Representing Parkside

On Wednesday 27th of July Parkside was invited to attend and publicise its services at the Mayoress' tea party. The event was extremley well attended and was a huge success, congratulations to Jennifer and Alex.

On the May bank holiday the Farnborough, Rushmoor and Blackwater Valley Rotary Clubs organised and help the Farnborough Donkey Derby.

The weather wasn't fantastic and there was some heavy rain before the end of the day, but overall the day was very well attended and we sold out on our tombola within an hour! We raised £112, thank you to everyone who stopped by to say hello and had a go!

In May the Rushmoor Access Group held an information day at the Princes Mead Shopping Centre in Farnborough. The Access Awareness Day is a fantastic opportunity to meet people within the community and to help them find a service or support group which is suited to them.

In March Rushmoor Voluntary Service arranged a series of charity days where local groups could advertise themselves to the public. Based at Farnborough Shopping Centre Parkside held yet another Information Stand. The day was really beneficial for raising Parkside's profile as well as meeting potential volunteers, parents and clients. Thank You RVS for the invitation.

On Tuesday 15th February Parkside was invited to attend the Freshers Fair at Farnborough Sixth Form. The day was a success and we were fortunate to raise awareness and gain potential volunteers.

November 2010 saw Parkside attending Fleet Festivities for the first time. This was a fantastic opportunity to join in community festivities and to see members and supporters as well as reaching out to new people.

We ran a small tombola and sold Parkside Tote Bags and raised £90.

On the 21st and the 22nd of July Parkside had a information stand outside Aldershot's Tesco Store, with the help of volunteers we collected £269.

On Monday 31st May we were at the Farnborough Donkey Derby. Following from the success of our tombola at Moors Festival, we decided to run another one and raised a fantastic £110! Once again thank you to everybody that came and said hello and had a go at the tombola to support us and help us raise funds, including the Mayor and our local MP!

If you would ever like to volunteer at any of our Fun Days, Donkey Derbys or Information Days then please contact Bonnie at parksidefundraising@live.co.uk.

Parkside were present at the Rushmoor Moors Festival on Saturday 22nd May organised by Rushmoor. We had a stand in the Community Tent and were asked to do a fundraising activity so we decided to run a Tombola which I am pleased to announce raised £70! Thank you to everybody that came and said hello.

On Thursday the 13th of May 2010 Parkside was invited to host a stall at the Access Awareness Day run by Rushmoor Access Group at the Wellington Centre in Aldershot, Hampshire.

The day was a great opportunity to meet local people and to inform them of Parkside's part within the community and the services which we provide. Our Fundraising Officer Bonnie said: "Today has been very beneficial in many ways, I have met many parents/carers who are concerned for their child/client's general wellbeing as they weren't aware about local groups or clubs which their child could attend. It's really great that pro-active groups put on awareness and information days, as without them people with learning disabilities will not know what is available in their community and can become isolated or stuck in the same routine. Days such as these also create a brilliant opportunity to create awareness in the local community, whilst promoting inclusion for all. Thank you again to Rushmoor's Access Group for inviting us."

With our new Life Skills and Cafe project in mind Suzanne and Bonnie visited Worthing Mencap to see their Cafe 'Buddys'. Buddys is a drop in centre and a cafe, the cafe is staffed by volunteers, some of whom have learning disabilities. It also sells items for fundraising and is a meeting place for other groups within the community. Suzanne and Bonnie thoroughly enjoyed their trip to Buddys and were very impressed with the cafe, it has given them lots to think about and discuss when planning Parkside's future projects.

If you would like to know any more about Buddys, then please visit:

http://www.buddys.ukf.net/

On Saturday 24th of April 2010 Bonnie our Fundraising and Development Officer went along to Connaught School to represent Parkside at a Special Needs Day. The aim of the day was to invite lots of organisations who support children and adults with special needs to come along and host a stall offering lots of information to parents, carers and professionals. The day was a huge success and was well attended, the day also featured workshops such as Music Therapy, Behavioural and Diet and a workshop on Autism. Special thanks to Amy and Cay Byford for inviting Parkside and hosting a great day.

On Friday 25th February 2010 our Fundraising and Development Officer Bonnie went along to Farnborough Sixth Form's Volunteering Fair to represent Parkside. The aim of the fair was to inform and encourage students of all the possible volunteering opportunities in the local community.

Below is a picture of the information stand that Bonnie uses while out in the community promoting and representing Parkside, if you have an event or know of an event where we could show our display please contact Bonnie today on 01252-313103.

Manager Suzanne and two Parkside clients Paul and Oliver went to the West End Centre in Aldershot on Friday 12th February to consult with service users, carers and service providers on Hampshire County Council's Policy aimed at promoting independence and choice in social care.

Both Paul and Oliver were able to put forward their own views with regard to making choices and decisions whilst also being supported to stay safe.

Paul Baker and Oliver Mansell-Ward at the consultation event.