Tupsley Community Newspaper
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Issue 51 Autumn 2013
Picnic in the Park – Tupsley Quarry Another gloriously sunny day on July 20th saw crowds of people gather at the Quarry in Tupsley for the second annual Picnic in the Park. The community came together as a whole and enjoyed everything that was on offer – happy, smiley faces were definitely the order of the day. It is estimated that 4000 attended and delightfully about 70 residents volunteered to help before, during and after the event.
Sophie House
SOPHIE HOUSE MARTHA TRUST CELEBRATES ITS FIRST ANNIVERSARY Martha Trust is to celebrate the first year of Sophie House on Thursday 21st November with a coffee morning and Christmas Fayre between 10am and 12noon at Sophie House, Holywell Gutter Lane, Tupsley, HR1 4JN, to which everyone is invited. Grand Draw…. Cake Stall…. Bric-aBrac…. and much more. There is limited parking at Sophie House so if you are able to, would you kindly park at Martha House where we will be providing shuttle transport to and from the venue. Both Sophie House and Martha House will be open for visitors on the day – all are most welcome. It cost £3.5million to build Sophie House and we are still raising money towards our £250,000.00 target for specialist equipment for the home. We need money for purchasing mini-buses, specialist sensory equipment, furniture, benches for the garden etc…
The Martha Trust story so far It seems like only yesterday that we opened the doors of our first Martha Trust Home in Hereford. Our aim was to provide the best possible care for young people with profound intellectual and physical disabilities, and Martha Trust has now become an integral part of Community Care in the county. It is as
well to remember and review the journey we had to make to achieve today's success story. In 1994 the founding trustees, Sarah & Richard Smith, inspired by their youngest daughter Sophie who has profound disabilities, decided to embark on raising the necessary funds to build a home that would satisfy her future needs and at the same time could provide help for as many families as possible, faced with a similar difficult situation to their own. After considerable effort and support from the community at large, who gave generously of their time and funds, the first Martha Trust home was completed in December 1996 and the first resident arrived in January 1997. Our principles of having no age limit or geographical boundary allows for continuity of care which is so vital for people with profound disabilities and complex needs. We have been full ever since and have 12 lifelong residents and some 14 respite care residents who enjoy life at Martha House. Over the last 15 years our waiting list grew and parents were telling us that it had become increasingly more difficult to source suitable help and support. Martha House, although able to offer respite care had no lifelong vacancies. The Trustees decided that a second home would help ease the demand and Sophie House was born. Providing a loving, safe and secure family home environment is the main
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objective of the Martha Trust, and this concept has been adopted throughout the design of Sophie House. Sophie House therefore has similar facilities to those at Martha House including adjustable height baths and beds, a ceiling mounted hoisting system throughout the building and it's own fully equipped laundry and main kitchen. The therapy centre mirrors the facilities offered at Martha House including a hydrotherapy pool. Once people became aware that a new home was under construction we started to receive referrals and our first resident moved in on the 1st October 2012. By our first anniversary the home will have it's full complement of 12 lifelong residents and the provision of respite care for several families. Since first opening our doors we have also been able to develop our charitable respite care, which enables families who are unable to get funding to have those holiday breaks that everyone with able bodied children takes for granted. All in all Martha Trust is a fantastic experience and a wonderful achievement for all those who have so generously given their time and funds. One thing is certain, there are many thousands of families, single parents, foster parents and carers who wish they were lucky enough to have a Home like ours on their own doorstep somewhere where their son or daughter can be safe for the rest of their lives. Zana May; Martha Trust Hereford
Children’s Holiday Club Hampton Park Church 40 children during the last week of the school holidays enjoyed good fun and lots of craft activities. Centred round Jesus’ birth, teaching and death & resurrection the children learned about stars, made bread & crosses of all designs. They raised £80 at a ‘Bring & Buy Sale’ to support a small school in Zambia. A good time was had by all!
Children enjoyed the pony rides and face painting – always very popular activities. There were bouncy castles, an inflatable slide and sumo suits – ice creams, dance demonstrations to take part in, games organised by Pink Elephant and good oldfashioned den building with Wild Play. Mums, dads, grannies, grandpas and friends enjoyed teas, the bar and barbecue, music by local bands Fault Line and Perfect Stranger – and a very civilised glass of Pimms too!
The Picnic was officially opened by the Mayor of Hereford, Cllr Phil Edwards, accompanied by Mayoress Bobbie Hadley and Oliver Blackburn from the Veolia Environmental Trust who had given the Central Tupsley Community Group (CTCG) the money to have the path around the Quarry resurfaced. Comments received by the CTCG members, and on the Facebook page for the group, have been that everyone enjoyed a relaxed afternoon with friends and families, close to home without having to spend a fortune – and that’s what it was all about – togetherness and community! Having said that, the group raised approx £3,200, which will be spent on local community projects. If anyone has any suggestions for future projects for the group, please contact them. www.e-voice.org.uk/ctcg/ , via the CTCG Facebook page, or via Cllr Jim Kenyon (CTCG Chair) on 07711 316 031. CTCG have already carried out a community wide consultation to seek opinions for improvements that could be made in the Tupsley Ward. However late, completion of the questionnaire on the web site or Facebook will always be useful.