Introduction Hello my name is George and I am your compere for today’s event. Welcome to Advocacy For All’s 25th Anniversary celebration
Introduction We are here to celebrate Advocacy for All, which started all the way back in 1997 So, today, we are celebrating 25 years of Advocacy for All It(hooray!)islovely to see old and new faces here to celebrate with us
We begin today as we take a moment to remember those who can’t be here today. Those dear friends who are here in our hearts Let us pause for a few moments together Introduction
It is wonderful to be together again after the last few challenging years To me personally, Advocacy for All has given me • Confidence • A job • A great social life • A cuddly toy • And a girlfriend! Introduction
• We hope you all enjoyed the afternoon tea • 5pm – Quiz • 5.10pm – Trip down memory lane! • 5.25pm - Chat Show • 5.40pm - Launch of the animation • 5.50pm – group photo (cheers Advocacy for All!) • 6pm - Off to the pub! (rough) Agenda
Let’s start with some housekeeping points. Fire alarm Fire exits Please turn mobile phones off Toilets Social distancing and wearing masks What to do if you get too hot Housekeeping
To help us all have a good evening can we follow our rules please • Respect each others opinions • Listen to each other • Give people time to speak Housekeeping
I am now going to hand you over to the quiz master, Dave
Dave’s Quiz!! What happened in 1997?
Dave’s Quiz! What happened in 1997? 1. The first Harry Potter book was published. What was it called? a. The Goblet of Fire b. The Chamber of Secrets c. The Philosopher’s Stone
Dave’s Quiz! What happened in 1997? 2. Who became the first Labour Prime Minister in 18 years? a. Gordon Brown b. Tony Blair c. Neil Kinnock
Dave’s Quiz! What happened in 1997? 3. In which European city did Princess Diana sadly die? a. Paris b. Rome c. Berlin
Dave’s Quiz! What happened in 1997? 4. Where did NASA’s Pathfinder craft land? a. Venus b. Mars c. Jupiter
Dave’s Quiz! What happened in 1997? 5. Which TV channel hit our screens in 1997? a. Channel 4 b. Channel 5 c. BBC4
Dave’s Quiz! What happened in 1997? 6. Who had hits in 1997 with “Too Much” and “Mama”? a. All Saints b. Eternal c. The Spice Girls
Dave’s Quiz! What happened in 1997? 7. What were the main characters in this film known as? a. Men in Brown b. Men in Blue c. Men in Black
Dave’s Quiz! What happened in 1997? 8. Katrina and the Waves won the Eurovision Song Contest for the UK? What was their song called? a. Love Shine a Light b. Love Shine a Torch c. Shine on Me
• We are now going to pass over to Susie • She is going to tell us about the history of Advocacy for All, and look back at our achievements
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In 1996 we set up the Bexley and Bromley Advocacy project was only us and a few volunteers! became the Bromley Coordinator, we hired someone to be the coordinator for Bexley as well, and we trained about 50 volunteers to be advocates for a person with a learning 1998, we became a registered charity
Citizen
So, how did it all begin? – A message from Vivienne •
disability • In
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The group used to meet every two weeks in the Swan and Mitre in Bromley. Joanne, Theresa, Philip, Ben, Sean, Geoff and Linda were the first members. It was important for us to become a self advocacy or speaking up group. They liked the social side
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So, how did it all begin? •
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Helen Bates came to work with us to do all our admin. She stayed with us for years, and became our Office Manager
One of the members, Philip, came up with idea of calling the group Bromley Sparks as he said “we spark off each other”
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The group interviewed some people and decided that Yaninka was the best person for the job. They weren’t wrong were they?
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Getting bigger! •
During this time
Getting bigger! • We became Bromley and Bexley Advocacy, with paid advocates working with us • I am very proud to say that Three Guineas Trust funded us to start the first advocacy project for people with Autism in England. • We promoted self advocacy, speaking up, and easy read more than anyone else.
Getting bigger! • We produced all our newsletters and annual reports in easy read • We held some amazing speaking up group annual reviews with people being supported to run all aspects of them themselves. • I was always in charge of the voting!
Getting bigger! • Our main annual reviews were amazing. • All the groups were represented – I was so proud of the organisation and you all. • People always said they came to our events because they were such fun and “showed what people can do and not what they can’t” • Helen was great at doing the catering on the smallest budget!
Getting bigger! • Over the years the organisation grew and grew. • Children in Need funded our advocacy group for young people 14-18, Bromley Council funded a community advocate, we started an advocacy group for older people in Bexley • We started to do a lot of easy read work, including a directory for services in Bromley
Recent times • We started to work in lots more areas such as Greenwich, Lewisham, Sutton, Kingston, Kent and Havering. • We changed our name to Advocacy for All • We started to offer IMCA and RPR Advocacy, Care Act Advocacy, NHS Complaints Advocacy and much more. • We achieved the Quality Performance Mark for Advocacy and Investors in People.
In 2016 we had over 50 people working for us and I had, for many years, been the Chief Executive. After 20 years, I thought it was time to let someone else do the job and since then you have had Jon as your Chief Executive.
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Recent times •
What we look like today • We have 65 advocates • They support over 4500 people every year • We work in 7 areas in South London and Kent • The Speaking Up groups are still going strong in Bromley, Bexley, Sutton, Havering, and Kent • We have offices in Swanley, Bromley, Faversham and Sutton
Recent projects • Health Ambassadors – providing a voice for adults with autism and learning difficulties regarding health and the NHS • Touch Base – supporting adults with autism who are experiencing mental health challenges • Ensure Project – training some of our Kent ASC group members to become peer supporters to support others • We will be starting a Community Advocacy post in Bexley • Easy Read is still going strong, and we have recently had additional funding to develop a social enterprise • The A Team and Media Team, along with Easy Read Team, are working together more – forming the Bromley Together Training Team
I think we all deserve a round of applause for the great work over the last 25 years!
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I am still flying the flag for advocacy and work freelance as an advocate. I love being an advocate again and while I miss you all, I don’t miss the tenders and contracting side. I am so proud of what we all achieved as a team while I was with you and just as proud to see and hear that the good work continues and goes from strength to strength. I am so pleased that a lot of the Speaking Up together groups are still around. I’m sorry I can’t be with you but have a great evening and I will make sure I make 30 years.
Best wishes and love from Vivienne
word from Vivienne •
Can I please hand you over to the Committee They are hosting a chat show, looking back at the last 25 years
Chat Show
I would now like to hand over to Nathan, who is going to talk to you about how we put together our celebration animation
I am now going to hand over to Isaac, who is going to share some words from Jon Wheeler
A word from Jon
Final words We are now going to pass over to Yaninka and Teresa, to say some final words for today’s celebration
Final words • We have heard this afternoon about how things have changed over the years for Advocacy for All • The thing that remains the same is our commitment to each other, and making the lives of those we support better and bigger • Bigger Voices, Better Lives!
Final words • We want to give a big THANK YOU to everyone who have put in so much work to make today possible • Big thank you to the committee for all the preparation they put in for today • A big shout out to our peer supporters – you are fantastic! • Keep on keeping on to all of our wonderful staff! • A final huge thank you to everyone who has had any involvement with Advocacy for All over the last 25 years
Final words • For the final part of today, I am going to ask people to come forward to the front for a group photo to remember today • Take a glass, and we will raise a toast to Advocacy for All
Goodbye • Thank you for coming. • Please help to tidy up • We will see you all at the pub shortly!
