News items from September 2013
Movement and sensory sessions for children with disabilities
Embrace Arts are holding Movement and Sensory Sessions for children aged 9 to 16 on the autistic spectrum or with moderate learning difficulties, as well as sessions for children with profound and multiple disabilities.
The sessions include:
Sunday 6 October - Turned on its Head and Speakeasy Theatre Present: Wood browns, greens and russets envelop us and a grove of trees gently sway. Sound-effect stepping stones and an autumnal swirl of movement and music.
Sunday 10 November - Turned on its Head and Speakeasy Theatre Present: Water, a magic shell, a reflective pond, a sailor and a gentle, sea-spray adventure. Hoist the sail and dive through the blue as we travel to our peaceful destination. But careful - you might not want to come back!
Sunday 15 December - Turned on its Head and Speakeasy Theatre Present: Ice and snow, a wintery wonderland of adventures as we move through drifting feather snow and roll in sheets of white. What is inside the dark cave?
Each session costs £5 per child and accompanying adults go free.
To find out more and to reserve your place please call James Kelly, Embrace Arts Education and Outreach Officer on 0116 252 2455 or email [email protected]. Please note: James works Monday, Tuesday, Friday 8.30am to 4pm.
Help for people affected by cancer
Macmillan Cancer Support are working in partnership with Leicestershire Citizens Advice Bureau to offer a free confidential advice service for people affected by cancer - including help with benefits, employment, debt and housing issues.
You can call their helpline Monday to Friday from 9am to 4pm on 0300 456 8400.
Age UK Leicester Shire & Rutland - help with making a Will
Most people appreciate it is extremely important to make a Will, but either never get round to it or continue to put it off as something to do when they're older.
This means that 7 out of 10 people die without a Will, leaving their nearest and dearest to sort out who gets their money and property - or worse; it all goes to the Crown.
To help local people ensure they have a valid Will in place, Age UK Leicester Shire & Rutland have arranged with twenty four local Solicitors to reduce their Will Writing charges for the over 50's during October.
A single, uncomplicated Will costs just £35 + VAT during this period, which is a huge saving of around £100 on the normal cost.
Some solicitors are also prepared to visit clients in their own home.
For details of participating solicitors in your local area, please call Age UK Leicester Shire & Rutland on 0116 2992233.
Will the launch of 4G mobile broadband services affect Freeview?
From Summer 2013, mobile phone operators are rolling out new fourth-generation (4G) networks to provide customers with high speed wireless broadband.
Where these services are broadcast on certain airwaves (the 800MHz band), they may interfere with Freeview reception. A new company, at800, has been set up by the mobile operators to provide filters and other assistance to households where TV reception may be affected.
To find out more you can call at800 on 0808 13 13 800 free from your landline between 7am and 10pm on weekdays or between 9am and 5pm at weekends and bank holidays or visit their website.
Age UK are also raising awareness of the issue. If you'd like to talk to them please email [email protected] and she will get back to you.
Free dementia event - 8th October
People living in Hinckley and Bosworth are invited to a free dementia event on Tuesday 8th October from 9am to 1.45pm at the Atkins Building, Lower Bond Street, Hinckley, LE10 1QU.
You'll be able to find out more about dementia, help develop an information folder on dementia for local people and step inside a pub style Memory Pod, thanks to Voluntary Action South Leicestershire's Memory Lane project for people with memory loss and their carers. The event will also include a light lunch, free of charge.
To find out more and to secure your place, please email Katherine Brown at [email protected] or call 07908 750187 - by 27th September.
Click here to download the event poster
Community Health & Wellbeing event - Oadby Library
Leicestershire County Council and Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust are teaming up with Boots Pharmacy to hold a Community Health & Wellbeing event at Oadby Library on Wednesday 9th October from 10am to 1pm.
The event will feature free talks including The History of Pharmacy with John Allen at 10.30am and The Future of Prescriptions with Boots pharmacist Kalpna Kakad at 11am, followed by help with medication and blister packs at 11.30am.
Information will be available throughout the event on a range of topics including stopping smoking, blood pressure and health advice from Boots Pharmacy, as well as local services including Adult Social Care, First Contact, Prostaid, Support for Carers and Age UK.
You can also book a 15 minute wellbeing taster session for £2 including a hand massage from 10.30am to 12.30pm and Reiki (a complementary therapy which is a form of energy healing) from 10am to 1pm.
To find out more visit www.leics.gov.uk/healthandwellbeing, email [email protected] or call 0116 305 3565.
How Blaby South are helping the vulnerable in their community
If you live in Blaby South you may be interested in taking part in a discussion looking at how residents in the area are helping those at risk in the local community, what services and support are provided locally, and how can service providers such as Leicestershire County Council work together with local residents to continue to support the vulnerable in the light of public sector spending cuts?
The Blaby South Community Forum is on the 18 September from 6.30pm at Thurlaston Village Hall, Desford Road, Thurlaston, Leicestershire, LE9 7TE and anyone is welcome to go along and join in the debate.
Prior to the meeting, you may find it useful to give some thought to who in your community is at risk and how local residents may help one another. For example:
Clearing an elderly neighbour's drive of snow
Collecting library books for an unwell friend
Shopping once a week for someone
Running a monthly breakfast club for the recently bereaved or for single parents, or
Just generally keeping an eye out for those that may need support
To find out more please call Sabrina Malik on 0116 3055951, email [email protected] or visit www.leicestershireforums.org
Please vote this week!
As you know, VASL (the charity behind Support for Carers) is vying for your votes in a bid to bring the power of singing to carers across Leicestershire, after being shortlisted to receive Big Lottery funding to set up a ‘Leicestershire Carers’ Choirs project.
To help spread the word, VASL has published a video on Youtube - why not take a look to find out more?
The project will only go ahead if YOU vote in the Leicester Mercury between Monday 2 September and Monday 16 September 2013.
Simply pick up a copy of the newspaper between those dates, fill out the coupon voting for VASL's Leicestershire Carers’ Choirs project and send it in to the address provided in the paper.
The musical venture would see VASL setting up two choirs in Leicestershire aimed at giving carers a break whilst participating in something joyful, uplifting and rewarding.
There are over 65,000 unpaid carers in Leicestershire (2001 census) and we help over 2,000 carers across the county. Research shows that carers generally make little time for themselves and can be isolated, vulnerable and prone to depression.
VASL plans to set up two choirs in the Oadby & Wigston and Hinckley & Bosworth districts – areas that have a high concentration of unpaid carers. If the year-long pilot scheme is successful, they would like to take Leicestershire Carers’ Choirs to other locations across the county to reach out to more people.
Research shows that singing in a group lifts spirits, improves mental and physical wellbeing and gives members a real sense of achievement. By joining a choir with a manageable daytime rehearsal schedule, carers could take time out and meet with like-minded people without their caring role being the focus.
New online directory created by a parent carer to help others
We recently received an email from Julia Tyrrell, the parent carer of a child with Cerebral Palsy, who's set up an online directory of grants for the disabled.
Julia said:
"I'm writing to let you know about my website www.disability-grants.org. It's a directory of grants for the disabled including grants for disabled children, disabled adults, carers, disability groups and much more.
Setting up the website has been a labour of love and is still growing daily. I created it as I am a parent of a disabled child with Cerebral Palsy and wanted to share my experiences and knowledge.
I do hope you will find the website useful and will pass on the details to others who would benefit from the information.
If you require any further information please do not hesitate to email me at [email protected]."
Many thanks Julia!
You can also find Julia on Facebook
Help VASL get ‘on song’ in Carers’ Choir bid
The charity behind Support for Carers, Voluntary Action South Leicestershire (VASL) is vying for your votes in a bid to bring the power of singing to carers across Leicestershire.
The charity has been shortlisted to receive Big Lottery funding to set up a ‘Leicestershire Carers’ Choirs’ project. However, the project will only go ahead if YOU vote in the Leicester Mercury between Monday 2 September and Monday 16 September 2013.
Simply pick up a copy of the Leicester Mercury newspaper between those dates, fill out the original coupon voting for VASL’s Leicestershire Carers’ Choirs project and send it in to the address provided in the paper.
The musical venture would see VASL setting up two choirs in Leicestershire aimed at giving carers a break whilst participating in something joyful, uplifting and rewarding.
There are over 65,000 unpaid carers in Leicestershire (2001 census) with Support for Carers helping over 2,000 carers across the county.
Research shows that carers generally make little time for themselves, can be isolated, vulnerable and are prone to depression.
VASL plans to set up two choirs in the Oadby & Wigston and Hinckley & Bosworth districts – Leicestershire areas that have a high concentration of unpaid carers. If the year-long pilot scheme is successful, VASL would like to take Leicestershire Carers’ Choirs to other locations across the county to reach out to more people.
Research shows that singing in a group lifts spirits, improves mental and physical wellbeing and gives members a real sense of achievement. By joining a choir with a manageable daytime rehearsal schedule, carers could take time out and meet with like-minded people without their caring role being the focus.
VASL’s Alex Reffell said: “Singing allows people to completely immerse themselves in the music and forget about their troubles for a while. Singing in a choir blasts away the blues, creates a sense of connectedness with other members and provides people with rewarding new skills.”
Similar projects have been successfully delivered in other counties, including Northamptonshire, and VASL is confident a Leicestershire scheme would be extremely well received by carers.
VASL is among 16 organisations across the county who are battling it out to receive a lottery grant to fund a community project after being shortlisted by the Leicestershire and Rutland Community Foundation.
VASL Senior Manager, Maureen O’Malley, said: “We are delighted our project has been shortlisted for funding. We are passionate about delivering much-needed and exceptional services for carers across Leicestershire and believe the provision of choir sessions for carers would make a big impact.
“However, we need everyone to get behind us to make our musical mission a reality. Tell all your friends, relatives, colleagues and neighbours to go out and buy a copy of the Leicester Mercury and vote for VASL’s Leicestershire Carers’ Choirs project.”
Voting runs in the Leicester Mercury between Monday 2 September – Monday 16 September, 2013. Winners will be announced on Monday 23 September, 2013.
For more information about Leicestershire Carers’ Choirs contact Maureen O’Malley:
Email [email protected]
Tel: 01858 433232
Follow the campaign on Twitter: @LeicCarersChoir and @vaslonline
