On Sunday 3rd, Midland Mencap held their Weoley Winterland in their Enterprise Hub. It was an event for every one of all ages, from those at Mencap to their families and locals alike!
The festive stalls included arts & crafts, a tombola, a raffle, a cake sale, the fantastic Sing and Sign choir and Santa’s workshop – it’s safe to say there was plenty for everyone to do, no matter their age or interests.
I volunteered on the Arts & Crafts stall, making Christmas tree decorations out of painted lollipop sticks, pipe cleaners, pompoms and string. There were some impressive trees decorations crafted and it was great to meet people of all ages – from tiny children to the elderly and I was overjoyed by their enthusiasm. The eagerness of all the volunteers and staff in making the event a success was infectious. It was truly rewarding and I recommend volunteering at these events wholeheartedly.
With over 120 people attending and £402.63 raised for the charity, it was hugely successful and the atmosphere was wonderful. It really felt like Christmas had come and I’m looking forward to more events like this as it was an impressive turnout, a lot of fun and all for important causes!
– Kat, Reporter Volunteer –
Today is International Volunteer Day, at Midland Mencap we place great value on the contribution of our 113 volunteers who make a massive difference to vulnerable citizens. Last month alone they contributed nearly 650 hours of their time to support the delivery of a wide range of services across Birmingham and Walsall. Here are some impressive facts about how diverse and inclusive volunteering is at Midland Mencap:
• 20% of our volunteers are from Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic communities
• 26% of our volunteers have some form of disability or impairment
• In terms of gender, 36% of our volunteers are male and 64% are female
• The majority of our volunteers (56%) are under the age of 30 (the age ranges are as follows: 16-19 = 11%; 20-29 = 45%; 30-39 = 11%; 40-49 = 14%; 50+ = 19%)
• Only 12% of our volunteers appear to fit the definition of the ‘civic core’ (white, middle-aged, highly resourced and educated)
• In terms of higher education levels, 33% of our volunteers are currently students
• With regards to socio-economic levels, 14% of our volunteers live in neighbourhoods that fall within the most deprived 10% of areas in England, 31% live in neighbourhoods that fall within the most deprived 20% of areas in England, and over half (54%) live in neighbourhoods that fall within the most deprived 40% of areas in England
If you would like to volunteer at Midland Mencap you can find all of our amazing opportunities here
https://do-it.org/organisations/midland-mencap
Here’s our response to Wednesdays autumn budget statement.
Chief Executive of Midland Mencap, Dave Rogers said:
“Disappointingly this budget does nothing to address the growing crisis across social care. With a near £3 billion funding gap predicted by 2020 over a million vulnerable citizens already do not have an appropriate level of care or support they need to live healthy and fulfilling lives. The number of people needing care and support will only grow over the coming years and services and providers meeting that level of need are at breaking point. This will inevitably lead to higher costs for both local authorities and the NHS having to manage demand due to inadequate community based social care provision.
Government funding is urgently needed now ahead of any planned reforms, reforms which must reflect on the whole community social care system. Alarmingly there was no mention of funding to resolve the crisis regarding funding for sleep-in shifts, which will undoubtedly see providers go out of business if the government does not provide funds. In essence we believe that for citizens with a learning disability and their families this budget sends out the message that they are a community increasingly forgotten by central government.
With demand on services growing at Midland Mencap we are increasingly seeing citizens living in deep poverty, socially isolated and cruelly exposed to the wider community consequences of austerity. It is now critical that Government listen to the sectors voice and focus on fully resourcing the resolving of issues that detrimentally impact on the lives, welfare and well-being of disabled people.”
Other Charities reactions to the budget
Midland Mencap fully endorses the Learning Disability Voices statement following yesterdays Government announcement regarding Sleep-in payments.
In a care sector chronically short of resources to once again fail to address how legitimate back payments will be funded only adds to the anxiety of vulnerable people, their families and the organisations who support them.
The Governments position is both baffling and disappointing.
Response to the Governments announcement:
United Response(Learning Disability Voices reaction)
At Midland Mencap we believe having your own home is one of the most important things a person can have. Though we’re delighted the Government has now said there will be no cap on Housing Benefit for people living in Supported Housing we fully agree with this article from The Independent.
For vulnerable people to think they might lose their home and the support that comes with it was cruel and unnecessary. We now wait for the detail of the Governments decision and we hope it doesn’t come with strings attached.
If you need help or you know someone who needs advice or support with housing please contact us on 0121 442 2944.
It has been another busy year for sport at Midland Mencap from the weekly social kick about to representing the West Midlands in the National Special Olympics. And also who can forget the roller coaster of emotions in Amsterdam?
To celebrate and recognise some of these outstanding achievements of our athletes this year on Friday 22nd September we held Midland Mencap’s 4th Annual Sports Awards.
Sports Awards Winners!!
Newcomer Of The Year – Tom Kirby
Tom has started a new sport, trained and played in a Midland Mencap sports team for the first time this year. Tom’s team (the Midland Mencap Hockey Flyerz) won gold at the European Para Hockey Championships in August. A great achievement for Tom this season!
Young Sportsperson of the Year – Ben Twells
Ben has played football and basketball with us before, but this summer he discovered another sport: tennis! Ben has learned new tennis skills really quickly, and it has been a joy to coach him and watch his very rapid development in this sport.
Most Improved Athlete – Anthony Couling
Anthony has been swimming with us for just over a year now, and in this time he has really developed his swimming skills: never an easy thing to do!
Sporting Achievement – Nagina
During the summer Nagina took part in the Special Olympics National Games in Sheffield. Nagina was the first ever Midland Mencap athlete to gain this prestigious honour! Nagina claimed her medal in the MATP (Motor Activities Training Programme) event: this is for athletes with PMLD but is able to provide a suitable challenge for all athletes. A real sporting achievement!
Team Player of The Year – Reece Brackpool
Reece plays football and hockey with us. In Amsterdam, he was a highly valued member of the Flyerz hockey team, with laughter and smiles following him everywhere! He also played some great hockey, despite the fact that he only started this new sport at the turn of the year. A true team player!
Special Recognition Award – Ross Faville
Ross also plays football and hockey with us, but hockey is his favourite sport now! Ross was captain of the victorious hockey team and played every single minute of the tournament. Despite his legs being a bit tired after all that, Ross stepped up and took the winning penalty in the shoot out during the final against Spain. A true captain, sportsman and a great ambassador for hockey
Team of The Year – Hockey
It could only be one team really! The Hockey team followed up their bronze medal from the European Hockey Championships in London in 2015 by going two better and winning gold. Team work, skill, dedication to training, supporting each other and then managing to win a penalty shoot out and a gold medal. A truly unforgettable experience.
12th Man Award – Families / Carers
This was a new award this year to recognise the valuable and sometimes unspoken contribution that all players’ families and carers made. This included getting their loved ones to training, attending meetings with us, fundraising, encouraging, joining in with training and then becoming the team’s very own ‘Barmy Army’ in Amsterdam (where they were the noisiest supporters section and cheered the team throughout the tournament and on to gold!).
Midland Mencap Sports Personality of the Year – Bryn Owen Jones
Bryn is a multi talented sportsman, playing hockey and football, and joining in with swimming. He even goes to the gym on his days off! Bryn simply puts every ounce of effort into playing when he’s on the pitch. A polite, friendly, cheerful man off the pitch, Bryn ran himself into the ground in Amsterdam for his team and also scored one of the penalties in the shoot out. A pleasure to be around, the cheers in the room when this award was announced showed just what a popular winner Bryn was!
This has definitely been a year of amazing sporting achievements and it will be hard to top. However, with the same amount of support and dedication from Steve and Laura, the athletes, our fantastic volunteers and parents and carers, we’ll give it a good go!
If you are feeling inspired to get involved with sports at Midland Mencap, either as an athlete or a volunteer, please contact The Sports Team on 0121 427 6404.
Find our volunteer roles on ‘Do It’ here.
One of the things I love most about our fabulous Midland Mencap volunteers is how ready and willing they are to ‘go above and beyond’ their regular volunteer role and help out at one-off special occasions and events as well.
This generosity of spirit was in evidence at our Sailing Day this summer when several of our enthusiastic and dedicated volunteers came along to Aldridge Sailing Club to help support adults with learning disabilities to have a fun day out on the water.
One of these volunteers was Claire Bayley: our brilliant Volunteer DJ who spins the decks every Thursday at the Midland Mencap disco night in Walsall. We already knew that Claire had awesome musical and DJ-ing skills but now, after the Sailing Day, we know that her skills in supporting people are pretty amazing too.
A lady called Jean had come along to take part in the Sailing Day. When she arrived, she was feeling very nervous and was reticent to get on a boat. Claire sat with Jean and chatted to her about how she was feeling, giving her as much reassurance as she could. Thanks to Claire’s support and encouragement, Jean finally felt able to face her fear and give sailing a go. Needless to say, she ended up having a great time out on the water – with Claire supporting her the whole time.
Thank you Claire! And thank you to all our volunteers who come to help out at events like these. You make such a massive difference, and we really couldn’t put on such fabulous events without you.
If you have been inspired by this month’s volunteering blog, you can find all of our current voluntary opportunities on the Do It website here.
-Hayley Stokes, Volunteer Coordinator-
Very interesting Guardian article that reflects on the “bias culture” facing black, Asian and minority ethnic people with learning disabilities and their families, is this your experience?
Tell us about your experience and whether you feel it requires specialist support groups to overcome.
Above Joanna Lumley, Kit Harington, Jodie Whitaker, Jo Whiley, Matt Horne and Kate Spicer in Mencap’s video appeal to protect future care of people with a learning disability.
About the Sleep in Crisis:
The learning disability sector in the UK is on the brink of a Crisis.
Because of a Government decision to change its guidance on sleep-in payments, the learning disability sector is now faced with a back-pay bill of £400m which if enforced, may bankrupt many charities and care providers.
If this were to become a reality, many of the most vulnerable people in our society would be left without care, without hope and without an independent future.
Click to sign Mencap’s petition. People’s vital care depends on your support.
Learn More about the crisis:
To keep up to date on the Sleep in Crisis follow us on Social Media.
At the Queen Alexandra College (Court oak Road, Harborne, Birmingham, B17 9TG) we’re pleased to be offering a Breakfast Club and After College Club.
These clubs offer high quality, good value care and support with an exciting variety of activities from arts and crafts, games, ICT, puzzles and onsite outdoor activities (weather permitting).
A free ‘Tester Session’ is available from the 6th-15th September. To book your free taster session call 0121 256 1500 (find times below)
Breakfast Club
Monday 7:30 – 9:30am
Tuesday 7:30 – 9am
Wednesday 7:30 – 9:30am
Thursday 7:30 – 9:30am
Friday 7:30 – 9:30am
Includes drinks and healthy snacks (e.g. water, juice, cereal, toast, fruit).
After College Club
Monday 4 – 6pm
Tuesday 4 – 6pm
Wednesday 3 – 6pm
Thursday 4 – 6pm
Friday 3 – 6pm
How to Book:
• Fill in a registration form for each young person attending, available from the
college office or by email.
• Book sessions online via midlandmencap.org.uk at least a week in advance
(it might be possible to accommodate short notice bookings on occasion).
• Payment is required upon booking.
• There will also be a special reward scheme available for regular users of the
facility.
PLEASE NOTE: Once you have booked into the club, you will be charged even
if your young person does not attend.
For further information on the Breakfast and After College clubs contact Gemma Weston, CYP Operational Manager on 07414953020
Also Check Out the Flyer below.
