Minutes of SDN Quarterly Members Meeting 11Th September 2014

Minutes of SDN Quarterly Members meeting 11th September 2014

Mears, Shropshire Home Services Unit 3, Hartley Business Centre Monkmoor Road Shrewsbury SY2 5ST

10.30 am Refreshments, 11 am start.

1.  Present – 24 – See attached list. Ruby Hartshorn took the Chair.

2.  Apologies – 17 – See attached list.

3.  Minutes

Minutes of the meeting on 12th June 2014 were reviewed and Ruby checked with members if there were any matters arising. The minutes were accepted. (Proposed: Pam Newall, Seconded: Roland Brown)

The only matter arising was the continued search for a Deputy Newsletter Editor.

4.  Chairpersons’ Report

Ruby gave the attached report to members. Ruby paid particular attention to the following points -

·  Sonia was unable to attend today due to a close family member being ill.

·  Due to a late cancellation there would be a change of speakers.

·  Sarah Raven from ASDA would also be here to donate a cheque as a result of their green token scheme.

·  Several meetings were taking place about the proposed closure of the Monkmoor Walk in Centre.

·  An Inclusion Officer was being recruited based at Energize.

·  Ruby was on the Board of this project & there would be a place for a person with a disability on the board as well.

Roland Brown asked if we had been consulted about the traffic free proposals in Shrewsbury that were recently in the press & if not we ought to have representation on that committee (we have not)

5.  Treasurer’s Report

Ruby presented the attached report.

She made the following points:

·  We need to have a big push on the Gold Challenge with more volunteers and sponsors

·  Plea for helpers for the upcoming collections at Morrison’s Wellington on 12th September.

·  Donating via JustTextGiving. This is easy by texting SHDN12 £1 and sending to 70070

6. Guest Speakers

Rachel Harding gave a very interesting and enlightening talk on the Me & You Project that involved young people who were disabled or had additional needs at the Albrighton Trust. Many of the activities on offer were free or at a reduced rate. These included Horticultural Conservation looking after wild creatures such as bees and butterflies and angling. It has been very successful in helping young people overcome many barriers & they can also gain qualifications in Volunteering or from the RSPB and Duke of Edinburgh Awards.

Rachel then took lots of questions from the members. She offered an open invitation to anyone or group who wished to visit the Trust. She also said that if the Project continued they hoped to develop it into a Social Enterprise selling fruit and vegetables.

Sarah Raven Community Life Champion at ASDA presented Ruby with a cheque for £50.00 as we had come second in their Community Life green token scheme. Not only had we gained financial reward but SDN had received 2 months awareness at Shrewsbury Asda store. Awareness is a big part of Asda's work in the community. Sarah offered SDN an awareness day at the store before the end of this year & an application form will be sent to us to complete.

Ruby thanked Sarah for coming and the cheque.

Keith Billson Volunteer South Co-Ordinator South from OSCA had stepped in as a late replacement speaker. He explained OSCA's role as it had been developed from citizen advocacy in the USA in 1966. He said they were seen as a friend who would speak up for you & help you understand. They were based in The Roy Fletcher Centre. They had about 80 volunteers and supported about 300 people. He said they were trusted confidant who is good at listening. In Shropshire help was needed in travelling, such as reading bus timetables. They acted as a bridge between the partner and power holder (social worker, parent, GP). They were not allowed to give advice, as they were not specialist in the subject.

Keith answered questions from members about training and impartiality. He also offered SDN a space in their next newsletter.

Ruby, thanked everyone for attending the meeting especially Rachel and Keith as we have been blessed with good speakers all year.

The raffle & refreshments raised £40.39 Thank you to those who donated prizes and Chris Hunt for selling the tickets.

The next meeting is on:

AGM 18th September at Health Village Shrewsbury 3.30 pm for 4 pm start. The agenda to be circulated nearer the date. We look forward to welcoming Sue Bott CBE and SID.

(Shropshire Inclusive Dance)

………………………………… Approved

………………………………..Prepared by