Home-Start MK News: More Details (continued
from Home Page)
Home-Start MK News: Archive
2011
December:
Thank you: donations doubled!!
We were delighted that we raised £247.36
from donations of £115 during the LocalGiving.com Christmas Match
Fund and would like to thank our generous donors as well as LocalGiving.com!
Thank you!!!
Overwhelmed by your generosity!
We
were delighted by the support we received at West Bletchley Council's
Festival of Christmas on 10th and 11th December held at Bletchley Park.
We
would like to thank all those who kindly donated a fantastic £529
over the two days. Our thanks also to West Bletchley Council for
nominating us as the chosen charity of the event.
Out for a visit with Mark
Lancaster MP
Our
Senior Coordinator Steph was delighted when Mark Lancaster MP for Milton
Keynes North accompanied her on a visit to one of our families in Newport
Pagnell. Mark was able to see and hear for himself how Home-Start
helps and supports families who find that the pressures of family life
are simply too much to cope with alone.
We took part in The Big Give
Christmas Challenge.... Donors had the opportunity to Double Donations
during the week 5th and 9th December from 10am daily!
We
took part in the 2011 Big Give Christmas Challenge. Every £1
donated online during the week of 5th to 9th December had the opportunity
of being doubled. Funds were released at 10am each day and donors
were asked to visit our donation
page to help us meet our target of £2,000. It was a
very popular scheme and donors had to be prompt in order to access the
fund. We are delighted that we raised a total of £580.
We
make our money go a long way....please don't think it's too small an
amount to make a difference!!
Home-Start comment in Society
Now Magazine
Home-Start
UKs Director of Research & Policy, Elizabeth Young recently commented
in an article on the riots and whether society is actually 'broken'.
Click here
to read the article.
November:
We are Shenley Church End
Sainsburys Charity of the Year!!
Steph
and Judith were delighted to attend the Grand Opening of the new Sainsburys
store at Shenley Church End. Home-Start Milton Keynes were nominated
as the store's Charity of the Year and we were therefore delighted to
be at the opening event. Pictured with Steph and Judith is the
Store Manager and a veteran who cut the opening ribbon.
October:
Fabulous Fundraising!!
Our
calculator has been on overdrive and we can reveal that our fundraising
and donations total for the first six months of the year (April-Sept
2012) is an amazing £2,754.62.
Many of our volunteers generously
donate their expenses and this has amounted to an incredible £1,166
in the first half year. We are extremely grateful for this much
needed financial support which is over and above what we ask (and expect)
of our volunteers.
We have been unsuccessful
in many of our funding bids and we cannot stress enough how important
individual fundraising is to us. This money will pay for our annual
Christmas Outing this year, an event which delights and provides a unique
treat to the children and parents we support.
Thank you for your votes!!
The
NatWest Community Force voting has now closed - we had at least 43 votes
(awaiting final totals) so thank you all for voting - we know it wasn't
very straightforward! This project is helping local communities through
local charities - we fit the bill so well! We hope this has helped
to raise our profile and maybe some much-needed funds too....a possible
£6,000 is on offer.
Update on our situation
Following
the press coverage we received during August regarding the closure of
three of our four family groups, we would like to clarify our current
position.
The good news is that two
Children's Centres are currently supporting two new family groups in
the city. Unfortunately we were not able to replace Sure Start
funding which came to a natural end at the end of March 2011 and we
consequently faced staff redundancies. Some staff members have
reduced their hours and two out of three potential redundancies have
been saved. We sadly said goodbye to one member of staff at the
end of September, but we are delighted that she is still staying with
us as a volunteer.
Home-Start Christmas Cards:
We were delighted to be able
to offer for sale Home-Start Christmas Cards again this year.
We received various coverage
in the local press, BBC Look East, and BBC Three Counties Radio about
reducing our service. We sadly closed three of our four family
support groups and had to reduced staff hours from 1st October, but
otherwise it was business as usual for families and referrers.
July:
Nine Runners and a buggy
complete the MK Half Marathon!!!
We are delighted that our team
of half marathon runners completed the NSPCC
Milton Keynes Half Marathon on Sunday 17 July with a buggy and
two children!!! "The Mucky Ducks" braved Sunday's rain showers
and the buggy stood up to the rigours of the course, as did Olivia (aged
3) and George (aged 6 months) who were pushed around the 13 mile course
.
Olivia and George had their
very own fundraising page and raised £495 and the Mucky Ducks
raised £530 - a grand total of £1,025! Thank you thank you
thank you!!!
Home-Start in the scrum!
We are very proud that Olney
7's Rugby team raised nearly £170 for Home-Start Milton Keynes
at their summer tournament on Saturday 9 July and also very kindly agreed
to sport our logo on their kit. Many thanks to all the lads!
JustTextGiving
We signed up to JustTextGiving!
Text 'HSMK01' and the amount you wish to give (eg 'HSMK01 £10')
to 70070 to donate
Sold! MK Dons signed
shirt
We had a highest bid of £23
for our signed MK Dons football shirt...
MK Dons very generously donated
a signed football shirt to us signed by 15 players. It was up for
auction on Ebay and bidding finished on 27 July. Thank you to the
highest bidder who has raised some money for Home-Start Milton Keynes
in the process.
Visit us at the Volunteer
Fair
We took part in the Volunteer
Fair in Middleton Hall in thecentre:mk on Tuesday 5 July. We met
lots of interesting people and took details of those who wanted to know
more about volunteering for us.
June:
Bid for Goodwood Tickets!
We were extremely fortunate
to receive two donated tickets to the prestigious Goodwood Festival
of Speed for Friday 1 July 2011. Bids were invited with the highest
bidder winning the tickets for a great day out.
She did it!!! Molly
Jumped for Home-Start!
The
sun shone on a very grateful Home-Start mum who faced her fears and
made a 125 ft Vertigo Jump on 3 June 2011- all in aid of Home-Start
Milton Keynes. Molly admitted that the jump was very much out
of her comfort zone. She did fantastically well and raised a substantial
amount of money for the scheme on her fundraising
page. Thank you Molly!
Home-Start on TV!
On Tuesday 21 June, a Home-Start
scheme featured on Channel 4's 'Fairy Job Mother' programme. The
programme highlighted the process a potential volunteer goes through
with Home-Start.
May:
Actor David Jason presented Home-Start's
BBC Radio 4 Charity Appeal - Listen again!
We have been collecting Tesco
Vouchers again this year as we would like to obtain toys and games for
our family groups. Many thanks to everyone who kindly gave us
their vouchers. We are looking forward to receiving our games
very shortly.
March:
Sian completes the Milton
Keynes Half Marathon
We are very grateful to Sian
who completed the Milton Keynes Half Marathon on Sunday 13 March in
aid of Home-Start.
Sian told us, "I so enjoyed running
the half marathon......... My friends and I didn't stop talking the
whole of the way round and before we knew it we were crossing the finishing
line (still talking!) in a respectable 2 hours 6 mins. Many thanks
to those who have already donated and to those who would still like
to support Home-Start, my sponsorship
page is still open. Your donation, no matter how small, will be
greatly received."
Kurt completes his Half Marathon
We are delighted that Kurt
completed the Adidas Silverstone Half Marathon in just over 2 hours
on Sunday 6 March and celebrated by taking part and completing the Milton
Keynes Half Marathon a week later...phew!
On 29 March we held a 'Healthy
Lifestyles' training
session for our volunteers led by The Health Improvement Team, Milton
Keynes PCT. Our volunteers were able to test healthy recipes (and
eat the very tasty results), learn about oral health, weight management
programmes etc.
Other agencies joined us and
were able to be part of our day. A huge amount of information
was available from Brook (sexual health charity), the Family Information
Service, Smoking Cessation Service and dieticians. To read some
feedback from our volunteers, click here.
February:
Funding From West Bletchley
Council
Following
a successful funding bid, we were delighted to be awarded £4,750
from West Bletchley Council which enabled the continuation of TAG, our
family group which meets weekly at The Artroom in Bletchley.
Like many organisations we find
that lack of funding is a constant threat and this much needed grant
ensured that our group could continue to support parents who struggle
to cope.
Families who are supported at
our groups receive practical and emotional support, parent mentoring,
information on healthy lifestyles and the group provides an opportunity
for socialisation for parents and children. The children at our
groups learn to share, improve language skills and to sit for healthy
snacks and for singing. We are very grateful to West Bletchley
Council for their support which enables us to provide this invaluable
support for local families.
January:
Home-Start on ITV1's Tonight
Program!
On
Thursday 31 March, Home-Start featured on ITV's Tonight program which
was broadcast to an audience of five million!
The program looked at five frontline
services that have been affected by local authority cuts and the impact
these cuts have had on their work and the people who use the charity.
Nick Hurd, Minister for the Civil Society, was interviewed and questioned
how charities are expected to carry out the government's 'Big Society'
when facing cuts to their funding.
2010
December:
We love to party!
There was lots of fun and
laughter at the Home-Start Christmas Party which was held at 360 Play
on 15 December. The children (and some adults (staff included!!))
enjoyed playing on the slides and built up an appetite running
around enjoying all the free play equipment on offer.
The children sat beautifully
and enjoyed a lovely buffet lunch while the adults recovered from their
excersions before joining in with the refreshments. All in all,
an extremely successful event which was made possible by the generous
donations from Stony Stratford Lions Club, Waitrose in Central Milton
Keynes and other kind donations.
Cheque for £300 Received
from Waitrose Milton Keynes
We were delighted to be the recipient
of a cheque for £300 as a result of being one of the three charities
nominated for Waitrose's Green Token Scheme. Customers in the
Central Milton Keynes branch chose one of three charities to be the
recipient of the token given after each transaction during October.
This kind donation was used to
fund the annual family Christmas outing which, this year, was at 360
Play. Thank you to all Waitrose customers who 'voted' for us.
Home-Start UK shortlisted
as Morrison's Nominated Charity of the Year for 2011
We were pleased to learn that
Home-start UK have been shortlisted to be Morrison's charity of the
year for 2011. The
decision was made by staff vote, and Home-Start UK
have produced a three minute film was shown to staff in all branches
of the supermarket during the beginning of December in order for them
to make their decision on who to vote for.
Home-Start
was really lucky to have recruited the help of actor Max Brown to front
the film. Max has starred in Grange Hill, Hollyoaks, Mistresses, The
Tudors and, most recently, Spooks). He was perfect for the role
as his mum has worked for Home-Start for over 20 years, so he has grown
up with Home-Start and therefore speaks form the heart.
Last
year Home-Start came a close second, so we are keeping our fingers crossed
that this will be a successful year, although the competition is strong;
Save the Children and Shelter were also shortlisted. We will let
you know if we are successful.
Community Car Raffle
2010
We were delighted to participate
in the Community Car Raffle again in 2010. We were really hopeful
that we would be the organisation to sell the winning ticket, especially
to one of the shoppers who were kind enough to purchase a ticket when
we manned a stand in Central Milton Keynes. We recieved 50% of
each ticket sold.
October: Customers
asked to support Home-Start with their Waitrose Tokens
Customers of Waitrose in Central
Milton Keynes, were asked to favour Home-Start Milton Keynes when choosing
the charity to benefit from green Waitrose tokens during October.
Waitrose run a scheme whereby
every transaction, no matter how small, is rewarded with a ‘green token'
and the customer chooses which charity they wish to support by placing
the token in an specific box. The more tokens placed in the Home-Start
box, the greater donation made to Home-Start. Home-Start supporters
were asked to support the scheme when shopping in Waitrose.
September: Congratulations!
Sally completes a Half Marathon
We
are delighted that Sally, one of our wonderful volunteers, took part
in the 'Run
to the Beat' Half Marathon on Sunday (26th September).
She completed the London course in an impressive 2 hours 20 minutes.
Sally has kindly nominated Home-Start Milton Keynes as beneficiary
of half her sponsor money with the remaining half benefitting Home-Start
UK.
We are very grateful to Sally
for her support and hope that she doesn't suffer too many post-run aches
and pains.pp
Another successful AGM and
volunteer Training Event
Our
annual AGM was held on 28 September and was very well attended, numbers
perhaps influenced by the very entertaining and informative training
on depression by cartoonist Martin Davies that preceded the event!
Martin has a wealth of experience in psychiatric nursing and counselling.
His philosophy for coping is "You can't always influence what
others say or do to you - but you CAN influence HOW YOU REACT
TO IT !" Feedback from Martin's training was extremely
positive and his entertaining approach to such a serious topic was very
much appreciated. The AGM
followed and we were delighted to welcome two Home-Start families who
spoke of the positive difference Home-Start had made to their lives.
Click here to view our Trustees'
Annual Report and Half
Year Update .
Healthy Eating Celebration
Event!
After a successful funding bid,
Home-Start held a celebration event of healthy eating to kick start
it's 'Healthy Cooking on a Budget'. The event held at Campbell
Park at the beginning of September was a great success and was enjoyed
by many Home-Start families. An additional £500 was provided
by Sainsburys towards this showcase event which was organised in conjunction
with BPHA . We welcomed
many Home-Start families who enjoyed the many fun activities as well
as gaining information from the many other agencies including local
Children's Centres, Families Information Service, Employment Support,
Trading Standards, PCT and PSLA.
Home-Start families will benefit
with future sessions helping them to cook healthy meals on a tight budget.
Co-ordinators on
Faith Tour!
Two
of our co-ordinators were overwhelmed by the wealth of information gained
during the Faith Tour on Wednesday 29 September. During the day's
schedule they visited two Sikh temples, a Hindu community centre, a
Buddhist temple, a synagogue and an ecumenical church.
July: Families Had
Fun on the Farm!
Fun
and laughter was the order of the day at Mead Open Farm on Wednesday
7 July as 35 Home-Start families, plus volunteers and staff enjoyed
the activities on offer at the local attraction. Approximately
60 adults and over 50 children enjoyed meeting the animals, tractor
rides and cheering on their chosen steed in the Sheep Derby race.
Everyone was glad to sit down for a well earned rest and to enjoy their
picnic lunch and a natter. Click here
to read comments about the day.
Please
contact us if you are interested in helping
us financially towards future family outings or parties. These
events are a vital part of our support and much appreciated by the families
as they are often beyond the budgetary restraints of day to day living.
Watch us!
Home-Start featured on the
BBC Lifeline monthly television charity appeal programme in July 2008.
Click
here to view this ten minute programme online - you will need to
scroll down to July 2008 to locate the correct link.
Stephanie, our Senior Co-ordinator, was also interviewed (July 2010) for one of the BBC news programmes. You can view the clip from this below.
June: Home-Start Celebrated
the Work of Its Volunteers
In
conjunction with National Volunteer Week (1-7 June) Home-Start held
an event to celebrate the commitment and dedication of its wonderful
volunteers on the evening of Wednesday 19 May. Approximately
40 volunteers, staff, referrers and funders enjoyed refreshments
and the late evening sun on the decking at the Marle Inn in Milton Keynes.
Thanks was given for volunteers' length of service with the
longest length of service being 11 years.
"
Home-Start is an organisation that makes you feel rewarded for giving
service to people because you see the difference you make to people's
lives every time you visit them, and that inspires you to continue with
your servic e." (Comment from a volunteer)
To
see more comments from volunteers and referrers click here
.
Did you see us at
the Volunteers' Fair?
We
participated in the Volunteer Centre's Volunteers' Fair on 8 June 2010
and manned a stand at this event in Middleton Hall in The Centre CMK.
We spoke to many potential volunteers and also to people interested
in learning a bit more about what we do. If you missed us, please
do not hesitate to contact
us. We would love to hear from you.
April:
£2010
for 2010 Fundraising Launch
Earlier this year we
were delighted to launch our fundraising appeal £2010
for 2010 . Our aim is to secure the support of a
handful of companies or individuals who are willing to raise £2010
for us this year. We hope that this is a realistic amount to raise
and would like to encourage supporters to consider payroll giving or
nominating Home-Start Milton Keynes as a beneficiary from an event.
Click here for ideas.
The
families we support may be one of your friends, relations or employees
(we offer a confidential service so people often prefer not to reveal
their situation). Between April 2009 and March 2010, we received
172 referrals and have recently found that we are a victim of our own
success as we have regretably had to turn desperate families away due
to overwhelming demand. Without
additional funding, the valuable service we offer may have to be reduced.
Please contact us if you would
like to learn more.
Funding Obtained to Secure
Ongoing Success of Three Home-Start Family Groups in
Milton Keynes
We
were delighted that in April 2010 two funding bids were successful and
we secured £15,000 over two years from Lloyds TSB Foundation for
England and Wales, and an additional £2,000 one year's funding
from Guinness Midsummer. This funding contributes towards the
salary costs of one of our Family Group Coordinators who runs three
family groups in Bletchley, Netherfield and Fullers Slade. To
read the full press release click here.
We
continue to submit bids in order to secure additional funding for the
remaining £56,500 that is needed for this post over the next three
years. If you can help, we would be delighted to hear from
you.
February:
Staff and Volunteers Receive Debt Training Funded by The MSE Charity
Twelve
staff and volunteers received training at the end of February on Debt
Management and Basic Money Management Skills delivered by the Consumer
Credit Counselling Service. The full cost of this training was
funded by a grant received from The MSE Charity (Money Saving Expert.com
Charity Fund).
The
skills imparted on this training are enabling staff and volunteers to
assist families who are experiencing problems with debt.
£15,000 Grant
Received to Help Recession-Hit Families in Milton Keynes
The
scheme was extremely pleased to be the recipient of two generous awards
totalling £15,000 that enhanced its existing support to families
hit by the recession.
A
£10,000 grant has been received from the Department of Children,
Schools and Families (DCSF) and £5,000 received from Milton Keynes
Community Foundation. To read more, click here.
Home-Start participated
in the MKCVO Community Ticketing Offer!
We
were delighted to be involved in theMKCVO
Community Ticketing Offer.
For the discounted price of £5 for Adults and £2 for Children
(15 & under) supporters enjoyed a Dons game from a selected number
of matches.
Donation from Milton Keynes
City Community Choir
We
are extremely grateful to Milton Keynes City Community Choir and to
everyone who purchased tickets for their Christmas Carol Concert held
in December 2009. We received the very generous donation
of £552.00.
Praise Indeed for Home-Start!
Maria
Miller MP, shadow minister for family welfare said, "I can't
praise highly enough the work of Home-Start and Parentline Plus, who
have paved the way in the work they do” . She was speaking
at a fringe event to raise awareness of the effectiveness of volunteers
in supporting families, at the 2009 Conservative Party conference.
To read more check out Home-Start
UK's informative website.
January: Chief Executive
of Home-Start UK in New Year's Honours List
Kay
Bews, Chief Executive of Home-Start UK, has been appointed OBE in the
2010 New Year's honours list for services to children and families.
Click here
to read more.
2009
Families Enjoy a
Fun Packed Christmas Party
Food,
entertainment and festive fun was in abundance for the 45 families who
attended the annual Home-Start Christmas Party this year. Father
Christmas, assisted by the cheerful Funkey Fairy delivered over 80 presents
to children supported by the scheme. Staff and volunteers entered
into the Christmas spirit with enthusiasm and a great time was had by
all.
BIG LOTTERY FUND project
started!
The
Big Lottery Fund have continued to fund a major part of our work: we
are delighted that the Reaching Communities project will run for five
years from 1st April 2009 - Judith, our Co-ordinator funded by this
project, is very pleased that the Big Lottery have recognised her work
with families and volunteers over the last three years: the aim is to
support up to 185 families over five years.
Thank you for supporting
us!
We
are overwhelmed by the generosity and kindness of the shoppers in Bletchley
on 14 December during our collection outside Sainsburys organised by
the Rotary Club of Bletchley. We are pleased to announce that
we collected over £174.
Thank you
We enjoyed a seasonal evening
of music and helped to raise money for Home-Start!
We
were delighted that the Milton Keynes City Community Choir supported
Home-Start Milton Keynes and Willen Hospice with the proceeds of their
' Christmas Celebration '.
This
event certainly got us in the mood for the Christmas season on Sunday
13 December 2009 St James Church, New Bradwell.
Review of AGM held
Wednesday 14th October 2009
Our
AGM was well attended and the scheme was congratulated by the board
for dealing with a significant increase in demand. Last year (March
08-April 09) the scheme supported 136 families. Between April
09 and September 09 the scheme has already supported 122 families with
248 children.
Guest
speaker, Lisa Gupter, Educational Psycholigist and yoga teacher spoke
on 'Lets Chill' an easy to use and fun CD programme which teaches young
children how to relax and calm down. Lisa demonstrated the positive
effects of her short ten minute relaxation sessions to the attendees.
1,000 family celebration!
On 25th August 2009 we held
an event at one of our family support groups to celebrate supporting
over 1,000 families since 1996. The party had a beach theme with
activities for the children including an under-the-sea collage, magnetic
fishing, making sandcastle flags and fishy-themed play-doh and sand
pit play. One of our volunteers made a wonderful seaside themed
cake which certainly went down a treat with all the families, volunteers
and staff involved.
Summer Fun for Families!
During the 7 weeks of the
2009 summer holidays we felt in was important to maintain the support
offered to our families (both for those who attend a family group and
those who have a home-visiting volunteer) and ran 16 sessions at the
Sure Start Children's Centres which were aimed at children of all ages.
These summer sessions were a great success and
38 families and 73 children attended and enjoyed craft activities, outdoor
play and singing sessions.
National Patron: HRH Princess Alexandra, the Hon. Lady Ogilvy, GCVO
Home-Start Milton Keynes, a company limited by guarantee,
registered in England and Wales
Registered Office: 375 Acorn House, Milton Keynes, MK9 3HP
Registered No: 5659490, Charity No: 1118249
Our
calculator has been on overdrive and we can reveal that our fundraising
and donations total for the first six months of the year (April-Sept
2012) is an amazing £2,754.62. 
Following
the press coverage we received during August regarding the closure of
three of our four family groups, we would like to clarify our current
position.
The
sun shone on a very grateful Home-Start mum who faced her fears and
made a 125 ft Vertigo Jump on 3 June 2011- all in aid of Home-Start
Milton Keynes. Molly admitted that the jump was very much out
of her comfort zone. She did fantastically well and raised a substantial
amount of money for the scheme on her 
training
session for our volunteers led by The Health Improvement Team, Milton
Keynes PCT. Our volunteers were able to test healthy recipes (and
eat the very tasty results), learn about oral health, weight management
programmes etc. 
Following
a successful funding bid, we were delighted to be awarded £4,750
from West Bletchley Council which enabled the continuation of TAG, our
family group which meets weekly at The Artroom in Bletchley. 
On
Thursday 31 March, Home-Start featured on ITV's Tonight program which
was broadcast to an audience of five million! 
We
are delighted that Sally, one of our wonderful volunteers, took part
in the 
Twelve
staff and volunteers received training at the end of February on Debt
Management and Basic Money Management Skills delivered by the Consumer
Credit Counselling Service. The full cost of this training was
funded by a grant received from The MSE Charity (Money Saving Expert.com
Charity Fund). 
The
Big Lottery Fund have continued to fund a major part of our work: we
are delighted that the Reaching Communities project will run for five
years from 1st April 2009 - Judith, our Co-ordinator funded by this
project, is very pleased that the Big Lottery have recognised her work
with families and volunteers over the last three years: the aim is to
support up to 185 families over five years.
We
were delighted that the Milton Keynes City Community Choir supported
Home-Start Milton Keynes and Willen Hospice with the proceeds of their
' 
