Spotlight on EngAge Rotherham 2017

When I arrived at the Clifton Methodist Church the building was a hive of activity. The tables for the Christmas lunch were already splendidly set and the kitchen was full of people who were preparing the meal. Other people were setting out raffle prizes while others were making coffee and tea. The coffee smelled delicious! 

As usual, the church looked beautiful and by 10.50 am every seat in the church had been taken, people were chatting to each other and it was good to see strangers speaking to strangers. At 11.00am, Iain Cloke started the carol service which was very enjoyable. Nearly everyone knew every carol. Emotion was in evidence as I spotted a tear or two when certain carols were being sung. The lessons that were read by the volunteers went down well too. Experience told me that it can be oh so easy to freeze when you realise just how many people you're reading to.

By 12.30pm, the majority of the guests were sat in the hall, all ready to have their lunch. The many conversations cascaded from the church but this time it was complimented with lots of laughter. The atmosphere throughout the hall was a treat, to see so many people genuinely enjoying themselves proved that loneliness can be fought and there was the proof. 

The meal was delicious with plenty on the plates for everyone. The Christmas pudding was absolutely lovely.

As the afternoon wore on, I asked a number of people who were sat near me to be truthful and would they give me their honest opinion on what their thoughts were on the day’s activities. 'Absolutely lovely' was one remark. 'Are we coming again next year'? was another and 'Who can fault such a lovely occasion as this’ was yet another.

Soon, it was time for 'the man himself' to make an appearance to help draw the numbers for the many raffle prizes. Father Christmas received a warm welcome as he entered the room. Once the prize numbers had been drawn, it wasn't long after that that people were starting to don their coats and hats in readiness for their journeys home. 

On reflection, the whole event had been yet another big success. The success being that a number of older people had been drawn together to enjoy each others company, for some, maybe to forget the scourge of loneliness for a few hours. It was good to witness at first hand, the genuine care, concern and compassion that a number of people have for others. We must not forget the volunteers, remember the reward these people get is the satisfaction of knowing that they too have concern and compassion for others.

Let's all now look forward to enjoying the forthcoming festive season and let's all strive to make stronger bonds with our friends and neighbours so that we can help and encourage each other to obtain a better quality of life in the coming years.

The EngAge Rotherham team would like to thank Keith for his review of the day. We would also like to thank Ray Matthews, Janet Wheatley, Diane Keay and her team at Mears, photographer Beth Hopkinson and all our volunteers who not only helped us to make this a success but who support us the whole year round.

Also in EngAge in December

• We took part in the launch of the festival of Angels and our knitted Angel is currently sat with the other angels at the Minster in the town centre.
• We were supported by a student form Thomas Rotherham College on work placement.
• We visited all of our EngAge Rotherham groups in the run up to Christmas as they celebrate the festive season.

With the onset of winter please remember to take extra care when out and about and stay safe and warm at home.

On Monday 2nd October we celebrated International Day For Older People at Rotherham Minster at an event organised by Rotherham Older People’s Forum. This was a well attended event with lots of information stalls and freebies on offer. We met lots of new people, handed out lots of information and had interesting conversations about later life in Rotherham. 

On Wednesday 25th October we were focusing on Age Friendly Rotherham at Rotherham Town Hall, with around 40 people present. At this event we heard about developments in the past year including the launch of the Rotherham Older People's Forum report on the Rotherham Loneliness Conversations. EngAge Rotherham was commissioned to undertake research to explore older peoples’ experiences of loneliness and to hear ideas about what we can do to help. 82% of respondents were lonely sometimes or most of the time. 

'Almost everyone will have felt lonely at some point in their lives, it’s part of being human, it is a natural warning sign which we need to recognise and then respond to. For many, life moves on and the feelings of being lonely soon pass. For some, however, loneliness, becomes chronic and then it can have a serious effect on a person’s health and well-being.'

Table conversations explored what we need to do to make Rotherham more age friendly and agreed to a vision that by 2025 Rotherham will be a great place to grow older and live in later life. 

If you would like to get involved in Age Friendly Rotherham contact Iain on 01709 386836 iain.cloke@ageukrotherham.org to receive a copy of the Loneliness Research and an event report.

Also in EngAge in October

• Community Connectors have been extremely active connecting with older people around the borough.
• Thorpe Hesley and Kiveton Groups are taking part in the shoe box appeal leading up to Christmas.
• An information event took place in Swinton organised by South Yorkshire Police.
• Kathryn participated in the Rotherham Kitemark Panel adjudicating an application.
• We attended Healthwatch Rotherham’s annual Older People’s Conference with speakers from Rotherham. Clinical Commissioning Group and Edlington Community Group (Slipper Exchange). 
• Our Bevan Crescent Group and Redwood Group had a spooky theme for Halloween.
• We have been making plans for our Christmas and Remembrance Day events.
• We are supporitng the Love is Louder Festival of Angels.
• We have visited older people's groups, including engagement with some newly established activiity groups.

We were invited to our affiliated group in Todwick this month to mark its second birthday. The group was set up as an EngAge Rotherham group in May 2015 and became an independent group later that year in September.  Since then, the group has grown from strength to strength, with its shinning achievement being awarded the Duke of York Community Initiative award earlier this year.

The birthday afternoon itself was a fun one as group members, invited guests and Rotherham’s Mayor, Cllr Eve Rose Keenan were treated to songs and instrumental performances by local primary school children. Following this and a couple of speeches over a glass of Prosecco, the group was treated to a buffet with four different types of cake!

Kathryn Wild, EngAge Rotherham Support and Development Worker said, ‘one of my favourite parts of my job is to go out and visit our groups, talk to the members and learn what a difference they are making to their lives. And Grey Matter does just that, it makes a real different to people’s lives and supports them in whatever way it can. It has had an exciting two years and I can’t wait to see what adventures lies ahead of them in the future.’

Grey Matter is based in Todwick and meets on Friday afternoons between 2pm and 4pm. New members are always welcome and there’s a real mixture of activities on offer.

 Also in EngAge in September

• We took part and held Connectors session and loneliness conversations as part of Rotherham Show.
• We took part in the Love is Louder meeting, which marked the start of this year’s Festival of Angels project.
• We welcomed two new volunteers at our latest volunteer induction.
• We took part in the Lifewise event for older people with a stall and a presentation on how to get engaged with us and your community.
• We started planning for older people’s month – more about this next month!
• We used social media to inform people about scams awareness month.
• We had a meeting with the Age Friendly Cities Network.

Throughout August, the EngAge Rotherham team has been going out to local groups to hold conversations and delivering cards about what it means to be lonely. The cards have a free post address on them for people to return them and are being used by Rotherham Older People’s Forum for research that will be used to help develop more support to prevent people from being isolated and lonely. 

The cards ask five questions:

1. Are you, or do you know, an older person affected by feeling lonely?
2. In what ways do you think feeling lonely affects older people?
3. Do you think there are enough social activities for older people in your area?
4. What ideas do you have for helping any older people that may feel lonely in your area?
5. Which area in Rotherham do you live?

The completed report will be used to help inform voluntary sector organisations including Age UK Rotherham about what might be missing in the sector, which will help us to decide on the areas to focus on into the future. Iain Cloke, EngAge Rotherham Development Officer, said, ‘The cards give us invaluable information but not only that, they provide a great opportunity to have your voice hear about something that is important.’

If you would like to take part in these conversations at your local group, or would just like to fill on one our loneliness cards, please call us on 01709 910 699. Your help would be greatly appreciated.

Also in EngAge in August:

• Bevan and Redwood groups have entered their scarecrows into the Maltby Town Council Scarecrow  competition.
• Community connector sessions have been held across the south of the borough.
• EngAge Rotherham team gave a presentation at Rotherham Pensioners Action Group
• EngAge Rotherham team worked with Voluntary Action Rotherham and South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue as part of the panel to help judge new entries for the Rotherham Kitemark and gave a joint presentation abotu the Kitemark to organisations looking to achieve the award.

Two of our affiliated groups are currently busy building scarecrows for the Maltby Town Council Scarecrow competition which is being held in the town during 14th – 18th August.

Once finished, the scarecrows will be displayed outside houses and businesses around the area to create a Maltby scarecrow trail before going on display at the Edward Dunn Memorial Hall on Saturday 19th August. During the week they are on show, members of the public will get to vote on their favourites and judge which is the best scarecrow. The winning scarecrow will be announced at the Horticultural show and we’ll let you know how the two EngAge Rotherham groups get on in the next Spotlight.

Our Redwood group (pictured) are creating Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. Complete with plaits, a blue dress and red shoes, Dorothy will be positioned on a yellow path by the vegetable garden outside the Redwood Centre. After the competition and her trip to the Edward Dunn building, there are plans for Dorothy to click her red shoes together and return to the garden at the centre to protect the growing number of vegetables that the group are cultivating. 

As well as making scarecrows and growing vegetables (pictured below right), the group take part in quizzes, hold crafts sessions, have natter over a drink and a biscuit and have recently opened a quiet/counselling room with the support of the local church.

Redwood group meet on a Monday morning and

sessions cost just £1 to attend.

The grandchildren of our Bevan group have started work on a very different scarecrow with an Age UK Rotherham theme to it. Their scarecrow will also be positioned outside their building for people to come and visit. The  group meet on Thursday mornings and offer quizzes, discussions and a sing-song. However, this popular group is currently full  and can’t accept any new members at the moment.

Also in EngAge in June:

• A new community connector volunteer started running session in the south of the borough. Look out for her at sessions in Harthill, Kiveton, Todwick and Wales.
• The EngAge Rotherham team took part in the Digital Inclusion meeting, the Volunteer Coordinators Forum, the Rotherfed Tenants Conference, the Clinical Commissioning Group annual general meeting and the ‘big walk’ debrief meeting.
• We compiled our year in volunteering document – see here for more details.
• We held a conversation about what it means to be lonely and how we can challenge Loneliness at our Bevan group. If you are interested in holding a loneliness conversation at your group and would like to book a member of EngAge Rotherham staff to attend  please call 01709 910 699.

June marked ‘Count Me In!, Rotherham Volunteer Month 2017. Age UK Rotherham, along with other voluntary sector groups, took ample opportunities to say thank you to our volunteers and encourage new people to ‘shake a leg’ and join up.

The centrepiece of the celebration each year is a walk around Rotherham town centre and with over 44 volunteer organisations and around 250 walkers talking part, it goes to show that walking in a circle is not always pointless!

The Big Walk has been running for three years now and takes it name due to the number of people and not the distance covered. The afternoon started at Rotherham Minister, where volunteers were given the opportunity to mingle with each other and kick up their heels to the sounds of Clifton Community Choir, St Paul’s Choir and Sheffield Pipe Band.

After a speech from the Rotherham Mayor, Councillor Eve Keenan, the walk was afoot, with mounted police setting the pace at the front and the City of Sheffield Pipe Band marching at the rear. The weather, which was both raining and windy, could have dampened the spirits of those that had to head out into it, but instead the elements spurred people on and the atmosphere was electric with many volunteers from different organisations chatting and even becoming ‘sole’ mates. The walk finished with people sprinting inside for a hot drink, cake and inspirational speeches as well as more singing.

Kathryn Wild, EngAge Rotherham Support and Development Worker said, ‘It’s always great to see so many volunteers from Age UK Rotherham and other voluntary sector groups and it is nice that we are able to recognise the role they play to support the community. We were a bit worried in the morning with the bad weather, but we shouldn’t have been. Weather is not going to stop people from Rotherham coming out and if anything it made the atmosphere.’

Volunteers play a significant role in Rotherham

• There are 49,000 volunteers in Rotherham
• There are 12,300 volunteer committee/board members in the sector
• Volunteers give 85,300 hours of their time each week
• The value of volunteering in Rotherham each year is estimated to be £88 million

Since we have run out of puns and some of the puns used are on their ‘last legs’, the Spotlight will end with the wise words of the Cheshire Cat, ‘Every adventure requires a first step.’ 

Why not start your own new adventure and volunteer with Age UK Rotherham. For more details about volunteering at Age UK Rotherham:

• visit our volunteering page on our website
• call in  to our volunteer drop in at our office on the second Monday afternoon (between 1.00 pm - 4.30 pm) of every month
• call 01709 910 699
• email volunteering@ageukrotherham.org

 Footnotes (otherwise known as also in June):

• We supported a men’s group setting up in Clifton.
• We gave a talk at Rotherfed’s Digital Champion training workshop.
• We had a stall at Mears Breakfast Club.
• We attended local MP John Healey’s Great Get Together Coffee Morning.
• We joined volunteers at an evening get together and meal 

Three members of our affiliated group, Grey Matter in Todwick, attended a reception at St James’ Palace in London on 9 May where they met HRH Prince Andrew, who is the Patron of the Duke of York Community Initiative.

Grey Matter is one of 42 Yorkshire groups to receive an award from the scheme this year, with nine of those awards going to Rotherham organisations. Grey Matter received the award for the excellent support they provide to older people in their local community.

This was the first time that the reception hosted by the Duke of York has been at St James’ Palace and the group members said they felt ‘greatly honoured to be at a royal residence’.

Along with Grey Matter, Voluntary Action Rotherham, Rotherham Parents Forum Ltd, Rotherham Hospice, Rotherham Sitwell Rotary, the High Street Centre, Rotherham United Community Sports Trust, Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice and Rotherham Parents Forum Ltd also received an award.

The Chief Executive of Voluntary Action Rotherham, Janet Wheatley, said, ‘It is brilliant news that 15 from the 43 groups receiving an award this year are based in South Yorkshire and nine of those are based in Rotherham.  It’s fantastic recognition for the work that all the voluntary and community sector do in the county.’

Previous to their visit to London, the group had received their award at a ceremony in Huddersfield in April and received a personal letter from the Duke of York recognising their achievement. In the letter, His Royal Highness, said, ‘it is always inspiring to see the breadth of Award Winners each year.  It is a privilege to be able to recognise and reward the sheer enthusiasm, expertise and drive you add to the society and the environment in Yorkshire.’

Grey Matter focus on helping to improve the lives of older people through friendship and companionship. The group meets on Friday afternoons and offers a variety of activities.  Group members love nothing more than exercising their ‘Grey Matter’ with activities including quizzes, board games (there are some very enthusiastic scrabble and rummikub players), craft workshops, talks, or even just a good natter over cup tea or coffee.  The group also organise trips out such as the visit to Denby Potteries last summer and a Christmas dinner at the Silver Plate Restaurant (Granville College Sheffield). As a group, they are always welcome to new members joining them.

The Duke of York’s Community Initiative is a Royal Award presented to community projects based in Yorkshire. Award winners need to be owned, developed and led by the people they serve as well as proving to be a real value to the community, well run and an inspiration to others. Since the scheme was set up the Duke of York’s Community Initiative has recognised over 200 charities and community groups throughout Yorkshire.

Also in May:

• There were talks on fire safety at the Brinsworth, Bevan Crescent and Thorpe Hesley groups
• Group members at Thorpe Hesley and Todwick groups created flower displays
• We made paper doves in support of the Love is Louder project
• Community Connector sessions were held in Maltby and Brinsworth and at Tassibee in Rotherham town centre
• EngAge Rotherham staff took part in a digital inclusion meeting, a volunteer co-ordinators meeting and Big Walk event meetings and also met with evaluators for the safe and well project  

Rotherham Mayor, Councillor Lyndsay Pitchley continued to offer support for our EngAge Rotherham groups with a visit to our Bevan Crescent group in Maltby. 

Councillor Pitchley previously attended our Christmas Carol concert and invited a member of our Brinsworth group for afternoon tea earlier this year. While at the group the Mayor presented Ken and Margaret with a bunch of flowers to celebrate their 64th wedding anniversary, took part in the group’s quiz and sampled the homemade cakes that had been provided by a group member. Details of this recipe that was enjoyed by all are currently unavailable as it’s a family recipe, however EngAge Rotherham staff are trying to find out the secret ingredients.

Councillor Lyndsay Pitchley was sworn in as Rotherham’s youngest Mayor back in May last year and is reaching the end of her year in office. She is lifelong Rotherham resident and was elected onto the council in 2011, where she currently represents the Holderness ward. 

The Bevan Crescent group, which meets on Thursday morning, is currently full. Group activities  focus on combating loneliness and include quizzes, sing-songs, talks, and having a natter over a hot drink and a biscuit. Keith Stringer, the volunteer who leads the group, said, ‘It was a very special occasion for the group. Lyndsay was absolutely wonderful with every member of our group and will be sadly missed when she has to pass on the Mayoral Chain.’ 

Also in EngAge in April:

• •EngAge Rotherham groups have been having conversations about loneliness in order to help promote the Jo Cox Commission on Loneliness 
• •Our Todwick group, Grey Matter received their Duke of York Community Initiative Award at Huddersfield University
• •EngAge Rotherham supported the plans for the Volunteer Big Walk (to be held in June)
• •EngAge Rotherham staff had conversations with Pops in Rawmarsh and Tassibbee to look how we can work together

Spring is in the air and our EngAge groups surrounded by the sounds of chatter. Several of the groups have had people come to give talks about their different hobbies and experiences. These have included talks by Ray ‘Marathon Man’ Matthews at our Bevan and Brinsworth groups, the right care health talks delivered by Voluntary Action Rotherham at Todwick and a talk on birds and other wildlife at Thorpe Hesley.

Ray took up running on retirement and now aims to run in some of the most extreme places on the planet. He successfully completed a 100km race across the Sahara Desert and more recently took on a very demanding 100 mile run around the circumference of Rotherham. This is part of his goal to run 75 marathons in 75 days to mark his 75th birthday and raise money for Newman School in Whiston. As well as this goal, Ray is supporting our Rotherham Love Later Life Run in May, a 5k race and fun run in Rotherham’s Clifton Park. Ray is currently in the process of talking to all our groups about his running experiences.

As well as listening to talks, our affiliated groups offer a variety of different activities. These include crafts, gardening, board games, quizzes, boccia, kurling, trips and meals out. The group fees cost between £1 and £3 a week. For more details, please call us on 01709 910 699.

Also in March –

• EngAge Rotherham held its first evening meeting for volunteers to attend
• Age UK Rotherham achieved Kitemark Plus status for excellence in Volunteering
• Todwick group received the Duke of York Communitive Initiative Award (read more here)
• Maltby Redwood group replanting the garden around their community building
• EngAge Rotherham staff attended RotherFed’s AGM and Digital Inclusion Events and the Unity Centre’s Love is Louder project meetings

Several new volunteers joined Age UK Rotherham in February and will each soon be taking on their new role to support older people in the local community.

Volunteering can be beneficial for a number of reasons including health benefits, improved quality of life, meeting new people, improved self-esteem and sense of purpose, increased confidence, better social interaction, learning or developing a skill, becoming a greater part of a community, motivation and sense of achievement, boosting career options, new interests and hobbies, new experiences and feeling like you are making a difference.

We have several different volunteer roles available and details of all current roles are on our volunteering page. Roles include being a Safe and Well Support Volunteer and Community Connector. All our volunteers receive support and relevant training to allow them to perform their role. Training can vary from role to role, both in term of the length of training and the type of training that is provided. All volunteers will receive an Age UK Rotherham induction in addition to any other training that they undertake.

Here’s what some of our volunteers have said about their role with us:

“I am contributing to a worthwhile cause.

“If it wasn’t for the volunteering I have done here, I would never have got a job because I have learnt everything from volunteering. I had no experience at all.”

“I like working as part of a team, other workers are friendly and helpful, both staff and volunteers. It keeps my brain active.

“Volunteering has given me a new lease of life.”

“Making an older person feel less lonely is invaluable.

“Being included despite my disability is of great importance to me.”

Interested in volunteering with us?

We hold volunteering drop in afternoons on the second Monday of every month. The next drop in is on 13th March between 1pm and 4.30pm.

Also in EngAge in February:

• Three new volunteers attended a volunteer induction event.
• Volunteers who attended their induction in January have now started their Community Connectors Training
• EngAge Rotherham took part in the Digital Inclusion Network meeting which aims to help people get online
• A member of the Brinsworth Good Companions Group went to afternoon tea with the mayor
• Thorpe Hesley Group – Friday Club went ten pin bowling, which was a great success and now the group plan to go every week.

The latest Big Knit campaign has been running for a few months at Age UK Rotherham. The campaign involves kitting small woollen hats for the top of Innocent Smoothie bottles and to stop our efforts from unravelling and needling a little help, we have approached the EngAge Rotherham Affiliated Groups. Asking the simple question of ‘wool ewe help us?’, members responded with knitted brows before getting out the needles, casting off and carrying on.

EngAge groups provide a variety of different activities, which often include ‘yarning on’ over a cuppa, showing their ‘purls of wisdom’ answering quiz questions and finding themselves ‘in stitches’ while playing board games. However, the focus this month has been producing the hats and the members ‘dances with wool’.

The knitted hats have to meet certain requirements to be able to fit the smoothie bottles. But other than that there is no ‘knit-picking’ on what the hats looks like. Hats have come in shaped as dinosaurs, frogs, foxes, owls as well as the basic hats. For some more ‘purlers’ of ideas you can visit the BigKnit’s website: http://www.thebigknit.co.uk/knitting-patterns  

So, thank you and hats off to all those have help us meet the target of 500 hats so far. And, without embroidering the facts, we will need another 500 hats in a just a couple of months time. So, if ‘ewe’ are available to help, even if you don’t want to go to one of our groups, please give us a call, pop into our knit and natter session in the Galax Building on 14 February at 10am or just bring your hats into the office.

We hope you have enjoyed spotting the pattern in this piece and not lost count of all the knitting related puns.

Also in EngAge in January:

• Connectors have started holding sessions in Brinsworth and Maltby
• We held a volunteer induction event and three people  signed up to volunteer with Age UK Rotherham
• EngAge Rotherham staff have attended Hate Crimes and Coaching workshops and will be feeding this back into volunteer meetings in the next few months

December marked another opportunity to say thank you to our volunteers and celebrate Christmas with our service users at our Christmas Carol Concert. Supported once again by the Mears Group, the event is one of festive fun and laughter with old and new friends. Around 100 older people and volunteers attended along with Mayor of Rotherham, Councillor Lyndsay Pitchley. 

Age UK Rotherham ‘elves’ decorated the room with festive cheer and were on hand throughout the day to make sure that everyone had a great time. The day started with a carol service that was led by Age UK Rotherham staff member, Iain Cloke. Following the service, guests were treated to a two course Christmas lunch which was provided, cooked and served by the Mears Group staff and apprentices. The afternoon finished with entertainment from local singer Celene Francis.

A good time was had by all as shown by some of the comments that have been shared with us below:

‘Thank you for a wonderful afternoon.  Lovely food and everyone was so friendly.’  

‘Beautiful service in a beautiful church.  The meal was delicious, hot, served with a smile.  Thank you to all the volunteers and staff for all the preparations and good work.  It’s lovely to see so many kind happy folk!’

‘Better than some professional dos that I have attended.’

 ‘I wouldn’t have had anything done differently. Absolutely superb – the service, the young girl singing, the meal.’ 

 ‘The staff made us feel so welcome and couldn’t do enough for us. We look forward to coming next year.’

 ‘You can tell just how much hard work went into it – a wonderful day.’

 ‘I thoroughly enjoyed all of it. Best one yet.’

 Also in December: 

•  EngAge Rotherham team attended a meeting about the Duke of York Community Initiative
•  Thorpe Hesley Group took part in a Festival of Angels workshop making clay angels
•  Community Connectors have been given their kit and have started to get out and about in their boroughs
•  EngAge Rotherham took part in the Kitemark training offered by Voluntary Action Rotherham
•  Bevan Crescent Group had pie and peas lunch for their group