2013
Issue 15
news Celebrating our past, building a better tomorrow p4-5
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Our Lasting Legacy
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Greenbelt 2014
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Energetic Supporters
Livability is the new face of John Grooms and the Shaftesbury Society
Message from Dave Dear friend, Welcome to the autumn issue of Livability News. In this issue, we celebrate our heritage and look at how the legacy of our founders, Anthony Ashley-Cooper, the Seventh Earl of Shaftesbury and John Groom lives on today in the way Livability continues to transform the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in society. You can read about Robert Ward, now age 71, who attended three Shaftesbury schools during his childhood and credits them for giving him the best possible start in life. Robert was inspired to become a lifelong supporter and volunteer for our charity. We also feature the story of Isabelle Sedgwick, a former John Grooms flower girl, who now lives in one of our residential homes. Her experience shows how we support disabled people through all the stages of their lives. Although we reflect on our history, we also have our eyes firmly on future growth and development. It is a very exciting time for Livability as we welcome our new Chair, Caroline Armitage, who brings to our charity a track-record of high achievement in the voluntary and private sectors and a real commitment to our work. With our executive team and Caroline leading Livability, along with your help, we look forward to providing the best possible care and support to disabled people in the UK for many years to come. As Livability’s new Chief Executive I would like to thank you for your continuing support. Best wishes,
Dave Webber Chief Executive 2
News and Updates... Livability appoints new Chair and new Chief Executive We are very excited to announce that Dave Webber has been appointed as our new Chief Executive and Caroline Armitage as our new chair. Dave joined in 2002 as Director of Care Services for the Shaftesbury Society and has been Livability’s Interim Chief Executive since the summer of 2012. He said: “The charity does incredible work supporting disabled people and their families, and it will be an honour to continue this crucial work at a time when many of our beneficiaries are struggling to maintain their standards of living and risk facing social isolation.” Caroline has taken over from Interim Chair Chris Carr, and brings significant third sector experience as a Chief Executive and Trustee. Her background also includes a very successful legal career, as a corporate lawyer and partner in major law firms. Caroline is passionate about creating opportunities for those who have a disadvantage in life, whether social or physical. Her strong and active Christian faith informs and motivates her commitment to support the most vulnerable and disadvantaged people in our society.
Café Culture at Nash College
The Mayor of Bromley Cllr. Ernest Noad performed the official ribboncutting ceremony surrounded by Nash staff, students and supporters.
Nash College has come up with an innovative way for students to gain work experience and learn social skills at the same time. In July, the college opened its own café-style learning space just a few minutes’ drive away. The project was named ‘16’ by the students, all of whom have severe learning disabilities. At the newly-refurbished café, the young people will learn about catering and customer service. ‘16’ will be used for community and charitable events so students will also get the chance to interact with new people.
Our lasting legacy — What will you leave behind? Anthony Ashley-Cooper, the seventh Earl of Shaftesbury and John Groom, founders of the Shaftesbury Society and John Grooms, challenged the Victorians’ attitudes to disabled people and pioneered projects that changed society for the better. The legacy they left was the firm belief that disabled people should have the same opportunities as others. In 2007 these two leading charities merged to form Livability, a charity dedicated to providing practical support for some of the most disadvantaged disabled people in the UK. You could help us continue this vital work simply by remembering Livability in your Will. Legacy gifts help us enormously in supporting young people like Hannah (right) who has cerebral palsy. Hannah is a full-time wheelchair user and needs 24-hour personal care support. She used to attend a mainstream school where she ‘felt like an outsider; like I was not good enough and abnormal’. But at Victoria Education Centre, our school for disabled children, Hannah was much happier. In our small, specialised classes she learned new skills and grew in confidence. Hannah now lives independently. We understand that when it comes to writing your Will, you’ll want to provide for your own family first, but please consider donating part of your estate to Livability. A gift in your Will could help give future generations the freedom to live their lives and the chance to use their abilities, whatever challenges and barriers they face. For more information on leaving a gift to Livability in your Will please contact Alastair Emblem on 0207 452 2118, or tick the legacy information box on the enclosed reply form and return to us using the provided envelope.
David, a student at Victoria Education Centre is very grateful for your support!
Seeds for senses A big ‘thank you’ to everybody who responded to our sensory garden appeal. Many of our students thoroughly enjoy their gardening lessons and were delighted to receive your kind messages written on the plant tags we sent you. We received hundreds – some were touching, others amusing but all were incredibly supportive. Carol, Head of Horticulture at Victoria Education Centre in Dorset said: “Our supporters’ words of encouragement mean a lot to our students. It’s nice to know that so many people understand how much our students get out of growing plants in the garden.” The teachers and students will certainly be trying out all the really helpful gardening tips sent in by enthusiastic and talented gardeners. Thank you again. We all appreciate your support.
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Celebrating our past, bu Livability is building on the achievements of our two founding charities, John Grooms and the Shaftesbury Society — to improve the lives of disabled and disadvantaged people. The great work our founding charities have done in the past helps us to support people with a disability in the future. We passionately believe that disabled and disadvantaged people should be given the same rights and opportunities to live the life they choose as everybody else without social barriers or prejudice. So, when people we have supported come to us with stories of heartfelt appreciation on the impact our hard work has made on their lives, it encourages and reminds us just how important the work we continue to do, and build on, really is. Here are two stories that demonstrate the positive difference that our founding charities have made to disabled people.
School: the best days of my life Robert Ward, 71, is one of our most committed supporters. He has been a volunteer for many years – helping out in the office, taking part in fundraising events, and distributing leaflets. What drives him? The support and encouragement we gave to him as a child born with a club foot.
The early years In 1942, Robert was born with Talipes Equinas Varus – that’s the medical term for club foot. This meant he would never be able to walk unless he underwent extensive surgery over many years. Robert’s mum who had epilepsy and four other children wasn’t able to cope with a disabled child – so when the Shaftesbury Society offered to help she jumped at the chance.
Learning to walk Aged only one, Robert left the family home in London and went to stay at Victoria School, in Dorset where he would get the medical attention he needed. Robert spent the next 14 years under the care of the Shaftsbury Society attending Coney Hill School in Margate aged five after being able to walk with splints on his legs, then in 1951 he moved on to Whiteness Manor School in Broadstairs where he stayed until he was 15. Robert recalls, “As I was growing, I had to have 24 operations – 12 on each foot. The doctors had to break the bones then reset them. Of course the surgery was painful, but the worst bit was the physiotherapy. After I recovered from each operation, the physiotherapists manipulated the muscles in my feet every which way and made me do endless exercises that hurt a lot! They certainly weren’t my favourite people.” At Coney Hill, Robert continued to make great progress and learned to love sport. “As soon as I could, I was kicking a ball around and eventually progressed to joining the school football team – we competed in the local schools league, but never came top. We gave it a good shot, though! I was also in the cricket team and played tennis.” 4
ilding a better tomorrow Fond memories Robert reflects on his time at school. “We were well looked after – proper lessons, comfortable rooms, and three square meals a day, which was more than many kids got at the time. But we weren’t mollycoddled. If we complained about being in pain, the teachers suggested that we go and do something to take our minds off it – play a game, read a book or write a letter to mum and dad.” “What I remember most is growing up in an environment where people truly cared. Having that sort of kindness around you means you learn to care too – and that’s something that stays with you throughout your life.” “Volunteering is my way of saying thanks. I loved my school days and I have the Shaftesbury Society – now Livability – to thank for that. They made me the person that I am today. I visit Victoria School from time to time and it makes me so happy to see the children being treated with the same kindness and compassion shown to me all those years ago.”
Flower power In the 1950s, Isabelle Sedgwick was one of the wellknown John Grooms flower girls. Polio had left her disabled and she started working at Lilac House when she was 15. For the last 26 years, the 88-yearold has been a resident at Livability’s Brookside House in Edgware. John Groom set up the ‘flower girl’ brigade in 1878. His novel idea was to get disabled and disadvantaged young women off the streets by employing them to make the artificial flowers which were very fashionable in Victorian society. The women were paid a fair wage and provided with affordable shelter. The flower girls became very skilled in the art of making beautiful, intricate silk flowers by hand. The business flourished and continued for many years. Isabelle recalls her 13 years as a flower girl with fondness. Her specialities included making roses, tulips and primroses and she remembers the intricate pin work that went into making each one. “You had to be very careful,” she comments. One of the tasks she enjoyed most was greeting visitors who came to the factory grounds to buy the grand flower displays. She said: “It was a good opportunity for the customers to meet disabled people, sometimes for the first time.” Above all, Isabelle remembers the strong work ethic in the factory. She worked from 8am until 5.30pm, barely stopping for a break. It was a long day, but she cherishes the memories and the friends she made: “I loved those days…”
John Groom with flower girls. 5
On a mission Adam Bonner is Director of Livability's Community Mission team, helping churches transform their communities.
Back to the future It’s often said that the best predictor of how we will act in the future is how we acted in the past. For us, the staff, volunteers, friends and beneficiaries of Livability I hope this is true. Our history is defined by great moments of courage, generosity, justice and creativity driven by faith. At this year’s Greenbelt festival Livability’s Community Mission Team arranged a series of talks about inclusive and healthy communities. In one session we discussed what, if anything, had changed for disabled people a year after the Paralympics. Responses were varied but the conclusion was that society still has much to do in becoming more socially inclusive. The world Livability operates in has changed and we need to continue our tradition of courage and faith as we seek to transform society. So as we look back, celebrating our past we also fix our eyes on our mission into the future.
Greenbelt 2014 Mud, music and cider – that’s what’s commonly associated with summer festivals. But this year festival-goers at Greenbelt packed venues to hear Livability talk about dementia, happiness and disability, and autism. This is the fourth year of Livability’s partnership with the Christian arts, faith and justice festival. In the past we have helped Greenbelt to provide practical support to enable disabled people to enjoy the festival – things like ramps, accessible toilets and induction loops. This year we wanted to move from access towards inclusion – supporting disabled people not just to move around the festival, but to play their part in the content too. To do this, Livability sponsored one of the site venues, home to discussions, debates and workshops; a place for disabled and disadvantaged people to really have their voices heard. Over the August bank-holiday weekend thousands of festival-goers came along to our sessions. One of the most popular was a talk on making churches more dementia friendly. Another saw a panel exploring how churches can include people with Asperger Syndrome and autism. It was encouraging to see so many people who wanted to hear what they can do to welcome and support disabled and disadvantaged people. If you’d like to find out more about how your church could be better at including disabled people, visit our new Churches Inc website – www.churchesinc.org.uk
Haydon Spenceley, speaking at Greenbelt about disability after the Paralympics. 6
Events calendar
Darren Cossey with three Livability staff members; Lisa Adamson, Chantelle Ojo, and Lisa Hemsley.
Energetic supporter raises £3,200 Darren Cossey from Rochford competed in his second Virgin London Marathon in a Livability vest earlier this year. He raced in his wheelchair and completed the course in just under five hours. Since becoming disabled in a motorcycle accident in 1995, Darren has taken part in various charity fundraising initiatives. He said: “Last year was the first time that wheelchair users could start the race alongside all the other runners. For me it is a good way to show that disability is no barrier to achievement." We’re really pleased that Darren chose Livability as the charity to benefit from his fantastic marathon achievement. He handed over the cheque for £3,200 at a special event held at the headquarters of his employer, Olympus KeyMed. The company helped sponsor Darren’s challenge. Darren aims to complete the race in four and a half hours next year. Go Darren!
Help knit a fabulous pergola
Christmas carol service at St Martin-in–the-Fields 10 December 2013 Come along to a wonderful evening of festive music and readings hosted by Songs of Praise presenter Pam Rhodes. Other celebrity guests will be confirmed closer to the time. Keep an eye on our website for details. The service begins at 7pm. Tickets: £12.50.
Virgin London Marathon 2014 Sunday 13 April 2014 Apply now to join the Livability team for the 2014 Virgin London Marathon. We’ll support you every step of the way and you’ll be invited to celebrate at our fabulous post-race party. Registration fee: £50 plus VAT. Minimum sponsorship: £1500.
Are you a keen knitter? Then dig out those spare balls of wool and take part in this year’s knitting challenge. With your help, the Friends Group at John Grooms Court aims to cover a 10 foot tall pergola frame entirely with knitted squares representing leaves and flowers. At Easter, this unique piece of art will go on display at The Forum in Norwich. The group is building on the success of its knitted Christmas tree challenge which raised more than £10,000. In 2010, 600 knitters created more than 4,600 green squares for leaves and nearly 2,000 tree decorations. The tree will be on display again at The Forum in December. Ann Meijer, whose daughter lives at John Grooms Court, said “We hope many people will get involved – the funds we raise make a real difference to the lives of local people with disabilities. Our Knitted Christmas Tree challenge received an incredible response and we really want our pergola to be equally successful’’. Send your knitted contributions to: The Knitted Flower Pergola, John Grooms Court, 215 Sprowston Road, Norwich, NR3 4HX.
Easter Rabbit Run 2014 Sunday 26 April Choose to run 5km, 10km or 15km in our Rabbit Run or join the 2km Bunny Bustle. Both will take place at Clapham Common, London. The registration fee includes a rabbit suit to wear during the race and keep. Registration fees: 5k – £20; 10k – £25; 15k – £30; 2K - £7 If you would like to book or have any questions about our events, please contact us at events@livability.org.uk or on 020 7452 2115. 7
Celebrating our past Robert Ward (pictured) grew up in the care of the Shaftesbury Society, and was initially cared for at Victoria School in Dorset. “What I remember most is growing up in an environment where people truly cared”, said Robert. “Having that sort of kindness around you means you learn to care too – and that’s something that stays with you throughout your life”.
Building a better tomorrow Livability is building on the achievements of our two founding charities – John Grooms and the Shaftesbury Society. “Being excluded from society and living in poverty is too often a reality for many disabled people” says Chief Executive Dave Webber. “It is crucial we provide support to help disabled people live life to the full”.
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