Summer 2016 Edition

Avalink Awards Trip Out & About on TV

Paula’s Knitting

2. Larry’s Message

3. Avalink Award Update

4. Out & About on TV

5. 2016 Conference News

6. Avalon People News

7. Customer Focus

8. Customer Focus

9. Spotlight On Sarah

10. Twycross Zoo Trip

100th Birthday Party

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At this year’s National Learning Disabilities and Autism Awards, we were

excited to find ourselves finalists in two categories: Breaking Down

Barriers, for which Avalink were shortlisted, and Outstanding

Contribution, for two of our Wirral Shared Lives carers.

On the 14th July, 10 Avalon staff and customers took a trip to Birmingham, to represent our organisation

at the Awards ceremony itself.

The Trip Down – Told by the Group.

At lunchtime a full minibus left Head Office, with Carole and Sarah as drivers. Luckily we’d had a practice

driving the bus in the morning! After a good, albeit long, journey we met up with Denise, who had

travelled by train.

We all changed into our best outfits ready to go to the Birmingham ICC for the awards dinner and

presentation evening. We were welcomed at the event by a drinks reception, following which we had a

lovely 3 course meal and then the presentations. Unfortunately we didn’t win either of our categories,

however we had a great evening, and we even met Christopher Biggins!

Following a good night’s sleep we set off back to North Yorkshire on Friday morning, saying our goodbyes

to Denise who was travelling by train. The minibus journey was a great way of getting to know each other

better. Karen entertained us with her recital of the wicked witch role she had played several years ago,

Will assisted Sarah and I with setting up the Satnav, and Jo, Claire and Laura chatted all the way home.

What our Customers Said About the Trip.

Karen: ‘It was a good night, and I got to meet Christopher Biggins. I was proud that Avalink were

shortlisted and received a certificate. I enjoyed the trip enormously.’

Denise: ‘We all had an enjoyable evening. The staff at the Travelodge were exceptionally helpful to me

which I really appreciated, including booking a taxi for me to get to the train station to go home and going

the extra mile to ensure I was safely helped into the taxi.’

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All Set for TV Debut!

The Skipton Out and About group may soon be set for stardom.

After a television company visited Skipton looking for things that

make the area great, the Out and About group were put

forward and fit the bill completely.

The filming was set and the Avalon crew arrived ready for their

big moment.

They had to learn a dance, which everyone enjoyed, and staff and customer’s families said that

it was amazing to see the group come together to perform.

The British weather did its best to cause mayhem, and for a while the shoot was postponed

whilst everyone dodged the rain, but nobody’s spirits were dampened, and a member of the TV

Company looked after everyone, catering to their every whim!

The filming was such a success that another date was scheduled to produce some follow-up

footage, and then as a further surprise the team asked if they could do a one-to-one interview

with Skipton Service Manager Lucy Price. “They loved us” said Lucy “And they wanted to find

out how it all started, and ask me about why we do what we do. It was a bit nerve wracking, but

very flattering too. It’s plain to see that the Out and About group have charmed the media!”

The programme is due to be broadcast in winter, although no date has been confirmed yet as

the footage is still going through the editing process. But you can be assured that we will let you

know as soon as we hear anything. Keep your eyes and ears peeled.

The 2016 Avalon Annual Conference

Yes folks, a full year has almost gone by since our last conference,

which looked at The Power of You and was a great success.

This year’s conference has now been booked for Wednesday 23rd

November, and will take place at our usual venue, the York

Sports Club.

The theme of this year’s conference is ‘Respect’.

It seems such a simple word, respect, and we each have a meaning that we apply to it in the

context of our personal and working lives. But we want to explore all of the different ways

respect applies to being a member of staff, a carer or a customer of The Avalon Group.

We are finalising the programme now, and can promise a day which will be filled with speakers,

interactive sessions and dramatic performances to reflect the theme in ways that will be of most

value to those in attendance; they can then use the day’s learnings to engage the entire Avalon

population about the importance of respect in all its forms.

Places at the conference are limited, so if you wish to attend please speak to your Line Manager

or Locality Team to request a place. We look forward to seeing you there.

The Avalon Awards

One of the major highlights of our conference is the Avalon Awards, which recognise

outstanding work over the previous 12 months. This year’s categories are:

Support Worker of the Year

Shared Lives Carer of the Year

Staff Member of the Year

Customer Achievement of the Year

Team of the Year

The nomination process is currently open and you can request a form by contacting your local

administrative team, or by calling Head Office on 01423 530053. You can also email

carolynreynard@avalongroup.org.uk

Please note that the deadline for nominations is Thursday 13th October.

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Elaine Culf - Finance Assistant,

Harrogate

Mark Wheatley - ICT Support Advisor, Harrogate

Diane Armstrong - Locality Manager,

Skipton

Ryan Trueman - Locality Manager, Harrogate

Lawrencia Mulele - Service Manager,

West Yorkshire

Nicholas Mackrill - Service Manager, West Yorkshire

Emma Kendrick - Service Manager,

Scarborough

Stephanie Ashton - Service Manager, Skipton

Ian Davison - Locality Manager, Teesside

Jonny Mercado - ICT Support,

Harrogate

Ruth Dodds - Finance Assistant, Harrogate

Hollie Stokes - Senior Service

Manager, Scarborough

Laura Thomas - Service Manager, West Yorkshire

Kim Dobson - Service Manager,

Skipton

Joan Hearne - Business Development Manager, Harrogate

Lisa Fletcher - Locality Manager,

Teesside

Qualifications

Since our last newsletter lots of our workforce have been working

hard on completing new courses and qualifications. This is great to

see and means not only are our people committed to providing the

highest quality care, but that also they want to achieve great things

on a personal level during their career journey.

So huge congratulations to the following Avalonians, who have

completed their Level 2 Award in Awareness of Dementia

Marguerite Ascough, Helen Hall, Patricia Stienstra and Lindsey

Piercy.

We’d also like to say congratulations to Laura Norton, Gina Smithson,

Tasneem Karim, Paul Proctor, Joanne Hardy and Christine

Sunderland, who received an Avalon Appreciation Award for their

amazing work.

RECRUIT A FRIEND & EARN £50

Do you know someone who’d make an excellent Support Worker?

If you introduce them to Avalon and they successfully complete their probationary

period, you will receive £50!!!

Just get them to apply on line at www.avalongroup.org.uk or call 0800 7838549 for

an application pack and tell us it’s part of the “Recruit a Friend” initiative and give

us your name.

Terms & Conditions

The recruit must not have been a previous member of the Avalon workforce

(employee, carer or volunteer).

Customer Focus

Happy 100th Birthday

Thrill Seeker

Customer Focus Student of the Year

Creative Knitting

Office Visit

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Spotlight on Sarah

A lot of people come to us to enquire about what it’s really like

to become a Shared Lives Carer. They want to know what the

process involves, they are sometimes concerned about

whether their home will be suitable and wonder what things

they need to be able to offer.

We recently spent some time with one of our newest carers, Sarah Wood from York, to chat

about how she decided to become a carer, and what the process was like for her.

Sarah told us: “I was made redundant from a job I’d held for some years. After this I found I had

some time on my hands, and alongside doing some voluntary work I spoke to someone at The

Avalon Group about Shared Lives and they suggested about me becoming a carer.

“I wasn’t sure I’d be suitable, and I didn’t know if our lives and our home would hold up to the

level of scrutiny required. But I knew it wasn’t something I was willing to dismiss either. So

when Avalon came for a visit to my house and said ‘You can definitely do this,’ we set the ball

rolling.

“There is quite a lot involved in the process, but it’s nothing that I would say is difficult. All the

people from Avalon have been great at explaining the next steps, and they’re so down to earth

it makes it that much more encouraging. In terms of our house, there’s been no major changes,

just small things. We already had smoke alarms and our doors are fire safe; we had to buy a

first aid kit and we had a chat with our mortgage provider just to ensure we’re okay.

“I’ve also had some fun with it. One of things I had to do was write a piece describing my

everyday life. I talked about my hobbies, interests and values, even things like I can’t stand

Instant coffee and I have to have fresh. I suppose I’m trying to say that it’s just such a human

process, and as well as being the right choice for me, it’s also good fun. I’d recommend it to

anyone who has a spare room at home and a caring outlook on life.”

You can watch our video interview with Sarah at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P74xEL11-tE

Sarah and

her son

Adam

A Day at the Zoo Some of our West Yorkshire customers took a trip to Twycross Zoo over the summer and

wanted to share their pictures with everyone. As you can see they had a great day out, and

after seeing some penguins, some of them even became penguins themselves!

What Did Everyone Think?

Alison: “I liked the penguins best but they were a bit smelly”

Peter: “My favourite were the monkeys I had a really good time”

Lisa: “I liked the meerkats the best, Pennie and Julie really looked after us”

Steven: “The monkeys were really funny, I bought some great mementos at the gift shop”

Andrew: “I liked all the animals, we had a lovely day and we had a sing song on the way back'“