Age UK Cornwall - 50 Years Legacy Book

Golden Jubilee 50 years of aging well in Cornwall

GOLDEN LEGACY BOOK

Thank you partners and friends for supporting us during our celebration year

Recollections by Margaret Ford –Chair, AGE UK Cornwall & isles of Scilly

As current chair of Age UK Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, and having worked for the organisation for over 30 years, I have a fairly unique insight into how it started, how it has developed and where it is going.

The organisation was born in London after the 2nd World War.

introduced and funded by the government and originally called The Older Peoples Welfare Association – the intention was for it to do exactly as it says on the tin – help older people cope with the aftermath of war and help with improving their wellbeing.

From one main branch in London there grew many off shoots around the home counties, spreading more and more around the United Kingdom – there are still some groups called The Older Peoples Welfare Association to this day.

In 1971 the Older Peoples Welfare became completely independent of government and was renamed Age Concern. Many local groups took on the Age Concern name and together they benefited from a unified image and a name reflecting that they were not just committees but active providers of direct services.

When Age Concern Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly was established, 50 years ago, our focus was on the support, benefit advice and sign posting for those requiring help. We ran several second-hand charity shops to raise much needed funds, and then in 1989 three Day centres were founded. One at Falmouth, Truro and then Newquay. These were Cornwall Council owned buildings given to Age Concern Cornwall to run and provide support for the cared for and the carers themselves with some respite. In the 1990’s Transport mini buses were introduced to enable a person to be brought into the Day Centre on a regular basis, where they could receive a bath, enjoy a hair dressing facility, tuck into a hot meal, and most of all have some much-needed social engagement.

For the complete story click here

Who we are

Every year, we support thousands of people and communities.

We have over 350 dedicated volunteers and staff that provide services, activities and support to people in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly

We have four guiding aims:

1 To place the person at the centre of everything we do.

Our mission is simple, we aim to take the positives of getting older and minimise the challenges. We listen, provide support and work tirelessly to help ‘improve the wellbeing of people in later life’

2 Supporting a network of connections.

Our goal is to connect individuals to a wide range of community resources, services and support that is centred around the places where people live. By working with partners, local communities and social groups we can expand the menu of support, enabling people to take control of their own lives and increase their choices.

3 Building Resilience and Sustainability.

We believe that the role of our charity is to offer solutions and support that are sustainable and focused on serving the needs of our population. We are the masters of our own design and our primary aim is to offer information, guidance, support and services that people want and need.

4 To Inspire People and Communities to Age Well.

We will always focus on the difference we make and the value we bring to people in Cornwall. It is essential that we measure what matters to people the most. We will strive to embed a culture of positive solutions by coaching across the organisation, supporting teams to take responsibility and making the right decision at the right time. We want to create an inspiring environment for all who work for us and with us.

Chief

Yesterday and today We find ourselves working in a very different environment today than when we began 50 years ago which has been brought into an even clearer focus post-Covid.

Have a look at our Timeline and History following my introduction and you can see how we have developed from providing basic needs to our older population to a comprehensive range of valuable and vital services to help all of us to AGE WELL.

There is a real sense of community engagement borne out of necessity during the last two years of pandemic. And we have harnessed that new spirit ourselves Minds have become flexible, our carers have pulled out all stops and there is now a dedication, empathy and commitment that is part of our brand essence and adopted equally by staff and volunteers alike.

We are proud and excited to celebrate our Golden Jubilee by publishing this Legacy Book for all to see and to highlight some of the ‘best of the best’ from exhibits to products, exemplary staff, cares volunteers and drivers, who go out of their way to exceed expectation – and at the end of this special year we will announce prize winners at our final Birthday Bash in May 2023!

Message from Tracey Roose –

Executive, AGE UK Cornwall & isles of Scilly

Congratulations to Age UK Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly for reaching your 50th Anniversary year: 50 is an important milestone in anyone’s life and just as much so for an excellent organisation such as you are. May I wish you every joy and success in your Golden Jubilee Celebrations.

All of us in the UK have much to celebrate in 2022, nothing more so than the Platinum Jubilee of HM The Queen’s accession in 1952. Celebrations of this event involve all ages coming together in many different ways, exactly what is needed to help make communities across the country strong and resilient. Therefore, I am delighted that this message of promoting young and old coming together is something that Age UK Cornwall is emphasising, especially through your own Go for Gold programme. We all want to get older in the best way possible and bringing generations together to discuss how we work together to manage ageing is everyone’s business - this is a great step forward.

Getting old comes with its challenges, but life should continue to be fun and rewarding: thank you all so much for everything you do to help in this. Have a great year and I much look forward to your Big Birthday in May 2023: please send me an invitation!

Message from the Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall –Colonel Edward Bolitho OBE

Our history

Mid 1940

Our organisation was founded after WW2, funded and introduced by the Labour Government and called The Old People’s Welfare Committee, helping older people cope with the aftermath of war and to improve their well- being. In 1944 it became known as the National People’s Welfare Committee (NOPWC).

1945 – 1980

From the first London branch it quickly grew throughout the Home Counties, then spreading throughout the UK, and some are still called by their original name.

1971

The organisation became completely independent of Government and was renamed Age Concern. Many local groups took this name and together they benefitted from a unified corporate image, reflecting that they were not just committees but active providers of direct services.

May 1980

Arrived in Cornwall 50 years ago hence the launch of this Golden Anniversary Legacy Book.

1980 – 1992

Initially Age Concern continued with the support, benefit advice and sign posting for specific services to those who required help. Second - hand shops were introduced to raise funds, one of which was our own in Truro at 5a Little Castle Street.

3 Day Centres were founded, Falmouth, Truro and Newquay. These provided the ‘cared for’ and the ‘carers’ with respite and transport.

Mini buses were introduced to enable ‘clients’ to be brought into the Centres on a regular basis and here they could have their hair dressed, have a bath, a good hearty meal and that much needed, social interaction

Unknowingly, the attendance brought competitive spirit into the Centres – keeping up appearances, looking forward to meeting others and playing games or cards, or even some sporting activity! ‘Clients’ felt they were once again becoming part of a community.

1987 The 1st purchase of a community minibus

1989 Falmouth, Newquay and Truro Day Centres opened

1990 Introduction of The Neighbourhood Service

Carers were increasingly handling quite large sums of money at the end of each week and there was concern for their safety.

To cut down travel costs and expenses Team Leaders worked from home to provide flexible working hours. We all want to be independent as long as possible so we introduced a Neighbourhood Service so that clients could be monitored without intrusion (curtains drawn or post left in the letterbox). Fires would be lit and a little shopping undertaken.

Care in the Community was generally well received but some small glitches emerged; men received mixed receptions - a ‘generational’ thing!

If a male went to another male’s home, he was not well received. After all men didn’t do housework so it was not acceptable for a man to care for another man. Likewise if a male went to a lady, living on her own, that was certainly unacceptable! What would the neighbours think? We tried only sending male carers to couples then discovered that the husband got jealous and would only accept a female.

In the end we had to get rid of all male carers… nowadays we have many male carers and they are happily accepted and do the job very well. How times and fashion have changed.

1992 Care in the Community was introduced

We worked, at first with Social Services, then with our own Care Plan throughout the County. This consisted of one person overseeing a team of carers with one Leader in each ‘Council’ area (Carrick, Kerrier, Penwith – names that no longer known following the introduction of our own Unitary Council).

1994 Home Support founded

We trained our teams and referrals were received from Social Services via individual families or from the clients themselves.

Area Team Leaders went out and assessed each client and when the service was taken up a carer was allocated and he or she could provide general cleaning, washing, ironing and shopping (or taking the client shopping). This was initially financed by the client paying direct to the carer.

2002 TAP founded

Transport Access People (TAP) is a subsidiary of Age UK Cornwall. They have been providing a Community Transport service throughout Cornwall & Devon since 2002. TAP has a fleet of Accessible Electric Vehicles, Minibuses, and over 120 Volunteer Car drivers that take clients to their chosen destinations.

TAP has been the connector for communities for over 20 years, performing an invaluable role in the

community - supporting people to retain their independence and keep socially active - providing door-todoor transport for people who have difficulty accessing other forms of public transport. They specialise in nonemergency healthcare appointments, trips to information centres & hubs, memory cafes, social activities, shopping excursions, prescription collections and everything in between.

“In 2022, TAP provided over 67,000 journeys in Cornwall & South Devon”

2004 West Cornwall Minibus Share Scheme introduced

2009 Age Concern and Help the Aged join forces.

AGE UK was established and in Cornwall we became AGE UK, Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly, all under the umbrella of AGE UK England but we remained autonomous on how we worked and made decisions.

2005 St Austell Day Centre opened

Today we obtain the majority of our funds from grants, providing services to people in the community, or by receiving legacies. Our ‘books’ always have to be balanced so we do make some charges for certain services. If the client has a problem, in severe cases, we have an enablement fund to dip into – whatever service we provide, it is important that we always put the person at the centre of everything we do, identify their needs & wants, and ask the question ‘what matters to you?’

2007 Transport for Renal Department patients begins

2009 The Buzza Bus on the Isles of Scilly was introduced

2010 Age & Ambition event at Kingsley Village

AGE UK was established and in Cornwall we became AGE UK, Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly, all under the umbrella of AGE UK England but we remained autonomous on how we worked and made decisions.

2010 Falls Prevention & Steady On advice published and presented at hubs

2011 Steady on and Falls Prevention service launched

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50 years of progress

2011 Advice & Information published and presented on our website

2015 Begin partnership with Macmillan

2016 Community Helpline is established to support local communities

2017 Gardening Services begin

2017 Truro Hub closed

2018 Social Prescribing begins in Central and Mid-Cornwall

2018 Cornwall Link is launched

2019 Healthy Workplace Scheme is launched to support staff, volunteers and our families

2019 Social Prescribing begins in East Cornwall

2019 6 First electric vehicles come into service and 12 charge points

2020 Online Support Cafe’s and Step into Wellness is created

Active Living Support

Information & Advice

Services

Gardening

Diabetes and cancer care

Veteran Support Services

Social Prescribers and Community Coaches

Link workers give people time, focusing on ‘what matters to me’ - taking a holistic approach to people’s health and wellbeing.

Community Gateway

Cornwall Link

An on-line programme that signposts answers to quickly sort out problems.

Home from Hospital

A care package like no other, mixing Day Centre with Meals on Wheels, homecare, befriending and anything else that has to be done to prevent ‘bed blocking’ in hospitals throughout the County

Community Hubs and Warmth Cafe’s

Cancer Cafe’s

Carers Support Services

Respiratory Support

Cognitive Stimulation Therapy

Transport Services in Cornwall and Devon

Marking a legacy a golden outlook

To recognise our celebrations in every media outlet, we created a unique logotype and colour scheme.

So far, this has been applied to our Legacy Book, clothing, packaging, film titles (in animated versions), on banners and advertisements and of course websites (both ours and those of our partners). Today, few in Cornwall won’t be aware of our Go For Gold and linked AGE UK graphic.

2022 Our Golden Jubilee

‘Go for Gold’ celebrates 50 years serving Cornwall and a year- long series of events, parties and shows ending in May 2023, and recorded in this, our Jubilee Legacy Book.

Harvest Gold

a festive celebration

On October 12th 2022, Age UK Cornwall and its partners held a festive event at Burraton Methodist Church Saltash.

The first arrivals were from the support team for the day. Ian Penhaligon, Community Prescribing Development Lead, brought his interior design skills creating a space for over 60 guests to be dined and entertained for the day. We were also incredibly grateful for support from Age UK Cornwall’s Margaret Ford, Tracey Roose and Ellen Brown.

The Guests arrive...

The first guests were residents of supported living hub, Janeva Court, followed by the Torpoint Team bus (kindly provided by Kernow Cars Millbrook) and our Social Prescriber, Jess Hirons and volunteer Maggie. Other guests arrived with the support of Mike Finch and his team from Saltash Red Bus. All transport on the day was so helpful and right on time.

The lunch service went smoothly, due to the amazing volunteer helpers, with lunch being followed by the Harvest Gold Quiz. Cara Higginson, our Community and Development Link Worker in South East Cornwall, produced a brilliant brain-teasing two-part quiz with anagrams and conundrums - all centred on the Harvest theme.

After lunch, guests and carers arrived from The Elms Care Home, and everyone was ready for live entertainment.

Tables were set for the arrival of the first guests at Midday, stacked high with useful information, advice and signposting leaflets.

Catering was kindly provided by CEPL12, the Saltash community enterprise, represented by Chris Cook, who kindly prepared fresh Harvest Soup and rolls. Delicious pasties were supplied at cost by Bakers of Saltash. Scrumptious afternoon tea was provided by Waitrose, Cream Tea and Cakes were donated by Florence Fare of Callington.

Your comments...

Below are just a few of your wonderful comments:

Glorious entertainment...

Our fantastic entertainment came from Luggers Eukelele. We all watched as smiles spread across the faces of attendees. The afternoon tea crew prepared a sumptuous cream tea to ‘Delilah’ and ‘Leaning on a Lampost’. Jan Howells, Respiratory Support Facilitator, and local volunteer Roy Perkins even demonstrated some gentle moves in time to the tunes.

Many hands certainly do make light work! Serving tea for over 70 people can be a challenge, but we had it out in no time. Tea was followed by a second set from the Luggers and a grand raffle draw. We had over 40 prizes donated, including a generous Aqua Spa Voucher from The China Fleet Club in Saltash; Gold theme fruit baskets; haircuts; jewellery vouchers; and a lovely ‘Harvest Poppy’ artwork by local artist Pam Pryor, a regular well-being hub attendee.

from

and District

Finch from Saltash Red Bus all commented on working together for a future event at this brilliant venue. Thanks go to them all for supporting the day and contributing to its success.

Concern, and

The spirit of generosity shone brightly. It was a day filled with frenetic behind-the-scenes activity, fun, laughter, a few tears, smiles of joy, and some relief that things are returning to normal, post-pandemic.

Many people were excited to start reconnecting with communitiessuccessfully working together. Our aim is to age well, and this day brought together all the necessary parts of the jigsaw. Our guests were certainly pleased!

MHA communities Sarah Clook and Liz Hewer, Diane Shan

Saltash

Age

Mike

What a performance…

our first event in Jubilee Year

St Austell Community Hub

Jubilee Street Party

Mandine and her team of volunteers invited clients, families and friends to enjoy a buffet lunch street party and a wide range of Jubilee inspired celebrations with a very special secret matinee production on Wednesday 1st June from 10am – 2pm at the St Austell Hub.

Meet the stars...

Curtis Danby volunteer 2011

Sheila Caddy volunteer 2011

Joy Cloke volunteer 2011

Mandine Auchinachie volunteer 2011

Kim Burridge volunteer 2011

Irene Gillesphie volunteer 2011

Neil Crawford volunteer 2011

Fran Francis volunteer 2011

Carolyn Cook volunteer 2011

Magic moments...

Royal Cornwall a day to remember...

Our traditional Saturday visit to the Royal Cornwall Showground, for over 400 clients, was as memorable as ever with a touch of celebration for 50 years to add some sparkle.

Goingtoseed…youngandold! UsethispacketofCornishWildflowerseed,withall

This year we gave away wildflower seeds so that families and friends could work with their grandparents in working to ‘grow’ stronger relationships all round.

On another page you will see what we had to do to gather the original seeds from the Eden Project and develop them to where we are today, handing out 5,000 seed packets over 2022-23.

From every corner of the County our buses brought clients through the main gates (no other visitors have that privilege) and up to our own giant marquee…

… where they enjoyed a traditional Cornish Pastie lunch

thefamilytakingpart,towatchandrecordtheir growthandtheirfirstinteractionwithbeesandaverageCornMarigold

Inspiring People and Communities to Age Well

Going to seed…young and old!

Look out for the bright pink aproned volunteers giving out free Corn Cockle seed packets and get a member of the family to do create an imagedrawing or painting - inspired by this wildflower project. The best three will get a garden centre voucher!

‘Going to seed’ was our banner message which was displayed outside our Marquee on one of the main thoroughfares through the showground, carrying our Jubilee

‘Going to seed’ seemed to chime well with our clients and when our Chair, Margaret Ford and our Jubilee Project leader strode out emblazoned in pink so hand out packets they met an intrigued and amazing column of visitors who, once they had explained AGE’s ambition to ‘colour up’ local environments, seized on the opportunity to get engaged.

Our camera man caught the intrepid pair as they wound their way through the crowds and between them we believe they spoke to over 800 families, couples and children. Enjoy! But don’t eat the seeds’, they advised… they are not for cooking – just planting.

Have a look at his film here

Our Volunteers

To gather 400 together from around Cornwall and deliver them for feasting and fun is no mean feat! Here we show all those who made this possible in our Jubilee Year and we are indebted for their willingness to go way beyond expectations to make the day a success.

we are in awe of our wonderful volunteers, who consistently provide their skills, time and care to support vital services and people in local communities.

We couldn’t do it without you

ageuk.org.uk/cornwall/get-involved/volunteer

Kerstin

Kim

Bernie

Jeff

Kate

Rachel & Amelia

Ann

Steve

Matt & Wayne

Sowing seeds...

Troon FC play on...

Walking Football has been a sports phenomenon in the UK for over 10 years but in Cornwall it has only recently been taken up and is one of the fastest growing sports in the over 50’s for both for men and women.

We decided to sponsor one team, Troon near Hayle, for our Jubilee Year to highlight its attraction and to inspire others to support this great way of meeting and playing together to keep muscles flexed and to share fun and camaraderie.

And of course they had to wear our strip so that meant the very first application of our Go for Gold brand.

It’s all too easy to sit at home all day and become chair bound and getting physically and emotionally weaker and more isolated. We believe that Walking Football is part of the answer but it takes more than that. We all need to be proactive about our health and wellbeing. We are ‘fighting the tide’ and have to get as physically and mentally tough as we can.

At Troon they really do make it a sociable ‘exercise’ as well and apart from club training evenings members enjoy quiz nights, parties and special Christmas celebrations!

Go for Gold by beach cleaning

You never know what you’ll find!

AGE UK Cornwall & isles of Scilly and Beach Guardians have co-hosted this Jubilee year to clean up the shoreline of 3 of Cornwall’s beaches. Underpinned by our belief that intergenerational fun can be had by one and all, especially in the fresh air and by the sea.

Our beach cleans

Nothing is more rewarding, have look at what we did and where…

Treyarnon Bay

A beach clean with lots of people “aging well” and some intergenerational ages!

Find out more here

Porthpean Beach

A group of families, individuals and ‘celebrities’, spent an idyllic mid-day clean, accompanied by local MP, Steve Double, and Pat Smith, aka Action Nan.

Find out more here

Swanpool Beach

Raising the Beach Guardian flag brought heaps of excited beach cleaners of all ages who made some spectacular finds.

Find out more here

Beach Guardian was co-founded in 2017 by father and daughter team Rob and Emily Stevenson.

“We started doing little local beach cleans around Padstow, but then the Blue PlanetTV series came along and people wanted to do more. We realised that we didn’t just want to be picking up rubbish, but that we could raise awareness through what we’d collected. We were lucky enough to have the use of a building where we could store everything found on the beach cleans, and that turned into getting groups involved – schools, cubs, old people’s homes etc – to create artwork and see plastic pollution in a different light.”

“We’ve also recently started working with Age UK to get inter-generational activities going, so you might see children, parents and grandparents working together. “

“Each event ends with show and tell so that people will, hopefully, go away with stories of what everyone has found – and feel inspired to carry on doing their bit.”

This is the first year Age UK has been involved, with transport manager Ann Lewis making her beach clean debut at the Swanpool event.

“This year Age UK is celebrating its 50th anniversary, as well as the 20th anniversary of its transport division, and when we asked members of staff for ideas on how to celebrate they came up with doing a Beach Clean.

“So today staff and volunteers have come down to Swanpool to join in, and we’ve also taken part in events at Treyarnon and Porthpean. As a first timer I was a bit taken aback by how much we found and how much damage it does.”

As well as taking part, Ann brought one of Age UK’s vehicles down to the beach.

“Eventually we want all the fleet to be electric,” she explains. “It shows what the organisation’s working towards, and both the Beach Clean and the vehicle show our commitment to helping the environment.”

Rob Stephenson, right, with the Beach Clean volunteers at Swanpool.

Three bucket-loads of plastic picked up from the shore.

©Jane Leigh

Little Edens

how does your garden grow?

Rebecca Kevern, Gardening Service Lead for Age UK Cornwall & The Isles of Scilly, talks about her role and service has changed since COVID-19 and how she’s helping people within the community. All views are her own.

What is your job like?

On a typical working day, my time was split between office work and being out in the community. I travelled across Cornwall, visiting clients and completing their assessments or meeting our gardeners. Other days I would be based in the office, completing admin work or doing check-in calls. You could often find me coordinating the service at my desk within the Care Team at Age UK Cornwall’s Truro offices.

How has this situation impacted the Gardening Service?

As COVID-19 increased its hold over the country, the team has adapted (and continues to evolve) how we support the older population in Cornwall. I have been impressed and inspired every day with the tenacity and positivity of the teams, to create new or altered vital services, and the impact this has for the people we help.

Our gardening team have been very supportive and have quickly adapted to their roles and the new strict health and safety procedures. We understand that people’s gardens are extremely important to individuals. Now more than ever, as the country is in lockdown, the garden has become a sacred place for people to enjoy the outdoors. However, we can only provide a service if it is 100% safe to do so for both customer and gardener. Our wonderful gardeners have even been helping to do some shopping visits and reporting back to us who they feel need extra support.

How has your role changed?

At this time, I found I have the capacity, within my working day, to help with other practical support in the community. I have been supporting the TAP (Transport Access People) team to drive people to and from their vital medical appointments. These journeys highlighted the generous work that our TAP volunteers do every single day.

“I was so scared when this happened, I was worried that I would not have anybody to ask to help with my shopping. It’s such a relief you are helping. I look forward to you coming now!”

I have seen a change in the people I have visited for the last few weeks. I can see they are struggling with the lack of human contact, missing their families and their friends. I feel they want me to chat a little longer or are becoming quite teary and emotional. I truly believe that it is up to all of us to think creatively and help our friends, neighbours & loved ones throughout this crisis – I now have firsthand experience of the difference you could make.

This week, once I’ve dropped off the shopping, I am making the time to have a tea from my flask and a chat through a window or two –making sure I am sitting a good two metres away in the garden!

To date, Rebecca has helped over 250 people receive prescriptions and shopping services across Cornwall.

Rob Stephenson, right, with the Beach Clean volunteers at Swanpool.