Tag Archives: charity

Breaks, Health & Wellbeing, Information & Advice

2 Ways to Improve Your Wellbeing this Autumn

by Lindsey Clay 

Update 18th September 2018: 

Due to demand we will now be offering an evening yoga and mindfulness 6 week  course, venues and dates the same but with a 6.00pm—7.30 pm time slot.

We are coming to the end of our lovely sunny weather and heading into the beautiful and colourful autumn season. Changes may be happening in our own lives, be it children going back to school, changes in jobs or changes in our own health and wellbeing or that of those we love.

Here at the Carer’s Centre we are always working to help improve the wellbeing of carers within our community through our services. Read on to find out what we’ve got going on…

1. Try our new course of gentle yoga and relaxation

A new 6 week  gentle yoga course on Monday afternoons 1:30pm to 3pm is starting on the 8th October at our Centre in Bath. This is a trial project, so depending on interest from carers we may be able to offer this in other locations around BaNES.

Yoga mats provided (which you can then take home at the end of the course if you wish to help you continue your practice at home).

The course will be lead by Jules Allen who has written a little note about herself below.

I am a Yoga, Relaxation and Mindfulness Teacher, and I work with various organisations across Bath and Bristol. I specialise in teaching yoga, relaxation and mindfulness to people who may be beginners, people who may have health and mobility issues as well as people who have regular wellbeing practices.

Take time to rest and a moment to breathe, stretch & move, meet new people and make new friends as well as everyday ideas, tools and tips for bringing more well-being into their lives.

Having been a young carer, an adult carer and also living with Rheumatoid Arthritis I practice various yoga and relaxation exercises every day and really have valued the overall effect that yoga, relaxation and mindfulness has had for me and with the people I have worked with.

Continue reading 2 Ways to Improve Your Wellbeing this Autumn →

Centre News, Events, Fundraising

Sponsored Walk Set to Raise £2,000+ for Carers

We held our second sponsored walk last month on Saturday, April 21, to raise awareness of unpaid carers and the challenges they face.

Forty walkers (and a few dogs!) participated in the six mile walking route to raise money for carers looking after sick, elderly or disabled loved ones in Bath and North East Somerset. The group raised or pledged over £2,000 for the charity.

The group walked (some in fancy dress!) from Bath Carers’ Centre to Saltford’s Bird in Hand pub and back again, totaling just over six miles.

One of the walkers involved said: “It was a privilege to take part.”

Local solicitors Mogers Drewett were the main sponsor for the event, with support from Co-Op Mount Road and Co-Op Marksbury.

Kate Norris from Mogers Drewett, who also took part as a walker, said:

“We were so pleased to be involved in the walk, both as a participant and sponsor of such a fantastic event to highlight the great work that the Carers’ Centre does and the lifeline support it provides both to its members and their families.

We see the extremely positive effects and impact the Centre has on our clients and are keen to do what we can to support that. ”

The Carers’ Centre provides support to approximately 4,000 carers from the BaNES area, helping them to manage their caring role by offering information, advice, counselling, befriending and respite opportunities.

We also support young carers from as young as 5, who will often help with extra duties if they have an ill or disabled sibling or parent.

Carer Stories, Information & Advice

Living Well with Dementia

Ruth Maurice_edAccording to the Alzheimer’s Society, about two thirds of people living with dementia in the UK are living at home – usually with the support of a relative or friend who is their carer.

Looking after someone with dementia – the umbrella term for degenerative brain disorders, such as Alzheimer’s – can be incredibly upsetting, isolating and painful. But there is help, support and understanding available that can make things a little easier to cope with.

Founder of Singing for the Brain, Chreanne Montgomery-Smith, said “people hear and read so much about dementia in terms of a decline and the progression of symptoms – that is by far the overwhelming narrative – but people with dementia show us every day that it is possible to live well and to have a progression of hope.”

Ruth Holbrook, who looks after her husband Maurice (both pictured above) has been involved with the Carers’ Centre and other local services since Maurice’s diagnosis. Because Ruth had worked in health and social care, she knew what support was available. Continue reading Living Well with Dementia →

Information & Advice, Volunteering

Day In The Life Of… A Carer Hub Volunteer

Story By Andy Graham

Kevin
Carer Hub Volunteer Kevin

It’s one of the ironies of life that if you ask someone if they know an unpaid carer, they’ll often say no. Even when they’re sat next to the person they look after.

That’s the situation that sometimes faces Carer Hub volunteer Kevin O’Callaghan, who helps support carers at the Royal United Hospital in Bath. People rarely want to sing their own praises, he finds, or ask for help.

But life is full of surprises and when I go to visit Kevin in the hospital atrium, we are immediately met by a couple from Wiltshire. The husband is looking after his wife and his mother and, though in good humour, seems tired and in need of somewhere to turn.

Making a referral to his local carers centre is easily done, but it’s not always the case. Kevin has found that some people can be defensive, especially if they think you want money. Luckily, with his 34 years in sales and marketing at BT, Kevin is quickly able to diffuse the issue.

Continue reading Day In The Life Of… A Carer Hub Volunteer →

Carer Stories, Carers in the media, Young Carers

Young Carer Becca Featured on Comic Relief Red Nose Day

Becca RYoung carer Becca, 10, helps to look after her mum who has Fibromyalgia. The family, via the Carers’ Centre, were approached by the Comic Relief team who wanted to make a short film to capture what life is like for young carers — and we think they did brilliantly!

We are incredibly proud of Becca and all our young carers and hope this video can shed a little bit of light on what it’s like for young carers living in Britain today.

The film highlights the difference between Becca’s day and the day of one of her friends, Izzy, who isn’t a young carer.

As a thank you Comic Relief took Becca and her family to watch Blue Peter live!

Click here to watch Becca’s story.

Centre News

Woodlands Re-Opened After Refurb

_DSF9456_smlOur Bath Carers’ Centre, Woodlands, is now re-opened! Closed for four weeks to allow for some much needed refurbishment, we’re back in business and looking bright and shiny.

The Carers’ Centre purchased Woodlands in 2015, with the help of a social investment loan, to provide a permanent place for Carers in Bath and surrounds. Since then, Woodlands has been our home in Bath and has been host to two Bath Half cheer stations, a sponsored walk, young carers family days, pizza nights, a massage workshop, willow weaving and a whole programme of free breaks and activities! Continue reading Woodlands Re-Opened After Refurb →

Carer Stories, Events, Young Carers

Celebrating Carers 2016 – the results!

Celebrating2016_logoOur annual awards ceremony was held in October and once again the event was hosted by the fantastic Ali Vowles of the BBC. It was a chance to recognise our unsung heroes: carers, volunteers, and partners and to look back over what we’ve achieved this year.

The evening was made possible by the generosity of Sirona Care & Health and by our other wonderful sponsors; Bath College, Curo, Gerrard Financial Consulting, Gradwell Communications, Minuteman Press Bath and Way Ahead Care. Continue reading Celebrating Carers 2016 – the results! →

Fundraising

Support our young carers – buy their 2017 calendar now!

yccalfront2Our artsy young carers have been going out walking at different points in the year at Ammerdown Woods, near Radstock, taking photographs of the changing scenery. With these photographs we’ve compiled a 2017 Young Carers Calendar! For £5 + P&P you can support our young carers, enjoy wonderful photos of nature and organise your 2017.

Pictures reveal the nature of the different seasons and are intermingled with the sketches and doodles young carers made whilst out and about. It makes a perfect stocking filler gift so buy yours now from our online store!

janyccalendaroctyccalendar

Centre News, Events

Carers: the backbone of our communities

pcs8906cropped1-239x248Carers are part of the backbone of our communities and the annual awards night held by the Carers’ Centre is a fabulous opportunity to applaud their selflessness, says Sirona chief executive Janet Rowse.

Sirona Care & Health, which provides specialist community health and adult social care across Bath and North East Somerset, South Gloucestershire and surrounding area, is the title sponsor of the Celebrating Carers event.

Janet said: “Our staff work day in day out supporting individuals and families but they do not do it alone. They are supported by carers, volunteers and other partners and all of these people working together really makes a difference to the lives of others. Continue reading Carers: the backbone of our communities →