March 18, 2020
Bath Half 2020
On the 15th March 2020 the region was divided, should they run? Should they boycott one of the biggest charity fund raising events in the area!
We too had mixed feelings we had 19 runners who had been training hard for over 6 months. We had a sense of responsibility for our runners and our members; the Bath Half Marathon was to still go ahead despite opposition from locals.
We decided for the safety of our members the MMP cheer squad could not be in attendance but we would fully support our runners in whatever decision they made. And just like the region they too were divide. 10 of our runners joined over 6000 others and ran 13.3 miles at the Bath Half marathon; Huge thanks goes to Vince, Aaron, Matt, Jemima, Naomi, Michaela, Mark, Kelly, Alice and Pete, you guys were awesome and made the decision to carry on in the face of uncertainty. However and equally as important, Sarah, Georgine, Lisa, Diane, Myfi, Lee, Ali and Russ joined 100’s of virtual bath half-ers. This meant they ran the full distance of the Half marathon where they lived so from Bristol to Devon they braved the rain, avoided the crowds, gave their all and achieved their goals. The virtual Bath Half-ers sent in photos of themselves and their running route as proof.
What an amazing community spirit; not only was it a great day of uniting two different reactions to the challenges our nation is experiencing at the moment but between them these guys have raised over £4600, the money is still coming in too!
So from all the members, volunteers staff and trustees thank you so much for supporting our charity, raising much needed funds and giving us some fantastic news to share with our community.
You can view all our photos here
May 4, 2020
Virtual Fundraising
Thank you to those who have supported our virtual fundraising so far. Firstly we had an Easter raffle, with 2 giant eggs, kindly donated by Keynsham Lions, and a luxury hamper to be won. Congratulations to the three winners Colin, Andy and Nina.
Secondly we held a virtual quiz night with a live stream on Facebook and YouTube. We had a great response to this with many requests for another one. Our quiz hosts Amanda and her daughter Rosa did a fantastic job. We believe the team to beat are Handgelica Houston Film Club with a score of 42. They had set up a pledge with rival family team Winchester & Chiswick Isolation Society for the losing team to donate £20 for every point they were beaten by. With an 8 point difference between them, they kept their world and made a donation of £160! Thank you so much. As everyone was playing at home and marking their own quizzes, we decided to award a prize for the best team name instead – which went to Lock Down and 2 Smoking Furloughs!
May 4, 2020
2.6 Challenges
Supporter Martin Lewis was due to run the London Marathon this year, but of course it has been postponed to October due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Rather than put all that training to waste Martin decided to take on a 2.6 exercise challenge, and undertook 26 different exercises and athletic activities. Some of the challenges he did are: 2.6 mile run, 26 push ups, 26 sit ups, 26 squats, 26 jumping jacks, 26 burpees, 26 lunges, plus several more. Wow! Martin isn’t the only one getting involved in the 2.6 challenge. Volunteer Holly Rawlings ran 2.6 miles in the heat on Sunday and Club25 member Helen Griffiths walked 26 laps of her garden and played 26 tunes on the recorder including Amazing Grace, When the Saints, Polly Put the Kettle On, Grand Old Duke of York, Daisy Bell and Kumbaya. Well done everyone; that is amazing!
The 2.6 Challenge is a great way to support charities during this time. People are coming up with creative challenges around the number 2.6 or 26. If you have a challenge in mind you want to take part in let us know! We’d love to see your pictures. Your family and friends can sponsor you on our Local Giving COVID-19 Support page.
May 14, 2020
Photography competition
We held our first online photography competition fundraiser on Sunday 10th May. There we’re 7 categories, entries opened at 10am and then every hour on the hour. Thank you so much to everyone who took part, we had lots of fun judging the entries, and hope that all who watched it and took part had just as much fun.
Here are all the winners from each category;
• Funniest Family Selfie – Sarah Thorne and Claire Rowles
• Best Pet Portrait – Corrie Bell
• Fancy Dress – Charley and Gabriel Davies
• Best of British – Barry Hollyman and Suzie Lewis
• Best Bake Off – Kim Cole
• Green Finger Gardener – Philippa Joyce
• Best Window Display – Emma Anstey
We also have an overall winner, Corrie and her photo of Maisy. There was an honourable mention to Jane Haycocks for the Blue Tit, and a mention for the best photo that sums it all up for us right now went to Vince Meredith.
All funds raised went towards our COVID-19 support fund, this activity alone helped to raise almost £300 and contributes to our overall fund which now stands at £1,666.00.
June 2, 2020
We’ve innovated our services to continue providing support.
Despite having to close all 10 clubs due to enforced social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic, our staff and volunteers from Keynsham Mencap have been working from home, maintaining contact with our members and coming up with innovative ideas and activities. The club leaders have been keeping in touch with members and families with regular calls and texts, sending out activity packs including colouring pages, activity sheets, word searches and dot to dot, recipes to try at home, craft ideas to cut out and make and packets of seeds to plant in the garden.
The society has been active on our social media platforms with regular videos and updates from club leaders. We have embraced the virtual communication world, with groups having Zoom meet ups, a weekly get together to chat and catch up. The Music Man Project has a weekly music session, complete with instruments made from items found in the home! Radstock Juniors have had a virtual quiz and a scavenger hunt. Club25 had a brilliant game of zoom bingo, and at a members’ request held a fancy dress bingo session.
We have set up a toy and game library, for members to borrow any of the equipment that would usually be used at club sessions. Board games, jigsaw puzzles, musical instruments, toys, garden and outdoor games are included. Operation’s Manager Laura has been out and about in the minibus to visit some members, particularly those who can’t get online, for a socially distanced chat on the door step.
‘We know that many of our more vulnerable members and their families will be experiencing increased levels of anxiety and isolation while we have closed our clubs. This creative way of keeping in touch will remind them that they are still very much part of our community. This uncertain time will also put a great amount of strain on the families, parents and carers of our members, we want to be able to help with those challenges that they will be facing every day’. said Laura.
Our team of amazing volunteers that usually support the weekly clubs and activities are even now, during this challenging period, still supporting the members by joining in with video calls, making weekly phone calls, helping to design activities that can be done at home, making videos, and so much more.
With the closure of the clubs, loss of subs, cancelation of fund raising events and limited grant funding available we are experiencing a significant reduction in income. We have moved into virtual fundraising and have created online events that have not only kept members, their family and friends entertained and having fun, but also raised much needed funds.
So far we have held an Easter raffle – with 2 large Easter eggs kindly donated by the Keynsham Lions, along with a hamper donated by friends of the society. A well-attended virtual pub quiz hosted on Facebook and YouTube, followed up by a music quiz, plus an online photography competition fundraiser. Even with restrictions easing a little there is still the need to host events online and appeal to the wider community of supporters to help to raise funds.
We have details of virtual events and suggestions of others ways to raise money to support the appeal at keynshammencap.org.uk/fundraising/appeals.
‘It is a trying time right now, as we are experiencing a significant loss in income, many of our funders and grant providers have ceased their grant giving activities, and we have had to cancel or postpone some of our biggest fundraising events of the year. The society still needs to cover monthly running costs, and we also want to make sure we can offer fun activities as soon as restrictions have been lifted when we welcome back our members. We hope our supporters will continue to embrace the virtual fundraising world, while we plan more events as we continue working around the challenges we are currently being faced’. Said Amanda Leonard Fundraiser
We have been very grateful to those who have supported us so far. We have an appeal on our Local Giving page https://localgiving.org/appeal/COVID-19-support/ and if you feel like making a donation to us, no matter how small, it would be much appreciated. She added.
July 6, 2020
Thank you
Quiz
We held our 3rd online quiz on Friday 26th June and this time the theme was the 80’s. Congratulations to the winning team which was lead by Andrew Hemings. Over £350 was raised via online donations made during that weeks lead up to the event. A huge thank you to all who took part, your generosity and support has been so encouraging for us during the pandemic.
These are still uncertain times but we want to say once again a huge thank you to all our supporters, you have been amazing! So far you have raised over £3000 from purchasing raffle tickets, attending our virtual quizzes or taking on personal challenges, and we are so very grateful for it all. just look at what your generosity has helped us to achieve in 100 days.
Our local giving appeal page is still live https://localgiving.org/appeal/COVID-19-support if you would like to help us.
Jason’s 50th birthday cycling challenge!
Jason Turns 50 on 12th November and so over the next 6 months he will cycle the distance from Lands End to John O Groats – virtually. (that’s 874 miles) Raising funds for Super Saturday Club and Radstock Juniors, two clubs that provide fun activities for young people with learning disabilities and autism that are close to his heart.
You can easily support Jason by following this link http://easydonate.org/BIKE
Or text…
To donate £5, text BIKE to 70970
To donate £10, text BIKE to 70191
Jason will be cycling shorter distances in his spare time and will clock up the mileage and keep his supporters up-to-date on his progress.
Good luck Jason and Happy Birthday of course!
November 11, 2020
The Covid 70
When Lockdown started back in March member parent Val like many others wondered how she would fill her days, so she quickly decided to write a poem every day for family and friends. She has always enjoyed writing silly poems for family occasions and thought it was a good way of staying connected.
Val has written 70 poems focusing on the ups and downs of life during lockdown, she has now put them into an A4 book. We have a limited number of copies on sale and Val is donating all the proceeds from the sale to us; who, despite the closure of clubs made a commitment to remain operational and stay connected to all our members during the pandemic.
“Keynsham Mencap have transformed our daughter Claire’s life through a variety of clubs and activities. When Lockdown began we were extremely worried about Claire and how it would affect her but Keynsham Mencap have continued supporting her in so many ways; Zoom meetings, welfare calls, fitness in the park and a range of other ingenious activities. Their care for all aspects of the young people’s physical and mental wellbeing is inspiring.”
Val Rowles
The sun is shining the skies are blue,
We all know what we need to do.
Stay at home and look after our own,
All we have is the phone.
We can clean, cook and spring clean it’s true,
But I just can’t be bothered can you?
I mean to exercise with Joe Wicks every day,
But lack of enthusiasm is getting in the way.
I did change into my gym kit and even pinned back my hair,
Sadly very quickly I slumped in the chair.
We did go for a walk in the field for something to do,
But came home with boots covered in cow’s poo.
Today I’m worried sick about Charlie boy will he survive?
Oh hang on he’s got an entourage keeping him alive.
He and Camilla have only got 41 rooms to self-isolate,
But we can all walk to our front gate.
Well I’m going to write a poem a day,
Sorry it’s coming your way.
Keep Safe xxxx
Hope you enjoyed the sample.
To order your copy of this creative and very entertaining book of 70 lockdown poems email amanda@keynshammencap.org.uk. For a minimum donation of £7.50 we think it is a bargain, and if ordered by 10th December we will guarantee to get the book to you before Christmas.
Thank you!
Happy New Year to all our supporters, we wanted to start the year off saying a huge thank you, we raised a massive £800 during our Christmas donations appeal. We’re busy planning for the year ahead so watch this space.
April 2, 2021
Nick Look has raised over £5,200
During the pandemic Nick Look wanted to get active and so started cycling for a couple of hours each day on his exercise bike and before he knew it he had clocked up 200 miles. With this new enthusiasm Nick thought he would set himself a challenge and cycle the distance of 840 miles which is equivalent of travelling from John O’Groats to Lands end and at the same time raise funds for Keynsham Mencap of which he is a member and attends their adults social club ‘Club25’.
Nick aimed to complete his challenge by Easter Sunday and was hoping to raise over £500. Instead his challenge has taken him even further, he reached his destination after 40 days of cycling which was way ahead of schedule and so decided to do the return journey,
Nick started his cycle on 25th January, he started ‘virtually’ at John ‘O’ Groats and arrived at Land’s End on the 5th March, he then decided; as he was ahead of schedule, to make the return journey. Arriving back at John ’O’Groats on 30th March.
Nick cycled a total of 65 days, (every day except Mothers day) an average of 2-3 hours a day which clocked up 138 hours by the end of the challenge which was 1680 miles, he also burned 61,216 calories and lost 1 Stone in weight!
The latest total including gift aid is a massive £5200.00. Well done Nick, not only did you raise an amazing amount of money for us also but you have achieved some awesome personal goals.
Nicks, story was covered by the local press including Keynsham Voice, Emersons Green Voice, The Week In and Bath Chronical. His challenge also caught the attention of the BBC news team and BBC radio Bristol where Nick and his mum Rosemary were interview live for the breakfast show.
Nick can’t wait to get back to club to see his friends and celebrate with them his amazing achievement. The money raised will be put towards some exciting new projects once lockdown is over.
Nick is planning his next challenge, but in the meantime he will continue to keep active and maintain his new level of fitness.
Congratulations Nick we are all so very proud of you!
There is still time to support Nick at http://easydonate.org/NICK
Winterbourne View scandal 10th Anniversary
Winterbourne View Scandal – 10th Anniversary
The 10 year anniversary of the BBC Panorama programme that exposed shocking abuse at Winterbourne View is on 31st May. We want to reflect on the last 10 years and to call on the government to deliver the long overdue change they promised.
What is the Winterbourne View scandal?
On May 31 2011, undercover filming by BBC Panorama exposed horrific abuse at Winterbourne View hospital, an ‘Assessment and Treatment Unit’ – near Bristol. Patients with a learning disability and/or autism were repeatedly pinned down, slapped and taunted by staff. In the immediate aftermath of the Panorama programme, four people were arrested and a further 13 employees were suspended.
The physical, emotional, and mental abuse of people in a vulnerable position shocked the nation. Promises were made at the highest level to ensure this could never happen again. The government was clear that hospitals are not homes and promised to ‘Transform care’ for people with a learning disability. They said people placed inappropriately in inpatient units should move out of these settings and get the right support in the community.
In the intervening ten years we have seen the government fail to deliver their commitments and miss their own targets and deadlines to close inpatient beds. Since Winterbourne View further abuse scandals have been exposed. Winterbourne View was not a one-off.
At present, there are over 2000 people with a learning disability and/or autism locked away in inpatient units many miles from their families. . Thousands of people are at risk of overmedication, misuse of restrictive interventions including physical and chemical restraint, and being kept in isolation.
To mark the ongoing failures and the anniversary of the Winterbourne View scandal, some families of those who were at Winterbourne View have come together to share their experiences in “Tea, smiles, and empty promises” .
Their stories show the devastating impact that inpatient units can have on those placed there, and the ongoing trauma people can experience both during and after their detention. It focuses on the need for people to get the right support in the community and avoid going into inpatient units in the first place. And where people have gone into these places, they must be supported to return to their home areas as soon as possible and be able to get the right support in the community, including trauma support where needed.
Signposting for people and families affected
If you are worried that someone you know with a learning disability and/or autism is at risk of admission to an inpatient unit, or is currently in an inpatient unit and you are concerned about their care, please see the following for further information and where to go for support:If your relative has a severe learning disability, you can contact the Challenging Behaviour Foundation Family Support Service – 0300 6660126 or email support@thecbf.org.uk
For people with a learning disability and their families and carers, you can contact Mencap’s Learning Disability Helpline: 0808 8081111 or email helpline@mencap.org.uk
If your relative is autistic you can contact the National Autistic Society’s Autism Inpatient Mental Health casework service: https://www.autism.org.uk/what-we-do/help-and-support/autism-inpatient-mental-health-service
Resources:
www.challengingbehaviour.org.uk/information/information-sheets-and-dvds/when-things-gowrong.html
Families who have suffered because of the #WinterbourneView scandal have come together to share their harrowing experiences in new report “Tea, smiles, and empty promises.” They, like thousands of others, have been failed by the government. Over 2000 people with a learning disability and/or autism are currently locked up in inpatient units like the one at Winterbourne View, often miles from home and far from family. Email your MP now and demand the government make good on promises to transform care: bit.ly/WV10EmailYourMP #Winterbourne10YearsOn
September 8, 2021
Keynsham Mencap supporters will skydive to raise funds
Thank you for your interest in our sky divers fund raising pages! On Sunday 3rd October 2021 our team of 11 Skydivers will jump out of a plane at 15,000 ft in a tandem sky dive! If you would like to show your support for this amazing and brave team of fund raisers that include 5 members of staff and 6 supporters of our charity, including a parent of one of our members; please scroll down and click on their photo it will take you to their fund raising page and you can donate.
Holly who volunteered for MMP
Lauren who knows many of our members
Amanda, our fundraiser
Izzy who volunteers for Club 25 and holidays
Jason who volunteers for Radstock Juniors
Jemima who volunteers with Club 25 and holidays
Supporter Gareth
Supporter Jamie Lee
Helen who is mum to Alice
Supporters Gemma and Amila
Thank you for your support
November 29, 2021
Keynsham Mencap HighFliers!
Our first team of charity Tandem skydivers took to the Devon skies yesterday! Perfect weather conditions meant it was all systems go!!
Amanda, Helen, Lauren, Izzy, Gemma and Amila have been raising money for us and set themselves the challenge of their lifetime!
Everyone thought it was the most amazing and thrilling experience and enjoyed every minute!
So far the skydiving team have raised over £6000 in sponsorship. Well done guys!
We have another date in the diary when more thrill seekers can take part for free providing they raise a minimum amount of sponsorship of just under £400. If you are interested in taking part on Sunday 3rd April 2022 with the next team or if you want to do it solo please contact Amanda in the office amanda@keynshammencap.org.uk for more details. It will be one of the most incredible challenges you have ever done!! Guaranteed!
November 29, 2021
Quiz back on track
On 6th November, Keynsham Mencap held is first quiz night in over 2 years. This has always been a very popular event pre Covid times among members families and friends of the society and this time was no different. 82 people had a great time at the Saltford Hall in Saltford answering questions around sport, music general knowledge and TV they enjoyed drinks from the bar, a ploughman’s supper and the ever popular raffle.
‘This was our first independent fund raising event since the start of the pandemic and so we really did not know what to expect. Said fundraiser Amanda Leonard. ‘The total raised that evening was just under £1000, which was just superb.’
November 29, 2021
Local Business steps up for Keynsham Mencap.
Passionate about supporting their local communities, the team at PBTA (Perpetual Business and Tax advisors) Keynsham and Hanham, stepped out in October in support of Keynsahm Mencap after they heard about the charity’s mini-bus appeal.
Together the 16 strong team, set an aspirational target of 5 million steps for a month long campaign. The PBTA STEPTOBER team walked almost 5 million steps which equated to over 10,000 steps per day per staff member every day for the whole of October.
Duane Shield (Director) shared ‘We are a local accountancy practice who really wanted to continue to support this brilliant charity, by meeting our step targets we were able to provide a one off donation of £500 to help them with their current minibus appeal’.
‘We have a fantastic partnership with PBTA and look forward to continuing to work together on other fundraising and awareness projects in 2022’ said Amanda Leonard fundraiser.
The mini-bus is a life line to the members of Keynsham Mencap and so these crucial repairs where a necessity despite being an unplanned expense.
Local company AJM Engineering also came to the rescue along with the generosity of the local community who donated to the online appeal which meant the final bill was covered and the repairs were carried out; just in time as the charity’s Music Man Project takes to the road to perform on Sunday 12th December at 4pm at Manvers Street Church Bath.
We Smashed it at our 2022 Dinner and Auction
On Saturday 26th March and after a 2 year break we were delighted to welcome back supporters to our fundraising dinner and auction. ‘It was a joy to see familiar faces and to welcome new supporters to our biggest fundraising event in our 2022 calendar. Said Amanda Leonard Fundraiser
The start of pandemic meant we stopped running clubs in the usual way; thanks to the determination of our staff and volunteers we adapted services and continued to reach out to members during such an uncertain time.
This gave us the opportunity to try new things; we took their services online and virtual, spent more time outside and made visits to families at their homes. Staff and volunteers did whatever it took to ensure members did not feel isolated.
We are so pleased of what was achieved during the last 2 years despite experiencing challenges we never knew existed, and throughout it all, it made us stronger than ever.
The Auction raised in excess of £5000 on the night which way exceed expectations in what is still a very tricky time. ‘It felt great to finally be able to hold an actual physical event. We are very grateful to our supporters who continue to keep funds coming in for us; and despite a drop in income experienced. This amazing total will make sure we keep doing what we do best: ‘Providing social opportunities for adults and children with learning disabilities and autism’. Amanda added.
Huge thanks go to businesses iTeam solutions, Longwell Records, Gregory’s Estate agents, Bristol fun for hire, Homelet’s in Bath, Apex Hotel, Soul spa, Bailbrook House, SW Disco’s, Espa UK, The Olive Tree Restaurant, Original Wild Bath, Stockwood Golf Club, Congo Falls Adventure Golf, Wall Eden Adventure, Phil Girdlestone photography, Jane Metters, Leanna Biggs Make up and Hair, Hare Brewery, Bristol Headshots Photographers, Blue Bird Bakery, Clifton Wine School, Bird and Blend, Mulberry and Persimmon Homes who all contributed to the success of the evening.
Special thanks to Simon White of SW Discos who stood in as auctioneer and did an outstanding job helping to raise almost £2500 from just the auction lots alone!
GoTeam!
On Saturday 11th June staff and volunteers took part in a 5K inflatable obstacle race in Bristol. The team thoroughly enjoyed the challenge, not only was it fun and a great team building day but the team raised nearly £1000. Well done everyone!
Well Done to our Bath Half-ers!
On Sunday 16th October, TeamKDMS completed the Bath Half Marathon. Dave, Dean, Jack, Pete and Stacey took on the 13.1 mile course around the sights of Bath and past our enthusiastic cheer squad of supporters stationed on Lower Bristol Road.
Well done to everyone who took part and thank you for choosing us as your charity, we really are very grateful for your support.
If you have been inspired by our runners this year the we have 10 Bath Half 2023 places available. The 2023 race is scheduled for Sunday 15th October 2023. If you would like to take part in this iconic running event and raise money for us then please get in touch. It’s only a £25 registration fee, and we ask for a commitment to raise at least £250 in sponsorship. Contact the office for more information.
Thank you to Warburtons!
A big thank you to Family Bakers Warburtons for awarding us £400.00 as part of their Community Grant Scheme. Warburtons Community Grants support charitable organisations towards broader activities which improve health, place, or skills for families in their community.
The impact of grant donations such as this enhance the activities programme in our clubs; giving our members new opportunities and enabling them to take part in more confidence boosting activities that will broaden their horizons and more importantly help them to experience the same activities as their peers, but in a more secure environment. We aim to help all our members live happy and healthy lives and grants like this enable us to do just that!
Inclusive Sports Day 2023!
Keynsham Mencap is hosting a ‘come and try’ sports event for children with learning disabilities and their siblings on Monday 21st August 2023 from 10am – 2pm.
Choose which activities you want to take part in and collect stamps for each one.
Activities will be overseen by coaches and volunteers but children must be supervised at all times.
Tickets are available through the link below. Each child will require a ticket.
Pop in for as long as you like, or stay all day!
Please bring packed lunch and refreshments.
Venue address: Wellsway Sports Centre BS31 1SR (IKB / Sports Centre entrance).
Saltford Santa Dash – Keynsham Mencap Are a Chosen Charity
We are very grateful to have been selected as one of the charities for this year’s Saltford Santa Dash on Sunday 1 December. We cannot wait to see all of the Santas running around the streets of Saltford!
Before the races begin, members from our music group ‘Music Man Project’ will be performing some Christmas carols to get everyone into the Christmas spirit before the runners set off.
This will start at around 10:25am on the stage by the start/finish line at Saltford Sports Club Ground. Come along and join us for a festive singalong and to cheer the runners on!
A team of our amazing staff and volunteers, Alicia, Lottie, Lucy and Kath will be running the 5k road race. We rely on the help from volunteers and fundraising to continue to run our clubs and services and to help make a difference to the lives of people with learning disabilities.
If you can, please consider supporting our team of runners by either donating to their fundraising page or coming along to cheer them on from the sidelines!
https://localgiving.org/fundraising/KDMSantaDash
If you are running with us, please go to the Mencap gazebo (located near the start/finish line) before the races start so that we can take some group photos before we set off.
Thank you for your support. We hope to see you on Sunday for a fun-filled morning!
