ContentsAbout Us 2Carers Christmas Lunch 2Meet the New Members of our Team 3Gala Dinner Review 4Caring Together 5The Retreat at Kendal College Discounts 5Mind Crisis Fundraising Campaign 5Fundraising - How you can Help 6

Winter 2014 Newsletter Edition 86

CarersNewssupporting people of any age

with caring responsibilities

Grange Support Group - U3A Talk on Food and Health 6The Kiloran Trust 7Stonecross Manor Hotel Discounts 7Events Calendar 8

Winter

2 South Lakeland Carers

Carers Christmas LunchThis year’s Carers Christmas Lunch will be held on:

Thursday 18th December 2014arrive 12.00 pm, sit down 12.30 pm

at Stonecross Manor Hotel Milnthorpe Road Kendal

LA9 5HP

Everyone is WelcomeCost: £16.50

If you would like to attend, please complete and return the enclosed reply slip with your payment to reach us by

Wednesday 10th December.

Send to: South Lakeland Carers, Eskdale House, Shap Road, Kendal, Cumbria, LA9 6NQ

Please make cheques payable to 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 6NQTel: 01539 815970Email: admin@slcarers.org.ukWebsite: www.slcarers.org.uk

About Us

3

Meet theNew Members

of our Team

Suzanne DuckworthI joined South Lakeland Carers on 8 October 2014 having previously worked within Therapeutic Dementia Support Services.

I have a particular interest in supporting Carers of people with dementia, although my experience enables me to support all Carers.

I work 28 hours per week from Monday to Thursday and look forward to working with the Carers of South Lakeland.

Julie WhiteleyI am originally from Kendal but have moved around living and working in Manchester, Liverpool and Preston. I am now very settled living in the Lune Valley.

I previously worked for an Advocacy Service in Lancaster, ensuring people had their voice heard and that they were listened to by Health and Social Care professionals. My goal was to empower people to speak up for themselves.

I am looking forward to my new role as Adult Carer Support Worker and getting to know the Carers I will be supporting. I feel it is vital that Carers are acknowledged for the unpaid work they do and that they are supported to continue in their role.

Nicki TomlinsonI qualified as a Social Work Practioner in 2011 and worked as a Practitioner for 2 years, both in the Private and Public Sector, predominantly Childrens’ Services.

I have experience in child protection, working with CLA (Children Looked After) and special educational needs which is ongoing.

My role at South Lakeland Young Carers will be to assess and support Carers between the ages of 5 - 25 years.

4 South Lakeland Carers

Gala Dinner at the Castle Green HotelSaturday 11th October saw our annual Gala Dinner at the Castle Green Hotel when around 100 people gathered to enjoy themselves and support our work. Tables were sponsored by local businesses and guests included two former Mayors, local councillors, and trustees and staff from South Lakeland Carers. E S Hartley Lakeland Motor Home Centre of Ings generously donated tickets for a table which was filled with Carers and volunteers.

Following the meal, Rob Kerr from 1818 Auctioneers conducted a fundraising auction with prizes including a weekend for two in a camper van donated by E S Hartley and a champagne dinner at the Castle Dairy in Kendal given by Kendal College. Guests and local businesses had donated generously to the raffle and the table was laden with prizes including champagne, food hampers, jewellery and garden furniture. The evening culminated in an acoustic performance from singer and guitarist Kev Kendal and a “Jock in a Box” disco from DJ Milli.The evening raised more than £2,600 for our work with Carers and we’re very grateful to everyone who supported the evening through donating a prize or offering their

services. All of our guests had a great time and the date’s already in the diary for our 2015 event.

GALLERY

5

(Carers are to book directly through Kendal College – Tel: 01539 814619)The Retreat at Kendal College offers a wide range of treatments, including relaxation therapies, at a greatly reduced rate to Carers (from around £4.00 per treatment - please enquire at the College for information and current price details).All of the treatments are performed by Kendal College students under supervised conditions, with an emphasis on maintaining the professional standards of a commercial salon.

To book treatments at The Retreat, Kendal College, please contact them directly on 01539 814619

Caring Together is a small Charity, offering support to those who provide care to relatives and friends with serious and enduring mental health problems in South Lakeland and surrounding areas.We also aim to provide a forum for Carers to talk about their feelings regarding their caring role, to encourage Carers to gain support from each other and to meet up regularly for social activities.Struggling with Benefits? - We have a wealth of experience with accessing benefits - if we can’t help we can find someone who can!A regular Newsletter is produced with details of forthcoming events and other information which may be useful.What Caring Together members have to say:“Meeting with other Carers of people with mental health problems has been a life line to me.”“Talking to other Carers and learning we were not the only ones with a problem was such a relief.”

For more information please contact:Roo Berry

Email: rooberry1@live.co.uk Tel: 07765 173979

Sally ArmstrongEmail: sallyarmstrong11@gmail.comTel: 07557 373186

or

Providing opportunities for Carers of people with mental

health conditions to meet

HELP crisis fundraising campaignAs things are today South Lakeland Mind will begin the process of closure in early December, in the run-up to Christmas (about 6–8 weeks away). It would be a desperately sad moment, the charity having been there for people in South Lakeland for more than 30 years. We now need people to be there for us.On behalf of the trustees, staff, volunteers and all those who we work alongside, I hope that you will take this appeal for HELP for this outstanding local charity far and wide.

To donateJust Giving www.justgiving.com/southlakelandmindText giving MIND05£your amount to 70070Or cheques to South Lakeland Mind, Stricklandgate House, 92 Stricklandgate, Kendal LA9 4PU.

The Retreat Hair & Beauty Salon- Reduced Rate for Carers

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.

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.

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.

Talk on Food and HealthAt the Grange Support Group on Tuesday 27th January 2015 Mr Colin Sutherland from South Lakes U3A (University of the Third Age) will give a talk on food and health.This talk is open to other Support Group members who we hope will be able to join us.If you would like to find out more about the University of the Third Age please visit www.southlakesu3a.org.uk

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The Kiloran Trust is an unique organisation, it only cares for ‘The Carer’ and not ‘The Cared For’.

The Kiloran ExperienceThe aim of Kiloran is to ensure that the needs of a Carer become a National priority and to reduce the burden of caring by providing a quality respite care break with effective measures to maintain their health and mental wellbeing. The available accommodation is bedroom en-suite; home cooking; own personal time and space to make personal choices; no set timetable; no set routine.The benefits to the Carer after staying at Kiloran are three fold.1. Time to recuperate and rest away from caring, strengthening health and mental wellbeing.2. Staff help Carer to restore their self-esteem through 1-1 work and support.3. Carer returns home with new personal priorities and a future life plan.The Kiloran TrustKiloran is a registered charity No: 1038328Company limited by Guarantee No: 2925286The Service ProvidedKiloran offers full time Carers up to a seven night break away from caring in a West London House. There are four en-suite bedrooms with a tea/coffee tray; own TV; and plenty of space to relax in overlooking a quiet road or a south facing garden. The food is homemade and served in a large kitchen/dining room. Breakfast times are flexible, with a snack lunch available and the main meal is served at approximately 7.00 pm in the evening. All dietary needs are catered for by staff.Carers' Comments"It makes all the difference to be 'yourself' for a few days and nights and to feel you are someone in your own right." (Catherine)"I particularly enjoyed chatting during supper. It's a long time since I had a voice, I felt so pampered." (Joyce)How to ApplyTo enquire about coming to Kiloran for a break, just telephone 020 7602 7404 and we will send you a booking form and further information.Alternatively you can visit www.kilorantrust.org.uk and click ‘send an email’ from the Contact Us page.The Cost This is subsidised and is currently £295 for a Monday - Saturday break (£59/night Monday - Saturday), which includes a room with ensuite and meals.If you have a low income or claim income support Kiloran staff can help to obtain funding to cover this amount.

The Kiloran TrustCaring for Carers

Stonecross Manor Hotel offer special discounted rates to Carers for both Pool Membership and Treatment Room.

For more details about the discounts on offer and how to access them, please contact South Lakeland Carers’ on 01539 815970.

8 South Lakeland Carers

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

Every Wednesday (Please Note: There won’t be a Kendal Drop In on Wednesday 24th December and Wednesday 31st December)December - 3rd*, 10th, 17th*January - 7th, 14th, 21st, 28thFebruary - 4th, 11th, 18th, 25thTime: 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 815970

admin@slcarers.org.uk

Getting in Touch

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

Grange Support GroupHampsfell House HotelHampsfell RoadGrange Over SandsLA11 6BG

Every Fourth Tuesday in the Month December - 23rdJanuary - 27th - U3A Talk (see page 6)February - 24thTime: 10.30 am - 12.30 pm

Windermere/Ambleside Support GroupLangdale Chase HotelWindermereLA23 1LW

Every First Tuesday in the Month:December - 2ndJanuary - 6thFebruary - 3rdTime: 10.30 am - 12.30 pm

Dates foryour Diary 27th January

18th December

If you’d like to see our updates, you can “like” our Facebook page – South Lakeland Carers - and follow us

on Twitter where we’re @sl_carers.

U3A Talk on Food and Health (see page 6)Carers Christmas Lunch (see page 2)

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* Special Drops Ins: Wedneday 3rd December - our "Christmas" lunch club (and 50th birthday cake!!) Wednesday 17th December - mince pies and Christmas treats.