Newsletter
Birmingham Settlement attends the Freemasons Lodge of Happiness Ladies Evening.
Worshipful Master Steve Tector with Chris Doolan and Laura Kemp
The local Freemasons Lodge of Happiness kindly invited our Chair of the Board, Chris Doolan, and Fundraising Officer, Laura Kemp, to join them at their Ladies Dinner Event.
The event was held at the Freemasons Lodge in Edgbaston and saw members of the Lodge invite their partners and wives along to join them for an evening of dining.
We were privileged to be a part of the event, and to represent Birmingham Settlement. Worshipful Master of the Lodge, Steve Tector, previously owned a printing business through which he came to know of the Settlement. We were delighted to be able to take the floor for a few minutes to tell everyone a little about our work and our history in the city, and everyone responded by donating a very generous £352.00 towards our work.
The Warwickshire Masonic Charitable Association has been supporting the work of Birmingham Settlement since 2007 and to date have donated almost £2,000.
We’re delighted to have such a great relationship with the group and hope it continues for many years to come.
Birmingham to Brussels fundraiser
Chief Executive Martin Holcombe and Facilities Co-ordinator Mark Sargeant are cycling from Birmingham to Brussels in 6 days from 21st-26th May. You can show your support by sponsoring them here and by encouraging your friends and family to do the same. They’ll be blogging and uploading video along the way so watch this space for further information!
Support Zurich’s 1,000 mile cycling challenge!
This September staff at Zurich Community Trust will be cycling from Land’s End to John O’Groats, and they need your support! If you are interested in taking part as a cyclist they would welcome your involvement, but if not then making a donation to the cause would be very much appreciated! Income raised during the event will be split between a group of charities that Zurich are supporting, and Birmingham Settlement are proud to be one of these. For more information please see their website: http://www.z1000m.com.
Zurich Community Trust is working in partnership with Birmingham Settlement’s Ageing Well programme for the next three years, and will be providing funding, as well being involved in the programme’s activities and events.
Celebrating International Women’s Day
On Saturday, we had a fantastic time celebrating International Women’s Day at King Edward’s School in Handsworth. Our stand was right next to the cakes but we were meeting so many great people that we managed to avoid temptation! Good to see city representation from the Lord Mayor and Cllr Sue Anderson stopped by our stand to say hello as well. We felt very honoured to be part of such an inspirational day with other organisations such as Aquarius, the Samaritans, Christian Aid, Enta, Midland Heart and many others. To finish the day off on a high we bumped into Janet, a former money advice client. Janet introduced herself by saying “Birmingham Settlement saved my life” – high praise indeed! Check out the video below to hear Janet’s amazing story about overcoming adversity; it’s a wonderful reflection of the strength of women in today’s society.
Success at Aston University.
This week Birmingham Settlement attended Aston University’s Voluntary Work and Gap Year fair to discuss volunteering opportunities with students. Although the fair was short the response we received from students was fantastic. We spoke to the students about the range of roles available and found that they were incredibly enthusiastic about finding placements that were suitable for them. We asked about the subjects they were studying and tried to match our existing roles to their knowledge and skills. Angie, one of our current volunteers, came with us to tell students about her experiences and why she loved volunteering with Birmingham Settlement so much, which enabled us to give students a more realistic picture of what to expect. We will be contacting everybody who gave us their details in the near future.
Aston University fair.
Next week Birmingham Settlement will be at Aston University for Student Volunteering Week to talk to students about the voluntary roles available with us, why it’s important to volunteer and how we can assist students with their career plans. If you’re an Aston University student be sure to visit us at the fair on Wednesday 22nd February between noon and 2pm at the Students’ Guild.
Make do and Mend with Women & Theatre
We’re joining forces with Women & Theatre on 29th February to perform a unique piece of community theatre full of fantastic stories and tips, all designed to help people make their money go further.
As a charity, debt management is something at the very heart of our work so the 29th is planned as an Open Day, featuring money surgeries and advice, as well as a chance for potential volunteers to visit and find out more about what we do. It will then culminate in the performance, entitled ‘Make, Do & Mend.’
Make, Do & Mend is a project Women & Theatre have been developing across Birmingham over the last 5 months. The company has been researching with a variety of community groups to understand the issues people face, and collect advice and information to resolve any problems. They have had informal sessions and conversations, as well as running a series of intergenerational workshops to develop the project. The performances have been designed so that community members can join the company in the morning to be ‘reheased into’ the performance to share with audiences in the afternoon. This will create an exciting mix of professional and community performers – a participation technique Women & Theatre have delivered successfully a number of times.
Terina Talbot, Women & Theatre’s Associate Director said; “We’ve been working for several months with community members, and it’s looking very exciting. With stories and songs, and contributions from all generations, ultimately, it’s a feel-good piece of theatre that everyone can enjoy. So if anybody wants to get involved, or needs debt advice, or simply a good afternoon out – we’d encourage them to get in touch.”
All activities will be happening from 11am at the Centre for the Aston Family, 359-361Witton Road, B6 6NS. For more information or to book free tickets to the performance (which starts at 1.15pm) call 0121 250 0777 or email info@bsettlement.org.uk
University of Birmingham fair.
Last week Birmingham Settlement had a stall at the Spring Work Experience Fair at the University of Birmingham. We spoke to students about the range of opportunities available at Birmingham Settlement and how these roles could help the students to develop important skills for when they graduate. The students we spoke to were very enthusiastic about finding relevant work experience, and were eager to learn how our flexible roles could enable them to gain the skills they were looking for. We will be following up with those students who enquired over the coming weeks to discuss how we can help them.
