Foundation Highlights Quarter One - April to June 2015
The Foundation is the charitable arm of Town and Country Housing Group and works towards making a positive difference to individual, family and community life.
It was established in January 2007 and has a team of six officers and freelance staff. The team focuses on identifying and responding to social needs. Many projects and initiatives are incubated by the Foundation which has already created a legacy of sustainable projects across Kent.
“To make a positive difference to
Learning skills, employment and enterprise
individual, family and community life by creating places where people prosper
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Social Regeneration
Improving employability, progression from welfare benefits into paid employment and progression from low paid to economic security for individuals and families.
Working with communities and partners over the long term to transform local areas into vibrant neighbourhoods where residents are proud to live.
Health and Wellbeing
Major Projects
Reducing social isolation and promoting inclusivity, particularly amongst the older population, vunerable residents and wider community; building resiliance and new solutions to long standing social issues.
VAL JOY community celebration 3 June 2015
The annual Val Joy Community Event celebrates and recognises the amazing work of the volunteers that make such a huge difference to our communities throughout the year.
The celebration is named after Val Joy, a community volunteer who worked tirelessly to improve the local community.
Each year the ‘Outstanding Contribution to Community Life‘ award is awarded to recognise the extraordinary efforts of one of the volunteers in our communities.
This year’s winner was Chris Smith, of Mindwell ‘Art as Therapy’ group, who has worked hard to improve the lives of local people with mental health issues, overcoming his own challenges along the way. His work includes creating and managing regular art therapy sessions that have run at Trinity Arts Theatre for 6 years and is about to receive an honours degree from Goldsmiths in Arts Therapy.
This year’s event was 1950s themed and was attended by more than 160 people. Entertainment included music from the Dad Pack, a hula hoop performance, workshops and a magician.
Video of Val Joy Event https://youtu.be/iHzqP7s2Le4
Informal Customer Engagement
Pop Ups Last quarter, a total of 4 Pop Ups took place. These were attended by 450 people. We consulted on the priority topics within the customer engagement strategy and environmental improvements. A total of 44 community neighbours were recruited. Pop Up Locations • • • •
Ashby’s Point, Tonbridge Hughenden Reach, Maidstone Watercress Way, Gravesend Ramslye, Tunbridge Wells
Easter Celebrations On 10 April, the Foundation worked with over 37 residents at Ashby’s Point, Tonbridge on developing their communal rooftop garden. The Easter themed event gave residents the chance to see the final plans and hear about the upcoming planting sessions. Our long term aim is to encourage residents to be part of a more cohesive community, take ownership of the communal garden area and engage with us and our planned activities. This project followed on from a consultation with residents held in 2014.
Ramslye Playground Opening & Consultation The Foundation held an event last year to give Ramslye residents the chance to choose the equipment for their new play area. In April 2015, we held an event to officially open the park, with entertainers and food, making for a celebratory atmosphere. Children were invited to cut the ribbon. The play area is part of wider regeneration in the area, including the Spa Meadows developments on Ramslye. Kent High Weald Partnership attended and arranged sunflower seed planting activities to promote the BUGGS (Broadwater Urban Garden Giving Scheme) Project. A consultation took place on the customer engagement strategy 2014/15. Overall across all of the consultation events to date, the top three priority areas were: • Improve information on repairs and maintenance • Increase internet customer information and access to IT • Involvement in new build and new housing.
Delivering Town & Country Pop Up events across the county, see www.tchg.org.uk for details.
Learning, Skills, Employment and Enterprise Work In Progress Work In Progress has reached residents in even more areas, with courses running in Sherwood, Tunbridge Wells and in Old Park, Dover, delivered by Working Futures and Be-Change. These courses are tailored for Town & Country residents and deliver high quality support to get trainees back into volunteering, education and employment. Particpants are tracked for 12 months post course. Overall 14 residents participated, 6 have progressed to volunteering, 4 are now on work programmes and 1 has secured employment.
ACCESS ALL AREAS DIGITAL inclusion Town & Country Foundation went right to the heart of the community at Watercress Way in Gravesend, an area we haven’t previously worked in. This new development was identified as the perfect place to pilot our new Digital Inclusion Project. This event led to 5 referrals from residents interested in receiving a tablet and training. Shared ownership residents of Watercress Way also attended and engaged with us. This event led to needs being identified for the provision of play facilities and help to lower the level of anti social behaviour in the area. Residents also had the chance to meet their maintenance contractors and income manager. West Kent Access All Areas is regularly attended by older people and job seekers. A total of 29 job seekers have registered with the programme and of these, 10 have gained qualifications and two have secured work.
Business Charity Awards Grays Tea Room is a social enterprise established by a Town & Country resident. It provides a valuable rural resource and community hub to train persons with learning disabilities, who may otherwise have no access to work placements or training and therefore have limited employment and life opportunities. In 2014/15, the Foundation provided a grant of £5,000 in capital funding and £3,000 revenue to help start up the business. It has since provided opportunities for 25 volunteers, which has generated £85,000 of social value in volunteer time. Courses offered range from health and safety and food hygiene to cleaning courses and preparing to work in a café environment. In the initiative’s first year, 73 people have gained qualifications and five have accessed work in catering businesses elsewhere. There are currently seven trainees working at Grays. In addition, there are two young people from Broomhill Bank School, which is a co-educational foundation special school, on work experience placements. Social Services also commission courses to deliver life skills programmes which provide a further income stream. Grays has made a significant difference to some of the most marginalised groups in our society and enabled over 3,000 customers to use their services during 2014/15. Furthermore, they were nominated as a finalist at the prestigious Third Sector Charity Business Awards 2015, in the category of ‘Charity Partnership, Small Businesses’.
SOCIAL REGENERATION & ENVIRON Sherwood Lake Opening Sherwood Lake has accumulated a vast amount of silt over the last 100 years. This has caused serious problems, contributing to low oxygen levels for the fish, which is especially harmful in the warm weather. The de silting of the lake began in January with funding of £70,000. The work programme at Sherwood Lake has included removing invasive rhododendrons, clearing pathways to improve access and installing boardwalk, bridges, signposts and dead hedges. The banks have been replanted with native shrub and marginal species and ‘barley straw sausages’ have been put into the lake. To celebrate and to thank everyone for their hard work, the floating island was officially launched by the Mayor Cllr Julian Stanyer and Secretary of State for Communitities and Local Government, Greg Clark. This floating platform is anchored to the bottom of the lake and is planted with native species, providing a diverse mix of habitat both above and below the water.
Video of Sherwood Lake Opening https://youtu.be/WpujSmoKlD4
NMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS
Bee EXHIBIT Town & Country Foundation sponsors the gallery space within Trinity Arts Centre and holds two ‘Showcase’ exhibitions each year in partnership with community groups and charities. The most recent exhibition included live bees and looked at the important role they play in our lives and the beautiful structures they build including their hives. On several days the live bee exhibit was in the gallery along with local experts to answer questions and encourage further engagement in bee conservation. The innovative glass exhibit gave visitors the chance to see the queen and the worker bees managing the environment of the brood of larvae up close.
The Hill at the Heart There has been significant progress in terms of Kent Wildlife Trust (KWT) and their associated partnership lottery bid. We are aiming to improve the skills, health and wellbeing of residents at Old Park and Buckland in Dover. A lottery award of £341,285 for ‘The Hill At The Heart: Communities On The Up’ project will improve community engagement through the establishment of a local nature reserve, helping all ages to reconnect with nature through gardening and development of the green space. We expect the project to commence October 2015.
Dr. Dolittle @ Hilbert Park
The Foundation’s new pet project ‘Dr Dolittle’ launched at the annual Grosvenor and Hilbert Park Family Fun Day in May 2015. The fun day was attended by 4,000 local people, including Secretary of State for Communitities and Local Government Greg Clark, Cllr David Neve and Cllr Jane March. The project encourages responsible pet ownership with initiatives such as dog training sessions and support for the cost of neutering our residents’ pets. We promoted this by offering free pet portrait photographs, which promoted pride in pet ownership and provided an opportunity to gather contacts for future reference. The project is directly linked the Town & Country’s Pet Policy, which responds to the new regulations being launched in April 2016.
Herb Garden Sherwood Community Herb Garden is a community resource run by volunteers and supported by the Foundation, Kent High Weald Partnership and the Sherwood Community Organiser. In April 2015 an event took place at the Herb Garden to encourage residents to enjoy the space and to recruit volunteers to maintain the garden. The event was attended by over 100 local residents who left ‘pledges’ about what they would do to help the garden. Everyone enjoyed a woodworking workshop, crafts, a raffle and loads more. During the event Town & Country consulted on the customer engagement strategy.
Forest schools
Forest Schools are outdoor activities that take place with children and adults in a woodland setting. Research has shown that children and young people experience increased learning capacity, problem solving, communication skills and confidence, improved physical and emotional wellbeing to encourage a healthier lifestyle. All these benefits have led our team to develop a Forest Schools programme in both East and West Kent. The forest schools will be continuing over the summer in partnership with Kent Wildlife Trust and Kent High Weald Partnership.
Green Space Outside Albert Place, Strood Community Day Centre and Gun Lane Children’s Centre engaged with families, signed up community neighbours and discussed the possibility of creating something with green space for the community to use. There was a Spring themed arts and crafts session to encourage people to use local service, such as the children’s centre.
Our Statistics 351 adults and children participated in events and activities with Kent High Weald Partnership in the Sherwood and Showfields areas of Tunbridge Wells. There were also 95 days of volunteering logged on Foundation projects. This equates to £4,750 worth of ‘unskilled labour’ on sites owned and managed by Town & Country.
health & wellbeing Jive Party The ‘Jive Party’ 2015 took place during National Dementia Awareness week, which aims to raise public awareness and understanding of dementia. Over 40 people affected by dementia attended and enjoyed live music from ‘The Dad Pack’ singing 1950s hits. Tunbridge Wells Dementia Friendly Communities partnership is a group of local agencies, service providers and community organisations that work together to make Tunbridge Wells a better place to live well with dementia. All partners including Age UK and Town & Country contributed to the event through catering or sponsorship.
Alzheimer’s Society Partnership In early June 2015, the Foundation and the Alzheimer’s Society worked in partnership to provide dementia awareness courses to 14 frontline staff. The courses were delivered by an Alzheimer’s Society trainer and were attended by staff from local banks, libraries, hearing centres, opticians, housing, hospitals, mental health services, plus several agencies and groups in the voluntary sector. The next step is to deliver the training across a wider geographical area, including East Kent.
Parenting course A 10 week course ran at Old Park Community Centre aimed at parents and carers to help with parenting skills. A total of 6 families attended this course, designed to help them understand their child’s development needs. It explored issues such as communication, behavioural difficulties, anger and sleeping patterns.
health
@ Hughenden Reach
This Pop Up event, attended by over 40 residents, was focused on the health of both the residents and the community. A NHS health trainer and ‘Wellbeing People’ ran free health checks and gave advice on quitting smoking and other subjects. The event also gave residents the opportunity to have an input into future plans for improving refuse collection in partnership with Maidstone Borough Council. As well as the healthcare trainer, the local PCSO also attended along with the new maintenance contactors. Children enjoyed activities including a health themed quiz and a consultation on the customer engagement strategy took place. This event also inspired their interest in the local wildlife, including the swans that live on the green space behind the block.
Dates for your diary 8 August - Old Park Family Fun Day , Dover.
26 September - Dover Urban Fete, Pencester Gardens. 5 - 9 October - Customer Service Week. 7 October - Love Where You Live Awards 2015, Tunbridge Wells. 9 October - Foundation Showcase, Trinity Arts Centre, Tunbridge Wells.