ContentsAbout Us 2Carers Christmas Lunch 2013 Review 2Parkinson’s Disease Talk & Cream Teas 3Parkinson’s “Healthy Steps” Exercise Class 3May We Have Your Email Address? 3 A Big Thank You to Lynda Leigh 4 Carers Rights Day 2013 Review 4GP Surgeries - Carer Friendly Awards 5Fundraising - How You Can Help 6

Donations Received for Relaxation Treatments 6Fund Raising Dinner Review 7Discounts for Carers 7Introduction to T’ai Chi 8Events Calendar 8

Spring 2014 Newsletter Edition 83

CarersNewssupporting people of any age

with caring responsibilities

2 South Lakeland Carers

We provide a wide range of support and information to both Adult and Young Carers. We have activities for Young Carers and have outreach activities across South Lakeland for all ages.

South Lakeland Carers provides regular social activities and monthly Carers groups throughout South Lakeland. We can also provide additional emotional support through our counselling, sitting service and relaxation therapies.

We have many volunteering opportunities including sitting, counselling, support groups, supporting Young Carers, admin and becoming a trustee.

For more information about our services or if you would like our support, please get in touch.

Contact us:-

South Lakeland CarersEskdale HouseShap RoadKendalLA9 6NQ

Tel: 01539 815970Email: admin@slcarers.org.ukwww.slcarers.org.uk

About Us

Complete and return the Talk on Parkinson’s Disease slip by 31st March 2014.

Forward your email address to us at admin@slcarers.org.uk (put “Email Address” in the subject line and don’t forget to include your name and address in the email).

Things to doIf you would like to participate, please remember to:

Carers ChristmasLunch 2013The Christmas lunch was held on Friday 6th December 2013 at the Stonecross Manor Hotel. There was a great turn out as usual with over 50 people attending.

We had a lovely afternoon and indulged in a delicious 3 course festive meal, this was followed by a tribute to Carers by Dorothy Lownds our Chair of Trustees.

There were lots of great raffle prizes up for grabs. First prize of a fantastic food hamper filled with lots of festive goodies, kindly donated by one of our Volunteers – John Spencer, went to Sandra Benson. The second prize - Afternoon Tea for Two at the Stonecross Manor was won by Alan Whitehead.

We are very grateful to everyone who donated raffle prizes. If you haven’t been to the Carers Christmas Lunch before and fancy joining us this year please look out for the invite in the newsletter later in the year.

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Vicki Travers, Parkinson’s Specialist Nurse based at Westmorland General Hospital, has kindly agreed to spend an afternoon here with us at Eskdale House.

Vicki will talk to Carers about Parkinson’s disease and what her role is.

Vicki will also detail what support services are available in our area.

Pamela Smith from Parkinson’s UK Kendal & District Branch is also looking forward to meeting you all, should you wish talk to her about how she can be of support to you.

The talk will take place on Friday 11th April 1.30 pm to 3.30 pm, which will include a cream tea.

If you would like to attend please fill in and return the reply slip to us by 31st March, numbers will be limited, therefore to avoid disappointment a swift reply is recommended.

A Talk on Parkinson’s

Disease

Pamela Smith from Parkinson’s UK Kendal & District Branch has asked me to let you know about their new exercise programme:

Healthy-Steps, a medically approved programme that can benefit those with Parkinson's Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Cancer, Lymphedema, Arthritis and other chronic conditions.

WHEN:WHERE:FACILITATOR:COSTS:

For further information and to register please contact Wendy Young directlyTel: 0779027261 or email: wendyjyoung@btinternet.com

Cream Teas to be

served

Parkinsons UK Exercise Class -

Tuesdays 1.30 pm - 2.30 pmCastle Street Community Centre, KendalWendy Young, Certified Lebed Method InstructorThe programme is run in 6 week blocksCost £30 - You can join the programme at any point and pay pro rata.

StepsHealthy

Have you got an email address?We are presently creating a database of Carers email addresses.

If you have an email address and are happy for us to contact you via email, please forward your details to admin@slcarers.org.uk. Please put “Email Address” in the subject line and remember to include your full name and address in the email to help us to identify you.

4 South Lakeland Carers

CARERS RIGHTS DAY 2013 fell a little earlier than usual on Friday 29th November. The theme for 2013 was ‘Rights, Advice and Support.’

Here at South Lakeland Carers we used the opportunity to bring Carers up to speed with the changes to some benefits, specifically the change over from Disability Living Allowance to Personal Independence Payment. There has been much anxiety around these changes and the event was an opportunity to explore the facts and bust some of the myths.

Around 30 Carers gathered in the afternoon to hear Judith Wilkinson from Department of Work and Pensions deliver a presentation. There was plenty of opportunity to ask questions and seek clarification about various aspects of making a claim and challenging the outcome. This opportunity was certainly grasped by many Carers attending. Very pertinent and searching questions were posed and ably answered by Judith who was also available to speak with individual Carers afterwards.

Having grappled with the pros, cons and frustrations of the benefits system, we concluded the afternoon with a delicious cream tea and an opportunity to chat to one another on a lighter note. The general consensus was that all in all it was a useful event. If you would like to suggest topics of interest for any future information sessions please do contact the office.

A Big Thank You to LyndaLynda Leigh one of our Carers has worked tirelessly during 2013 raising funds for ourselves at South Lakeland Carers along with the Alzheimer’s Society, Dunmail Unit, and Hydrotherapy Pool.

Lynda has successfully organised and completed 4 events for 4 charities; including an Afternoon Tea on the Terrace, Cocktails and Canapes, Zumbathon and Total Warrior.

We would like to say a huge thank you to Lynda for all her hard work. The money that she has raised will fund additional relaxation treatments for Carers. As we are aware, these treatments are extremely beneficial and hugely appreciated by so many.

Lynda is set to do it all again in 2014. By the time you read this a Zumbathon and a Comedy Night will have taken place. However, there will be more upcoming events including a Christmas ‘Winter Wonderland’ Do on the 28th November. If you are able to support or attend any of the events it would be very much appreciated.

If you would like more information about any of the events taking place this year please contact Lynda on 07788 480 809.

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Thank you!We have received some wonderful positive feedback from you about the support you have received from your GP Practices.

As an acknowledgment of this support, our Chair of Trustees Dorothy Lownds and our Director Steve Pollard, presented those selected GP surgeries with a ‘Carer Friendly Award’, please see photographs below.

The award criterion was based on:

1. Number of Carer referrals to South Lakeland Carers (percentage per patient numbers).2. Number of patient nominations from Carers.3. Regular communication and promotion of South Lakeland Carers within their practice.

3 x Criteria = Gold2 x Criteria = Silver1 x Criteria = Bronze

‘Carer Friendly Award’

Hawkshead Surgerywas awarded Bronze

Captain French Surgerywas awarded Gold

Lunesdale Surgerywas awarded Silver

Nutwood Surgerywas awarded Silver

Park View Surgerywas awarded Silver

James Cochrane Practicewas awarded Silver

6 South Lakeland Carers

Shopping Whilst doing your shopping, remember that you could raise money for South Lakeland Carers if you shop through Easyfundraising. The site

links to more than 2,000 well known stores, including Argos, Marks and Spencer, Amazon and Toys R Us, and each will donate a percentage of what you spend. It doesn’t cost you anything to use and it doesn’t cost South Lakeland Carers a penny either. All you need to do is visit www.easyfundraising.org.uk, register with them, select South Lakeland Carers as your chosen good cause and then follow the links to retailers and your purchases earn an automatic donation to us.

Donate Mobile is a new mobile phone provider who donate 10% of each customer’s monthly spend to charity. They’re

what’s known as a Virtual Network Operator which means that, like Tesco, they use someone else’s core network to provide the telecoms - in their case it’s Vodafone which has good coverage both nationally and here in the Lake District.

To join Donate Mobile, you need to visit www.donate-mobile.com and choose one of the packages on offer. If you’re a pay-as-you-go customer, you should be able to change provider at any time, but if you pay monthly, you usually have to wait to change until a month before the end of your existing contract. You can keep your existing number and there are a variety of plans available.

Once you’ve selected a package, the website will ask you which charity you want to support and you can choose South Lakeland Carers. If you change your provider to Donate Mobile you could raise £20 per year for South Lakeland Carers.

Fundraising – How you can help!

Make a donation Each year we work with more than 1,000 Carers in South Lakeland. Although we are contracted by

Cumbria County Council to deliver some of our activities, this does not pay for all of the services our Carers need.

You can make a safe and secure on line donation through www.virginmoneygiving.com. This can be either a one-off donation or a regular donation which helps us plan for the future. All donations, whether large or small, make a huge difference to us and help us to continue our work with Carers, supporting them and allowing them to continue in their caring role.

Donations Kindly Received to Fund Relaxation TreatmentsAs you probably know, we’ve had to reduce the number of relaxation treatments available to carers as the end of Carers’ Vouchers has seen funding diminish for this area of our work. Since we made that announcement, we’ve been touched by an increase in the number of donations we’ve received which are specifically towards these therapies. We’re incredibly grateful for these as they will allow more Carers to receive these crucial treatments.We understand how important it is that Carers get an opportunity to de-stress and take a break from their caring role and we’re still working hard to raise money for relaxation treatments. We’ve been successful in obtaining a grant from the Gannett Foundation (the charitable arm of the company which owns the Westmorland Gazette). This money will pay for our own therapy bed, therapy oils and towels.

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Fundraising DinnerOn Saturday 23rd November 2013, we held our first fundraising dinner when South Lakeland Carers’ staff, trustees and volunteers, along with guests from local businesses and South Lakeland District Council, enjoyed an evening at the Castle Green Hotel.An amazing 120 people attended the dinner and local businesses Vision Express, Kentdale Land Rover and Lamont Pridmore generously donated tickets to be given to our volunteers. Everyone was dressed in their finest for the black tie event and there were some very glamorous guests. The room looked fantastic; it had been decorated beautifully by the Castle Green staff with table linens in the blue, green and red of our logo.

After a delicious dinner, our Director, Steve Pollard, gave a short speech about our work and explained the role of Carers. We were entertained by singers Krystal Clark, Anthony Owen and Haydn Sorenson and then we were all able to work off a few calories dancing to the disco organized by DJ Milli. The dance floor was still full at midnight and the last guests stayed until the music stopped at 12.30.Guests and local businesses had donated generously to the raffle and the table was laden with prizes including food hampers, jewellery, gift vouchers and tickets to local attractions. Perhaps the most sought after prize was a pair of tickets to see Manchester United play Everton the following week. We were overwhelmed by people’s generosity and we would, again, like to thank everyone who donated a prize.

All in all, the evening was a great success. As well as having fun, the dinner gave us the chance to explain what we do and raise awareness of the importance of our work with Carers to a new audience. We raised £2,400 for South Lakeland Carers and, as they left, guests told us they hoped we’d organise another in 2014.

Discounts for Carers The Retreat at Kendal College offers a wide range of treatments, incl relaxation therapies, at the reduced rate to Carers of £4.00 per treatment. All of the treatments are performed by Kendal College students under supervised conditions. Carers are to book directly through the College – Tel: 01539 814619.Lakes Leisure are offering special discounts to Carers - Get Active + Daytime Membership. Carers can also apply for Corporate Membership. For more details please contact South Lakeland Carers on 01539 815970.Stonecross Manor Hotel are offering special discounted rates to Carers for both Pool Membership and Treatment Room. For more details please contact South Lakeland Carers on01539 815970.

8 South Lakeland Carers

Kendal Drop InGateway Centre (located together with Captain French Surgery)Gillinggate CentreGillinggateKendalLA9 4JE

Every WednesdayMarch - 5th, 12th, 19th, 26thApril - 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd, 30thMay - 7th, 14th 21st, 28thTime: 11.00 am - 1.00 pm

Events Calendar

You can get in touch with us if you have a problem and would like our advice. You can also share your experiences, views opinions, recipes and anything else with us. This is your newsletter and we would love

to hear from you.

01539 815970admin@slcarers.org.uk

Getting in Touch

Check out our Website at www.slcarers.org.uk

T’ai ChiThere will be an introduction to T’ai Chi at the Grange’s

Support Group (Tuesday 25th March, 10.30 - 12.30). All South Lakeland Carers and Cared For are welcome to attend.

Grange Support GroupHampsfell House HotelHampsfell RoadGrange Over SandsLA11 6BG

Every Fourth Tuesday in the MonthMarch - 25thApril - 22ndMay - 27thTime: 10.30 am - 12.30 pm

Windermere/Ambleside Support GroupLangdale Chase HotelWindermereLA23 1LW

Every First Tuesday in the Month:March - 4thApril - 1stMay - 6thTime: 10.30 am - 12.30 pm

Dates for your

Diary An Introduction to T’ai Chi - 25th March 2014 (see page 8)

A talk on Parkinson’s Diesease - 11th April 2014 (see page 3)