A big thank you to Anthony Gold, solicitors, for supporting our Christmas Edition E-Bulletin
DECEMBER 2021 ISSUE
Headway SELNWK Special Christmas edition bulletin Christmas closures 2021
Headway SELNWK’s service will be closed over the festive period for the following dates: -
We will be closed 24 December - 4 January
Our last operation day will be Thursday 23 December 2021 We will be closed on Christmas Eve - Friday 24 December 2021 Community Support - resumes from Wednesday 5 January 2022 Shrewsbury House - Re-opens on Wednesday 5 January 2022 Mulberry Centre – Re-opens on Friday 7 January 2022 We encourage members to talk to their key-workers if they want to be allocated additional days or hours in the weeks before or after our closure.
Dear Headway SELNWK Members and Families
A Message from John Ling, Chair of
Board of Trustees
Page 1 Xmas closure Page 2 Thank yous! Pages 3 -4 Xmas memories Page 5 Fundraising Page 6 Xmas quiz Page 7 Recipe Page 8 Covid measures Page 9 Members' groups/Social media
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On behalf of the Board of Trustees, our best wishes to you all this Christmas and New Year. When the COVID-19 pandemic really started to hit, we were very concerned about how we could keep Headway SELNWK running. We weren't sure how we could continue to support our members and raise enough funds to ensure the charity remained viable. Despite all of these challenges, we have been able to ensure that Headway SELWNK is on a secure financial footing as we start to open up again. Prior to the pandemic, we had started to develop our staff team to improve the support we can offer to survivors of brain injury and their families. We are incredibly grateful to these staff and the volunteer team who have worked so hard to keep things going in such trying times. They have done a great job in developing some on-line groups and preparing for re-opening. It's been great to hear we are finally welcoming you back to our bases at Shrewsbury House and The Mulberry Centre and starting to offer community support once more. We are always thinking about how we can improve the services we offer. We are also keen to hear what you think would be useful. We really welcome your thoughts and feedback about what's working well or not so well and how we can improve. I hope you have a great festive season.
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Thank you to all our supporters We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported us in 2021. Despite the pandemic there have been some amazing and creative fundraising efforts, including an amazing Quiz Night run by Bolt Burdon Kemp and hosted by the undiscovered Voice of Britain talent Tom Lax! This raised funds of nearly £4000 which was staggering and enabled us to provide a drama group and more much needed art therapy.
Thank you to our volunteers Everyone at Headway SELNWK would like to praise the work, dedication, and hard work of all our amazing volunteers. Without your support, commitment and experience we would not be able to deliver our services and activities. We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Here's to a prosperous 2022 😊
Fundraising Breaking News
We have been awarded a £125,000 grant over 5 years from The National Lottery Reaching Communities Fund to support our Early Intervention service. The fund is for organisations that work with their community to help them thrive. We will use the money to provide a presence in the local major trauma networks, social care teams and rehabilitation centres to ease patients' navigation through the acute setting after a brain injury (in collaboration with Kings College Hospital Trust) and ensure smoother transitions from the acute setting into life beyond hospital. We also aim to bolster links with relevant groups and organisations including local authorities and community therapy teams across London.
New joiner A warm welcome to Miriam who has joined Headway SELNWK as Early intervention Administrator and will be supporting Elena, our Early Intervention Co-ordinator, with data processing, referrals and funding applications. Miriam has a marketing background and is also interested in working with the social media working group to develop our social media strategy. We are very pleased to welcome Miriam to the team.
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Christmas memories We are asked our members, staff, volunteers and trustees what's made Christmas special for them over the years. Here are their thoughts ....
What is your earliest Christmas memory? Joao
Michael
Richard
Climbing the Christmas tree to try and get the angel at the top and three came crashing down! (Tori) When I was 12 in 1977 when I had my road traffic accident (RTA) I went to a home tuition centre. After we had finished lessons the Centre had a snooker table which I played on and enjoyed. At Xmas I came down to open my presents and to my surprise they had got me a snooker table (Tony) Waking up to a stocking (Robert) Dad making a doll's wardrobe and bed for my sister's dolls house. and not getting the magic rabbit I wanted. (Jean) My Gran, Nan and uncle arriving on Christmas Eve and staying over with us for Christmas and Boxing Day (Tony H) Going to the toy shop and posting a letter to Father Christmas (Stefano) Putting the Christmas tree up (Joao) My mum on Christmas Day (Michael) Shopping with my mum and dad at two years old (Ola) Staying at my nan and grandad's on Christmas Eve and waking up on Christmas Day to lots of presents and then helping my Nan with the Christmas dinner (Georgia) As a little child being very excited (Fiona)
All 18 family members together. Mum doing the cooking (breakfast) and having to wait your turn as we only had six chairs around the table (Terry) Joyful (H) Waking up with my presents at the bottom of the bed (Laurie) When our grand-daughter was two years old, her first real Christmas (Richard) Presents but not until Christmas morning! (jane)
What does Christmas mean to you?
Robert
Tony
The birth of Jesus Christ (Tori) Meeting of family. My brother's birthday (Tony) Getting together with friends and family, exchanging presents, cards and news (Robert) Being with loved ones and remembering loved ones who are no longer with us. Enjoying nice food and drink. Playing some games and music and doing a quiz etc. Anything that brings everyone together in a fun way. (Tony H) Family, friends, festive food and drink - good jolly up. Carole service. Terry's Chocolate Orange. (Stefano) Christmas tree. Food - happy days (H) 3
Christmas memories con't What does Christmas mean to you?
Meeting up with family (Joao) I love Christmas. I love being with my children and family (Ola)
H
Enjoy your family and friends. Be kind and be grateful. Don't be negative. Always look on the bright side. Merry Christmas to all! (Terry) A time to give presents to friends and family (Jeff) It's a time when my family comes together to eat and reminisce about old times (Ayuba) Expense, family, over-eating (Jean) Family gatherings and time to reflect on the year (Laurie) Seeing as many family members as I can to make up for last year's Christmas! (Georgia) We can invite all the family around (Richard) German customs. Beauty (Jane)
What are your plans for this Christmas? Cooking, family gathering, eating, relaxing (Tori) Fiona
Terry
Jeff
Meeting up with family (Robert) Well subject to us not moving into another Covid Lockdown, there should be 4 of us and some extra’s via WhatsApp video call at some stage! Boxing Day will include watching the Tottenham v Crystal Palace game, in which, I hope Palace show no generosity of Christmas Spirit! (Tony H) Meeting up with family & friends. Merry Christmas! (Stefano) Spending time with family (Michael) Going to visit friends in Norway for 10 days over Christmas (Alan) This Christmas we intend to have Christmas Day on Christmas Eve because our family live all over the country (Jeff) We have friends from Italy coming over and we are planning a big celebration (Ayuba) Family gathering with my daughter and son and his wife (Fiona) Christmas is always a good time. We will have a food and friends around (Ola) Family dinner with daughter and grandchildren (Jean) Lunch at a restaurant with my children and their families (Laurie) To invite all the family around after having to cancel last year because of Covid. (Richard)
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Buying your Christmas presents on Amazon? We are now registered with Amazon Smile. Here's how it works...... What is AmazonSmile? AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support a charity of your choice every time you shop, at no cost to you. When you shop at AmazonSmile, you’ll find the exact same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as amazon.co.uk, with the added bonus that AmazonSmile will donate a portion of the purchase price to your selected charity. How do I shop at AmazonSmile? Go to smile.amazon.co.uk on your web browser OR activate AmazonSmile on your Amazon Shopping app on your iOS or Android phone. You can find it under ‘settings’ on your app.
Select Headway South East London and North West Kent Limited as your charity Top tip: When you’re using the app, always check for the “AmazonSmile” logo to ensure you’re activated for AmazonSmile.
Make some Christmas art at Shrewsbury House The Christmas art wall in Shrewsbury House is growing! Help add even more festive cheer to the wall. Paint or draw something that means Christmas to you with our new art supplies.
Christmas film magic We did a straw poll of our members, volunteers and staff to find out what were the most popular Christmas films. The winners are: Elf The Polar Express Miracle on 34th Street It's a Wonderful Life 5
Christmas Carols Can you fill in the missing words?
I'm dreaming of a ….................... Christmas Have yourself a …............. Little Christmas Silent night, ….......... night Jingle bells, jingle bells …............. all the way O little town of …................... Rudolf the red nose …................ Let it …........ Let it …......... Let it ….......... …............. around the Christmas tree …......................the snowman was a jolly happy soul We ….............. you a Merry Christmas O come all ye …............. We three …...........of Orient are Hark! The Herald …............. sings
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Quick and easy Shortbread biscuits for Christmas
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Covid measures - a reminder for the New Year! Covid measures will still be in place when our centres at Shrewsbury House and the Mulberry Centre re-open on x January. Here's a reminder of key points to follow:
→ You will need to sign in upon arrival → Face Masks will need to be worn when accessing our services + any other PPE necessary
→ Hand Sanitisers and washing of hands continues to be crucial
→ Lateral flow tests will need to be done beforehand and results brought in
→ Personal space will need to be maintained → Appropriate ventilation will need to be maintained * If you do test positive, you MUST isolate for a minimum of 10 days (if you have the NHS Track and Trace, you will be contacted) ’
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