ANNUAL PROJECTS
Post-Covid Reboot
The charity, having been created in 2021, took on as its first task a formal application to the National League Trust for funding towards a project – the Post-Covid Reboot which ran from 2022 to 2023.
The objective was to get back to the regular 80 or so attendees each week, and to add in a few more. Always conscious of natural wastage – not always for sad reasons – we were not sure of success. We need not have bothered; like Topsy, the project just grew and grew, and weekly attendances were regularly well in excess of 100.
The National League Trust generously gave us a substantial grant towards our cost and it is important to state that Brackley Town Football Club remains very supportive offering us very competitive rates for room hire. We are “happy at home”.
The project continued with the regular coffee mornings, offering also a substantial home-cooked lunch for those who wanted it. We kept prices at an absolute minimum but were always conscious that we needed to be realistic.
That year, there were six themed days:
- Valentine’s Day
- Easter Bonnet Parade
- The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee – red, white and blue
- Aunty Joan’s 100th birthday
- Christmas Jumper day
- Traditional Christmas dinner
Additionally, the project participated in Silver Sunday in October, in conjunction with St Peter’s Church: a national celebration of the elderly – helping combat isolation and loneliness.
Three outings were organised and executed with military precision. Nobody was lost!
Thanks as always to Kim, her staff and all the volunteers. Without them this would not happen.
Winter 2022 was extremely cold, and, over and above the planned project programme. the trustees took it upon themselves to provide, from funds obtained other than from the NLT, a fleece gilet for each attendee. Caryl’s garage was stacked out with Amazon boxes containing gilets of all colours and sizes, and, thanks to the help of Rachel Page, everyone who wanted one was satisfactorily kitted out. We like to think they were a great help during that unusually cold spell, and, indeed, some of our attendees do still wear them sometimes.
Encouraging Independence not Dependence
This project (2023-24) received, again, substantial grant funding from the National League Trust to whom the trustees are extremely grateful. The principal objective for this initiative was to encourage all aspects of a Community Hub.
Building on the success of the informality of the coffee mornings, together with the reluctance of older people in particular to admit to need or to want to make too much of an effort to get help when needed, trustees and volunteers made every attempt to bring the agencies to them rather than the other way round.
Social prescribers came from the local GP surgeries to help with medical queries and matters of social care: more than one stair rail, raised toilet seat and bath grip were supplied as a result. These are very simple and very economical ways to ensure that a person remains safe and comfortable in his or her own home, but so often there is a lack of knowledge of whom to approach and how. By bringing them to our attendees, we overcame that barrier.
In the same way, representatives of Northamptonshire Police came along with Trading Standards. They offered advice on home safety and warned against scams.
Barclays Bank brought along their mobile van which was much appreciated since their Brackley branch had closed some time ago. Not only did they bring cheerful staff who were delighted to spend a day in our company, they brought Easter eggs for everybody!
The South Northants Volunteer Bureau were often in attendance giving advice on the volunteer car scheme, invaluable for so many people enabling them to get to doctor’s and hospital appointments without undue hassle. The drivers will also help at the hospital where travelling costs can be applied for and reimbursed on the spot.
Additionally, the Ability bus scheme made itself known, not only introducing a round town route to bring people to the football club on a Wednesday morning and to take them home afterwards but also establishing shopping routes, visiting the town’s three main supermarkets and returning passengers to their nearest bus stop. If the highest level of annual membership is taken out, this entitles the holder to be picked up at their front door and, reassuringly, Ability will have some personal details so that if someone who has booked them does not turn up steps can be taken to check that they are well.
One of the attendees runs a monthly bingo session; some of our ladies regularly have a raffle or take round the scratch cards; there is now a monthly bric-a-brac sale and for many this is effectively their only opportunity to browse and either shop or put back.
Kim is now registered for FareShare so every week she picks up short-dated perishables from Waitrose and these are available to the attendees. There is no charge although a contribution is invited – it all helps towards future events, an excellent form of self-help for we are dealing here with proud people.
There was an anticipation that numbers would increase, and this did indeed prove to be the case. Such was the success that the Trust had to factor in the hiring of an additional adjacent space so that there was room for everybody to sit down at the same time.
Changing People’s LIVES
Whilst it is important to give people stability in life, it is also important not to stand still. The trustees and project manager acknowledge that, while the cast members may change and the plot may vary a little, the central core – the offering and maintenance of safety, security and companionship – is what keeps the Saints Community Project ticking and keeps it popular.
This project will run for 12 months from 1 October 2024 and again has received very generous funding from the National League Trust which will cover some 65% of our running costs.
The rationale behind the project name is to change Lonely, Isolated, Vulnerable, Elderly, Solitary to Laughing and Literate, Integrated and Interested, Valued, Engaged, Sustainable.
The plan this year is, in addition to coffee mornings, lunches, entertainment, outings and regular visits from external agencies is to offer a widening of horizons. It is hoped therefore that we will have the following special events:
· Dancing with the dancers where local semi-professional dancers attend to give lessons and demonstrations to the attendees
· Singing with the singers where a local choirmaster will bring along some singers and some backing tracks and give the attendees an opportunity to participate
· “Football training” where members of BTFC’s Walking Football team, all themselves seniors, come along and do some gentle exercises around the pitch, helping with mobility and balance
· Some”foreign” days with visitors from overseas: we can offer Italian, Spanish, French and German from among trustees and volunteers and would hope to bring a flavour of food and music from those countries.
· A local education professional has offered to come and offer some literacy lessons; we are only too aware that some of our attendees miss out as they do not have the best reading and writing skills – and it is never too late to learn!
Watch this space!