards Redfield Road .Thank you Lucille for your continued support.
A big thank you to our youngest friends, Mali and Lily, who organised a cake sale outside of their home in aid of SWALLOW and raised an amazing £88!
Could you become a friend of SWALLOW? If you could make a small regular donation to support our work, it could help us support local people with learning disabilities into the future and make long term plans.
By becoming a friend of SWALLOW you will: Receive a newsletter and regular updates Invitation to friends events Your name on our wall of Friendship
To find out more, please email Nicky Tew at [email protected]
Page 8 Summer Newsletter 2017 Other News Welcoming our new Trustees
We are pleased to confirm the appointment of two new Trustees Chris Negus and Jill Souter, they bring with them huge amounts of experience which will be hugely important to SWALLOW as it continues to grow.
Charity Partnership with TSB Bank in Midsomer Norton extended TSB Midsomer Norton has decided to extend its partnership with us for another year and we look forward to collaborating with them on more fundraising events. We are the chosen charity for U3A
The Norton Radstock Branch of the University of the Third Age (U3A) has chosen SWALLOW as their charity for this year. They have lots of different interest groups from Meteorology to Badminton and lots more besides. We are very grateful for their support.
SWALLOW Dates for
The Old Engine House Old Pit Road your diary... Midsomer Norton
BA34BD Saturday 4th August - 01761414034
[email protected] Nunney Fayre– Tasty Treats www.swallowcharity.org table. Reg Charity No: 1045893 Company No: 3034328 Donate to SWALLOW via our Just Giving Friday 12th October– 25th Page:www.justgiving.com/swallow Anniversary Ball at the Swan Hotel, Wells
Thank you to TPM for their support of our Tuesday 11th December— printed newsletters. Christmas Carol Service at St Peters Church, Westfield