Club of the Month

I would like to say a special thanks to all of the clubs that helped with preparation for the 2010 Fun Day!

All of the clubs helped, but I would like to especially thank The Gardening Club who prepared and ran the Gardening Stall and Take a Break who prepared and ran the games stalls such as hoopla, hook a duck and lucky dip. A thank you to these clubs for giving their time and energy in helping to raise funds for Parkside.

Deputy Manager Pauline Wawman.

PIP has been running for 11 and a half years and its focus is to develop life skills and encourage independance and choice.

Recently you have been part of organising the Music Therapy performance of HEATWAVE! How did it go?
The response was amazing! With lots of support from care/residential houses and other organisations, meaning we had a full house on the day.

What was the performance about?
A love story based around Parkside beach celebrating all things summery, full of music and dance and of course a surfing competition. In true love story tradition Boy gets girl.

What do you feel the clients gain from doing live performances?
Increased confidence and self esteem, learning to work together as a team, improving memory and movements. Having a goal to aim for, which they all get excited about and want to share with other people. Three months ago some of the clients wouldnt even stand on the stage, by performance day they were all singing and dancing.

What other activities do you do on PIP?
Bowling, walking club, cooking club, swimming, dance morning, art and crafts, lunch club, shopping, sensory, gardening, boccia, ball games, music therapy, cinema club and garden games, touch screen computers, karaoke.

What is next for PIP?
We are currently working on our entry for Rushmoor In Bloom where we are entering the tubs and containers category and hoping to improve on last years result where we recieved Silver Gilt. Thank you to all that donated Wellington Boots for our display as you can see from the photos they are looking great!

The Garden Group are also entering RIB what are they doing?
They are busy preparing a wildlife garden which has been entered seperately and includes a pond, animal houses, a wild garden, and observation posters and books to help visitors identify the birds and animals in the garden. So far we have seen Foxes, Tadpoles, Swifts and lots of other native birds.

Gardening Club is this months Club of the Month! The club now runs on a Tuesday and Thursday, allowing more adults with physical and learning disabilities to benefit from all the skills that go hand in hand with gardening. Such as communication, learning processes, and team work. Here are some quotes from clients...

Claudette (client): “Sometimes there’s a lot of work at the garden, then sometimes there is more quiet times but we still work. We do weeding; my favourite thing to do is to plant flowers because they start as a small seed then become beautiful, with colourful petals. That is definitely my favourite, I couldn’t choose just one, they are all brilliant to grow. I like going to club as I get out of the house, see my friends, and get to plant seeds and learn new things. I have been planting vegetables lately which is new, but good. I am also in charge of looking after the birds, so I buy bird seed, it’s important to look after the animals. Thank you for helping the club; I wouldn’t know what to do without it!”

Paul (Client): “I’ve been coming to the club for long time now, I really like it. I’ve seen a lot of changes in the garden, it looks great now. I really like coming here on the bus and seeing the people that come too. We all sit down together and have lunch. It is nice to know Tuesday is gardening day and I dress warm as its cold a lot, but that doesn’t stop us. Thank you for helping us to continue with our garden.”

From Arts and Crafts to themed days, the Take A Break Club hosts a variety of activities. The club runs from the Apex centre in Fleet every Saturday from 9.30am until 1.30pm. Other activities vary from putting on shows to having competitions, shopping and art and craft sessions.

Here are some statements from the clients that access the Take A Break Club:

Kelly: "Take A Break is good as i go out and about, we do shopping and bowling. I like going out for a pub lunch as much as i can, i like meeting up with staff and my friends. I really enjoy it when we go shopping and i like looking round all the shops. Cooking is definatley the best."

Katy (Staff): "The best activity is the I-Toy, its great as everyone gets on together so well and all the clients are friends outside of the group.

Sarah: "Coming here i get to spend time with my friends. Im staying round Kellys soon and having my tea there, we are friends from club. I go shopping, bowling i like it when i get a strike."

Becky (Staff): "The clients are all lovely, its a nice relaxed atmosphere. The best activities are definatley the Sing Star Kareoke"

Mark: "I love it, ive made friends and starting relationships. I like the staff, people come and go at club, but its all ok everyone is welcome. Cooking and bowling are my favourite things to do."

The Gateway Club is our Club of the Month for March.

The Gateway Evening Club is Parkside's longest running club. It invites adults with learning disabilities across Surrey and Hampshire to come along on a Wednesday evening and socialise with friends, enjoy live entertainment and to get involved with sports and club nights. Below are some testimonials on the clubs from its members!

Lesley Thompson: "I love it! I have been coming for a long time and i like seeing my friends"

Donna Brown: "I like getting out the house and meeting up with my friends"

Janet Barrett: "I love all of it-its great!"

Jane Altrigham: "I like all of the entertainment"

Jill Morris: "Well organised and i like going on trips"

The Teenage Club is the club of the month.

In November and December the teens where kept very busy with an exciting schedule of events from shopping at Longacres, to swimming and bowling at Guildford Spectrum, to Donutting at Aldershot Ski Slopes to seeing Aldershot FC vs Chesterfield to visiting Birdworld's Winter Wonderland!

The very busy club is always doing new activities out and about in the community.

Jo tells us more about what they do...

"I like coming to Teenage Club because seeing my friends, painting, bowling, swimming."

Tom tell us...

"I like bowling, swimming, I like watch the DVDs and guitar."

Vicky says...

"I like swimming I like bowling at Guildford Spectrum. I like painting and doing make-up. I like sensory suite and singing Diane's music."