Latest News
31st August 2010
Feedback
As the holidays are nearly over we would value your feedback on our Summer 2010 Play Opportunities. This information is really important as it tells us what went well and what we could have done better. It is also vital for showing our funders that our services are needed and the difference they make to your family during the holidays. You can leave your comments at any time by completing the form on the FEEDBACK page. Thankyou.
Coffee Morning Dates
For CHAOS parents/carers during term time.
10am - 12 noon on Monday 6th Sept, 4th Oct, 1st Nov and 6th Dec. At The CHAOS Families Centre, Bond Avenue, West Moors BH22 0LL.
New Serendipity Sams Dates 2010/2011
Dates for the next evening sessions at Serendipity Sams can be found on the Play Ops page.
12th August 2010
Masked Valentines Ball
Saturday 12th February 2011 7.30pm at Parkstone Trades & Labour Club. Tickets £8. For more details please call Claire Chissell on 01202 668490 or see Claire's message on the Friends of CHAOS Facebook page - see link below.
11th August 2010
Ladies Pamper Evening, The Barrington Centre Ferndown at 7pm on Thursday 7th October 2010.
CHAOS parent Nicola Hovell is organising another fundraising event for us. A selection of pamper treatments & shopping for both male & female, gifts for all ages. Tickets only £6 each include a glass of wine/soft drink and entry into prize draw! Advanced bookings of tickets only £5. For more details please see Friends of CHAOS page on Facebook www.facebook.com/friendsofchaos
10th August 2010
Charity Football Match by Eloise Long
Fantastic football Match on Sunday 25th July! Brilliant weather and an interesting pitch. Sainsburys vs Oakdene- Oakdene won 10:5. Very enthusiastic playing and a few own goals but all for a good cause, well done boys!! They managed to raise a grand total of £154 and Jon hopes to arange another set of matches soon, possibly 7 a... side, with a league of different sports centres and possibly one for the children. If anyone is interested please get in touch via the office. A big thank you to the team (pictured below) and a big thankyou to all of those who came along to to support the game.
26th July 2010
Waitrose Community Matters
If you shop at Waitrose, don't forget to nominate CHAOS as your chosen charity by completing the form found in store.
22nd July 2010
Opportunities at Ferndown Leisure Centre
Working with Dorset County Council Aiming High, a programme of events for disabled children aged from 7 -19 years. On Sundays between 9.30 and 12pm. Multi -sports and swimming all free of charge. Support workers available. For more information please go to www.dcleisurecentres.co.uk
and use drop down menu to select Ferndown Leisure Centre.
The Littledown Railway
are having an open day this Sunday 1st August 2010. All proceeds to Coping with CHAOS. The CHAOS stand will be there, manned by our volunteer parents, so please go along and support them. For more information on the Littledown Railway please go to www.littledownrailway.co.uk
19th July 2010
The Government's Home Access Team are offering free computers and assistive technology to school-age children with a learning or physical disability who come from a low-income family.
Click the link to find out more
www.dotcommunity.org.uk
14th July 2010
Race for Life - in memory of Barbara Gillingham
by Angie Pittaway.
with Maria Day-Tizzard, Carol, Amy,
Jade,Natalie,George,Gracie,Bev and Emily
We ran in Bournemouth on Sunday 20th June at 2:30pm and we raised a total of £282 between us.
Maria says "I had a really great afternoon. Lovely to see all the faces of people who knew Barbara. So thanks Barbara for the inspiration, definitely doing the run next year!"
Jade says "I have put the picture of Barbara that I had on the back of my running shirt by George's bed. It was lovely to run the race in Barbara's memory - if she hadn't been so helpful to us as a family, I wouldn't have done it. That speaks volumes."
Angie says "It was an emotional day but it was also lovely to share the moment with other people who cared for Barbara. She meant so much to so many people and she is sorely missed. I'm really glad we did it and look forward to doing it again next year for Barbara once again."
14th July 2010
Dear All
PLEASE PASS THIS MESSAGE TO AS MANY FAMILIES WITH DISABLED CHILDREN AS POSSIBLE
On Friday 10 July, the new government launched a website
spendingchallenge.hm-treasury.gov.uk
to let the public have their say about public spending under the its spending review. Government will be looking at the responses over the summer, so that they can publish their decisions in October. The discussions and decisions the government takes over the summer will determine how public money will be spent for the next four years.
I realize that this work is taking place at a time when it can be hard for parents to engage with things. However I cannot stress enough how important it is that as many families with disabled children as possible speak up. This is a critical time, and the decisions taken now will affect families with disabled children for the next few years. There is a real opportunity to make our views heard about the importance of investing in and protecting services for disabled children and their families.
The more people that speak up the better. Other groups will be mobilizing their supporters too, so it is critical that we do the same. Please pass this message on to as many families as you can, so that they can go onto the website http://spendingchallenge.hm-treasury.gov.uk/ and hopefully encourage their friends and relatives to do the same.
Contact a Family will be raising the following issues:
• The importance of investing in services to support disabled children and their parents
• The importance of easing the financial pressures on families by making the right benefits available and also taking steps to help parents take up jobs if appropriate (affordable childcare, flexible working etc)
• The importance of investing in parent participation so that families can drive the development of services locally
Please click onto the link http://spendingchallenge.hm-treasury.gov.uk/ and have your say. The amount of time we have to influence is very limited. Please help us to make the most of that time.
Kind regards
Srabani
Srabani Sen
Chief Executive
Contact a Family
Tel: 020 7608 8704
Address: 209-211 City Road, London EC1V 1JN
Web: www.cafamily.org.uk
6th July 2010
Poole Short Breaks. Monkey Business, Tower Park Poole 6pm - 7.30pm.
These private sessions for families with disabled children & their siblings continue on Tuesday evenings throughout the summer. No need to book but families will be required to register. For more info contact Poole Short Breaks on 01202 261908. If you would like to be on their mailing list to receive regular programmes via post, please contact the Child Health and Disability Team on 01202 714616.
