Here to support the needs of the Local Community in Stevenage and the Surrounding Areas

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1 July 2013 Issue 17 Welcome from Trustees Here to support the needs of the Local Community in Stevenage and the Surrounding Areas As we move into the second half of the year it has become clear to us all that the support our community provide to each other is invaluable. The increased need for our Care in the Community visits and help in accessing entitlements, has shown us a future whereby the local community will be relied upon even more to help each other and that is what we intend to do. Our services are available to anyone that needs us regardless of age or ethnicity. For the next six months we are focusing on making sure our members enjoy themselves at our social events and we are coming up with some new ideas! We re also planning some new services to support our more vulnerable members and working closer with local partners to ensure our members know what other groups are providing and that they are receiving the service they should from the local statutory organisations. So do contact us if you know of groups that provide great activities or services, or if you have any issues with statutory organisations that you would like us to help with. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our volunteers as we re sure you would agree they do a marvellous job and we would be lost without them! Margaret Blakeston, INS Volunteer, Father Michael, Brendan Clynch INS Trustee

2 Irish Contribution Project Social Events As we are sure you would agree the IC Project has been a fantastic success. The Documentary was premiered on the Community Channel and will be shown again on the 3rd August at 5.00am and 8.00pm on the Sky Community Channel 539 and Virgin TV 233. The book is now in Trinity College, Universities throughout the county and in the local library, it is also being sold on Amazon, all of us have the right to be very proud. As quoted by Trevor Barnes the books author It has been a real privilege for me to share a small part of that achievement and a real pleasure to see a greater human story being told by such warm hearted and, yes, courageous individual pioneers. The project will soon be displayed at Stevenage Museum and we are also visiting local groups and showing them the documentary and talking to them about the project and what we did. People have been fascinated by those early dates and can relate to that anxious time as many of them left their families to build a new life in Stevenage. Our social events are always fun and with raffles, quizzes and live music. We love to see our regulars and it s wonderful to welcome new visitors. Entry is only 1.50 for members and 2.50 for non-members and this includes refreshments and entertainment. Details of our events for the next three months are on the back page and we are arranging day trips and looking at our members and guests Christmas lunch already!

3 Care in the Community We would first like to welcome our newest volunteers, Cheryl Martin, Steve Whelan and Margaret Clarke. They have already become great assets to the team and enjoy the visits as much as our members do! Now that we have new volunteers we can provide even more support to our members and their families with help arranging hospital and doctor s appointments, financial assessments, or even just being someone to talk to. We have found that over the colder months many people are not getting out much at all and we have been keeping in contact with as many of these people as possible by phone, so they are not so isolated. Now the weather has improved we are hoping to encourage many of our more vulnerable members to come out more, even just for a short walk in the local park. So if you know of any groups that organise short local walks, please do let us know. We can also now help with small DIY jobs, so do contact us if there are jobs around the house that you are struggling to get done. We are not DIY experts but we will help if we can! New Projects Following requests from our members we will shortly be starting a small Film Club where we will be showing old films, some that we haven t seen in years. Dates will be confirmed soon but let us know if you have some favourite films that you would like to see or if you could lend us a DVD for an afternoon. We have also had a request to knit Hair Loss Dolls for Cancer Hair Care, these are dolls used to explain to children touched by cancer what is happening in their lives. We are keen to help so if anyone can knit or wants to learn please contact the office and we will arrange some sessions. We are also thinking of organizing another Memories Afternoon as everyone enjoyed the last ones so much! If this is something you would like to be involved in please contact us. We will be shortly offering free computer training sessions specifically covering the internet and Skype; these will be small groups and some 1 to 1 sessions. We support other local groups as much as possible and our volunteers and Trustees attend many different groups throughout Stevenage and discuss the work we do, so if you know a groups that would be interested in knowing more about us we would love to visit them.

4 Sponsors We work very hard to support our members and the local community; we promote our events and request support where we can. The businesses advertised here have SURESHINES shown their support LTD by sponsoring this newsletter, which has enabled Specialist us to provide Cleaning even Services more information about our activities to our members and the local community. The Trustees would like to take this opportunity to thank these businesses for their continued support. Window Cleaning Domestic and Commercial Traditional Cleaning - 2 stories or under SURESHINES LTD Window Cleaning Domestic and Commercial Traditional Cleaning - 2 stories or under Water Fed Pole System - heights up to five levels Full Conservatory Cleans Solar Panel Cleaning Gutters Cleared, Cleaned and Maintained Upvc Cleaning Water Fed Pole System - heights up to five levels Full Conservatory Cleans Solar Panel Cleaning Gutters Cleared, Cleaned and Maintained Upvc Cleaning Driveways and Patios Jet Washed and Sealed We provide free no obligation quotations for all of our offered services. We are fully insured and registered giving you complete piece of mind. Please see our website for full details on our internal Specialist Cleaning Services and external services. Tel: Mobile: info@sureshines.co Gatehouse Driveways Farm, and Patios Gransmore Jet Washed Green, and Sealed Felsted, Essex CM6 3LB Tel: Fax: Mobile: enquiries@flpsg.co.uk We provide free no obligation quotations for all of our offered services. We are fully insured and registered giving you complete piece of mind.

5 Design & Build Presented By Paddy Parr 35 Southend Close, Stevenage, Herts, SG1 3PF Tel: Mobile: HCMA Harmony Coaching& Mentoring Avenues Do you need Life Coaching, Personal Development or Business Start Up Advice? if so contact HCMA on / , or visit Family run main contractor specialising in maintenance, refurbishment and new build in the public and private sector Orchard Road, Stevenage, SG1 3HE. Tel:

6 STEVENAGE FAMILY BUTCHERS Your local family butcher has been supplying Stevenage residents for over 40 years. Pop in and try our range of fresh meats and poultry all at affordable prices. 15 The Oval, Stevenage, SG1 5RA Tel: STEVENAGE CREDIT UNION LTD Credit Unions are not-for-profit community organisations offering easy ways of saving and affordable low cost loans. If interested contact: Anne Slade or

7 Local Groups We are passionate about helping our member s access groups so each newsletter we will list details of a few we have worked with recently: Douglas Drive Day Care Centre is for Stevenage seniors and have many different activities including bingo, arts and craft and a speech therapy group. Contact Alzheimer s Society provides support for dementia sufferers and their families, it runs groups including a Dementia Café, singing groups, and provides advice and guidance. Contact Danny Boy Documentary Danny Boy is 100 years old this year and a documentary is being produced for BBC and RTÉ this autumn by Tyrone Productions, they are looking for people who have a special connection to Danny Boy People with a have a funny, quirky or poignant story about this iconic song. Perhaps it reminds you of a particular person or occasion? They will be filming in the UK, Ireland and the USA over this summer, so if this is something you would like to be involved with please contact us. Working in Partnership With INS would like to take this opportunity to thank those organisations that have supported us.

8 Dates for your Diary Our events are directed by our members and are a great opportunity to catch up with old friends and make new ones. We are keen for as many people as possible to come and enjoy the afternoon and new visitors are always made especially welcome. July 7 th 12.00pm 4.00pm School Fete JHN School 17 th 2.00pm 4.00pm Social Event Bedwell Centre August 14 th 10.00am 5.00pm Southend Bedwell & Matalan TBA 2.00pm 4.00pm Bereavement Group The Together Centre September 17 th 1.30pm 4.00pm AGM & Social Event Bedwell Centre TBA 1.00pm 3.30pm Film Club The Together Centre Volunteers Needed! INS depends on volunteers to help with our activities and to generally represent the needs of our members. Volunteering not only helps our community, it is a great way to meet people and brings a lot of satisfaction to those who volunteer. If you feel this is something you would like to get involved in or you would like to have more information, please do contact us. Contact Details If you would like to contact us about anything you have read in the newsletter or about the support we provide please do not hesitate to contact us either by post, telephone or at:10-12 Exchange Road, Stevenage, Herts, SG1 1PZ Tel: info@irishnetworkstevenage.org.uk Charity Number: