Newsletter
Aston Telling Tales.
Are you interested in the local history of Aston? Do you want to discover fascinating stories about the people who lived and worked there – those whose lives don’t appear in the history books? Or do you want to be involved in a performance at Aston Hall?
Come and find out more about the ‘Aston Telling Tales’ project and how you can get involved.
When: Monday 11th February 2013
Where: Meet in the cafe at Aston Hall
Time: 10.30am–3.00pm
This is a free event. Tea and biscuits will be provided. Please bring your own lunch.
For further information contact Terina or Rachel at Women & Theatre on 0121 449 7117 or email rachelsnape@womenandtheatre.co.uk
For more information about the project click here to download this information sheet.
Activities for older people.
Our Ageing Well team run a range of activities for older people that help to keep people active and healthy, as well as providing social opportunities. Among the activities currently available we offer:
- Allotments
- Arts & Illustration workshops
- Chair Yoga & Extend
- Tai Chi
- 1-2-1 Health Trainer support
For further information see the following documents:
Please contact us to find out more.
Ageing Well Achievement Celebration and ‘Here I Am’ Event Screening.
Back in April 2012 selected Ageing Well members teamed up with a group of younger people to discuss issues that are affecting both old & young and how we can better communicate. The participants took part in a series of seminars and social media workshops, finishing with an intergenerational fashion show.
Ageing Well would like to invite you to its celebration event on Thursday 1st November 2012. The afternoon will start with a buffet lunch and then a film screening of the Here I Am & Lost Links event. We would like you to be part of this celebration by joining us on 1st November from 2:30pm to 5pm. The event will be held at the Centre for the Aston Family.
If you require any support in getting home from the event please let us know as there will be a minibus service available for those most in need.
Please note that there are a limited number of spaces so please book your place by Wednesday 31stth October at 3:00pm. To confirm your seat please contact Abi Shervington, Ageing Well Wellbeing & Activities Co-ordinator on 0121 250 0777.
Sally’s story: Creating order out of chaos
Sally has been volunteering in our shop in Sutton Coldfield for over five years. When she came to us her son was growing up and she was struggling to fill her time, so she was willing to find out what she could do.
“Volunteering has given me focus, a reason to come out of the house and do something useful. It has helped to create order out of chaos,” Sally told us.
After a career as a nurse Sally had a large gap where she was out of work, but she has found that volunteering with Birmingham Settlement has helped to “orientate” herself to a workplace again, as well as gain confidence to interact with others with widely varied experiences and backgrounds.
Sally looks forward to coming into the shop and meet with the friends she has made. Being around similar people has helped Sally to realise that she’s not as bad off as she thought compared to people of a similar age and sees that others have their own issues to sort out as well.
“I’ve enjoyed all of my time here and gained a varied experience. As you mature in age you have to take on a lot of new things and cope with more than when you were younger, and volunteering has helped to prepare me for that.”
“Here I Am” – An exploration of inter-generational relationships.
Birmingham Settlement recently took part in an event called “Here I Am” about celebrating cross-generational relationships. The event took place on 7th May 2012 at the Public Arts Centre in West Bromwich and brought together older and younger people for a night of fashion, music and film – including some of our Ageing Well service users. The event helped to overcome the generation gap through the shared interest of vintage clothing, sourced from Birmingham Settlement’s charity shops. The event went really well and we received some great feedback from those who took part. See the great video of the event below:
Settlement stories: The benefits of volunteering.
Maureen is a 67 year old woman who is retired and lives alone. After retirement Maureen found it difficult because she did not know what to do with her time and felt isolated and alone. To alleviate this, she began volunteering at one of Birmingham Settlement’s charity shops. Since then Maureen has made many friends and feels that she has built a new support network from these relationships. Working in the shop has helped her get to know customers and other volunteers living nearby and enjoys seeing the same people every week for a chat and catch up. Maureen says that volunteering has made her feel useful again and has encouraged her friends to become volunteers too due to her positive experiences. The impact on Maureen’s health and wellbeing has been fantastic as the shop activities keep her physically and mentally active; Maureen challenges herself without overdoing it!
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.
I’m dreaming of summer rain.
This week Birmingham Settlement was proud to unveil a new art project at the Centre for the Aston Family called Dreaming of Summer Rain. The project was inspired by ideas shared through a series of workshops with members of the local community and includes the hopes and dreams of the community, a sense of belonging, and a celebration of different cultures. The piece contains a wide variety of colours and patterns that represent the many different people who live in the local community. The piece was designed to brighten up the atrium of the Centre for the Aston Family and lift the spirits of those who visit us there. Dreaming of Summer Rain was designed by Melanie Tomlinson with the contribution of Birmingham Settlement’s service users.
Birmingham’s Affordable Nail Care Service
Our Nail Care Service is going strong with nail carers based at locations across the city. Why not check out our new Nail Care website www.bhamnailcare.co.uk to find out more? It provides lots of information about the services available including a postcode checker to find out where your nearest nail carer is located
We currently have an expanding list of more than 40 nail carers working across Birmingham with another troupe of students getting trained up this term at Birmingham Metropolitan College.
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