Tŷ hafan Helping Hands

Staff conference Friday 24 January 2014 on 15 year anniversary celebrati Vale Resort

helping hands your newsletter december 2013

bubble football Our inaugural Bubble Football Fundraiser was a bouncing success, raising an estimated £6,000 for Tyˆ Hafan.

24 teams, including two teams of dads supported

by Tyˆ Hafan, took part in the wacky five-a-side football tournament at the Cardiff City House of Sport on Sunday 10 November.

ITV Wales News covered the event and the news item can be found online by clicking on the image.

cardiff city fc players visit tyˆ hafan Cardiff City FC players paid a special visit to Tyˆ Hafan on 17 December. The team enjoyed festive party games, arts and crafts and were even decorated in Christmas decorations!

All the photos can be found here

message from ray I would like to thank everyone who took the time to complete the 2013 staff survey. We have had a fantastic response with almost 70% of staff sharing their views on a number of topics including staff communication and career development.

We are committed to making Tyˆ Hafan a great place to work and your views will not only influence our people strategy, but will help shape the organisation as a whole.

Feedback from the survey will be communicated at our staff conference in January. The conference is an ideal event to discuss our plans for the future as well as providing staff with an opportunity to become more familiar with all sections of the organisation.

Finally, I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. It has been a very busy year and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for all your continued hard work.

Diolch a Nadolig Llawen!

Ray Hurcombe, Chief Executive

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welcome to our new starters David Harris – Shop Manager, Neath Maree Thomas – Deputy Shop Manager, Carmarthen Elle Ryan – Strategic Relationships Fundraiser Les Hawkins – Distribution Operations Manager Naomi Cornelius – Deputy Shop Manager, Bridgend Haydn Jones – Interim Facilities Manager Alison Scantlebury – has been promoted to Shop Manager, Port Talbot.

Georgia Eveleigh – Cowbridge Shop Manager Lauren Evans - Barry Deputy Shop Manager Sharon Willmott-Doyle - Cowbridge Deputy Shop Manager Angela Pettican-Keepence - Albany Road Shop Manager Rhiain Ball - Port Talbot Deputy Shop Manager Rebecca Harvey - CSF Temporary Finance Assistant Michelle Bennett - Temporary Retail Administrator Nina Parrish - Cowbridge Temporary Deputy Shop Manager Francis Edwards - Hospice Lead Practitioner Hospice Palliative Care Services

Haydn Jones has joined us as an Interim Facilities Manager. Haydn has a wealth of experience in Facilities Management, Construction, Health & Safety, Projects and Contracts Management which he has gained over the years whilst working for the City and County of Swansea.

Why have you chosen to work for Tyˆ Hafan?

The honest answer is I was very lucky to be in the right place at the right time. I took a short break from work this summer to pursue other interests and spend time with the family. Through an agency, this role was sent to me and within two weeks, I was on site!

What are your first impressions?

My first impressions of the charity are excellent. Everyone has been so welcoming and made me feel at home in the organisation very quickly. I already had knowledge of the charity through fundraising activity in the past, but no idea of the scale of the organisation or the excellent work it undertakes – I am very impressed. I think I have joined the organisation at a really exciting time and I look forward to some of the challenges facing the organisation in the future.

What are your plans for Tyˆ Hafan?

In the short-term, there are some immediate priorities I am concentrating my efforts on, such as getting the hydrotherapy pool back in full use and project managing the installation of the playground for the hospice.

Other capital projects include the multi-sensory room and kitchen refurbishment.

Tell us an interesting fact about you.

I am an active International Basketball Referee. I have been fortunate to officiate at two European Championships in 2011 & 2013. Also, the major highlight of my career was officiating Great Britain versus the USA Dream Team last year in the Manchester Indoor Arena in front of 17,500 people.

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daybreak at tyˆ hafan

ITV’s Daybreak filmed at Tyˆ Hafan to promote the benefits of play and music therapy for the ToysRUs Toy Box Appeal. To watch the fantastic film of Mason enjoying music therapy with Diane, just click on the image to the left.

two christmas singles supporting tyˆ hafan!

We will be benefiting from not one, but two Christmas singles this year! The X Factor winner’s single 2013 will be in aid of Together for Short Lives and Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity. That means that we will benefit directly from all the money raised.

Nev Wilshire and his team at The Call Centre are also releasing a Christmas single for Tyˆ Hafan on 16 December. So don’t forget to put the X Factor winning single and The Call Centre’s charity single on your Christmas list!

View the fantastic Call Centre video by clicking on the arrow.

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halfpenny becomes ambassador for tyˆ hafan Leigh Halfpenny, Cardiff Blues, Wales international rugby player and star of the 2013 British & Irish Lions, has become an ambassador for Tyˆ Hafan.

Leigh Halfpenny joins Tyˆ Hafan’s growing list of celebrity ambassadors which includes actor John Barrowman, presenter Lucy Owen and cricketer Mark Wallace.

The RBS Player of the Championship & HSBC British & Irish Lions HSBC Player of the Series chose to support Tyˆ Hafan as he wanted to support a Welsh charity close to his heart.

He said: “It’s a huge honour to be named as an ambassador for such a fantastic charity like Tyˆ Hafan. Their care and support makes a huge difference to many people and I’m extremely proud to support the work they do.”

Leigh raised £1,750 for Ty Hafan after selling the rugby boots he wore for the British & Irish Lions Tour in Australia.

He will be selling a number of items on an online auction page on his website www.leighhalfpenny.com in aid of his chosen charities.

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new play area We are very excited to announce that plans for the new play area are well under way.

The design for the new site is based around a desert island theme due to Tyˆ Hafan’s location next to the Bristol Channel. The entire space is accessible for wheelchair users and every piece of equipment has been selected with integration in mind. A bespoke lighthouse, a wheelchair seesaw, trampoline and race track are just some of the features planned for the new facility.

get your 2014 t yˆ hafan calendar!

Designed by the siblings group at the hospice, the calendar is a real tribute to the success of the group.

It costs £5.00 and is available from our shops, head office, hospice reception and online at christmascards.tyhafan.org Don’t forget to pick up a pack of Tyˆ Hafan Christmas cards at the same time if you haven’t already!

the great sibling bake off!

Tyˆ Hafan siblings took part in a special Great Sibling Bake Off at the hospice. We even received a special message from Great British Bake Off contestant Beca!

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emporium opens its doors in cowbridge Stars from the worlds of entertainment and sport joined crowds of shoppers for the opening of Tyˆ Hafan’s first boutique-style store in Cowbridge.

But the real star of the show was little Riley and his family. Two-year-old Riley suffers from Interstitial Lung Disease and he and his family from Maesteg were referred to Tyˆ Hafan last year.

Riley’s picture features in the design of the shop and his father Matthew Davies told the crowd how Tyˆ Hafan supports his family before the store opened.

Plans are already afoot to roll out the Emporium brand across more of our shops. Watch this space!

More photos can be found here:

happy 93rd birthday ron!

Happy belated birthday to our committed shop volunteer Ron who celebrated his 93rd birthday a few weeks back. Known fondly as ‘Ron the bookman’, the volunteer has been helping out at our Cwmbran shop for the last 10 years.

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crackerjackpot still only £1 The National Lottery has doubled its ticket price to £2 but our lottery is still only £1 a week.

Please spread the word about our Crackerjackpot lottery, not forgetting to remind people that it provides over a third of the income required for Tyˆ Hafan to provide support to life-limited children, young people and their families.

how are we doing?

Fundraising contribution to care services oct - nov 2013

£££

lottery

178,000

shops

199,000

individual giving

39,000

events

28,000

business and community

162,000

legacies

541,000

Total

1,147,000

tyˆ hafan sparkler We have developed a new infographic to provide staff, volunteers and ambassadors up-to-date information relating to care services and fundraising.

The sparkler has been designed as an internal tool to assist staff with key information and statistics to ensure consistent messaging, both internally and externally.

The sparkler, available to view in the Staff Messaging folder in the G-drive, will be updated quarterly and will be printed in various brand colours to differentiate each edition.

For additional copies, to suggest content, or for more information please visit the marketing department.

The sparkler is for internal reference only and not for external distribution.

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exclusive staff offers from the vale resort

15% OFF* Individual Spa Treatments Monday – Friday only TO BOOK CALL 01443 665888 quote “Tyˆ Hafan Staff” *Subject to availability until 28 February 2014. Treatments of 1hr or more, excludes packages and retails products. Not valid with any other offer or discount.

Winter Golf £20pp plus ½ price Buggy Hire Play 18 holes of championship golf on either the Wales National or Lake course and pay just £20pp. Plus enjoy ½ price buggy hire.

TO BOOK CALL 01443 665899 quote “Tyˆ Hafan Staff” *Subject to availability until 28 February 2014. Buggy must be pre-booked & pre-paid to qualify for discount. Not valid with any other offer or discount.

20% OFF* Lipofirm Inch Loss Treatment Look a million dollars this Christmas with our guaranteed inch loss treatment.

This revolutionary treatment is non-invasive and can be targeted to your trouble areas.

NO SURGERY, NO NEEDLES, NO DOWNTIME, NO PAIN, NO SIDE EFFECTS, 100% SAFE ONLY £99 per hour TO BOOK CALL 01443 665888 quote “Tyˆ Hafan Staff” * Subject to availability until 22 December 2013. Discount off first treatment only. Not valid with any other offer or discount.

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farewell frank!

Tell us about your new role New role is Head of Marketing and Business Enterprise for Keep Wales Tidy. Looking at the usual marketing stuff and also developing new corporate relationships for the charity. They are heavily reliant on government funding and this will dramatically change over the next five years, so a big challenge ahead.

What will you miss the most about Tyˆ Hafan?

I will totally miss the children and families and being able to provide fantastic experiences for them through my contacts. Oh, and I will miss Diane mothering me all the time, the amazing view from my window and Tyˆ Hafan’s corporate green.

Tell us about your favourite memory This is a really hard one as there have been so many, but I guess it has to be the Real Radio ‘Bring a Pound to Work Day’ when we broadcast three shows from the hospice, had millions of special guests and raised £38,000 in a day. I don’t think I have ever seen so many smiles in my life.

Most emotional memory is when I had to be Santa one year and I asked a cute little sibling what she wanted for Christmas. She looked me in the eye with determination and sadness and asked, could I make her brother well? What do you say to that? I sobbed for the whole weekend and hugged my kids for hours. We so often don’t remember how lucky we are.

Will we see you again?

Jeremy has asked me to stay on as an ambassador and of course, how could I say no? Hope to help whenever and wherever I can.

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