Windsor Press Releases

Charity Starts At Windsor Housing's Sheltered Home

Residents’ charity fund off to a flyer

Residents at Windsor Housing’s Manor Farm Sheltered Housing scheme were delighted to present a cheque for £1,000 to the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance service (TVACAA). The residents raised the money by holding coffee mornings for local residents, selling raffle tickets and holding Bring & Buy sales over the course of the year.
Each year, residents on the 55 self contained apartments on Manor Farm Close in Dedworth decide on a charity that they will adopt for the year. Whereas other sheltered schemes may only raise money for their own use, these residents selflessly donate all money they raise to a different nominated charity each year.

Kathy Lee, a Manor Farm resident said, “We’re a small community and it’s a good opportunity to all get together and socialise whilst raising money for a good cause. We know the money we raised is just a drop in the ocean for them but it’s a help and hopefully might raise some awareness of this vital charity.”

The Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance celebrated its 10th Anniversary in mid June and has flown its 11,000th mission last week following an emergency air lift from Welford, near Newbury to the Great Western Hospital in Swindon.

Collectively, the air ambulance service is the busiest voluntary emergency service in the country and is on call seven days a week, 365 days a year. The red and yellow liveried EC135 helicopter, based at RAF Benson in Oxfordshire, can be airborne within three minutes and can land in an area of half the size of a tennis court.

Although the TVACAA generally operates across Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, there are no boundaries and the crew are frequently called out to attend emergencies in neighbouring counties when required.
The average running costs are £165,000 a month, meaning each mission costs over £1,200. The TVACAA require £2 million a year to operate their seven day service and receive no funding from Central Government or the National Lottery so are dependant on donations and fundraising of generous members of the public, like the Manor Farm residents.

TVACAA's Chairman, Colin Lee MBE, said: "It has been quite a month for everyone involved with the Air Ambulance but we have been able to use these landmark occasions to good effect by establishing ever stronger links with the community and reinforcing our fundraising message of ‘We rely on you, so you can rely on us'. In these recessionary times we must all work harder to raise the £2million we need each year to keep our helicopter flying."

Manor Farm residents welcome any members of the local community to attend their coffee mornings and help raise more money for deserving charities, every Wednesday from 10am in Manor Farm Close, Dedworth.

Residents’ charity fund off to a flyer

Residents at Windsor Housing’s Manor Farm Sheltered Housing scheme were delighted to present a cheque for £1,000 to the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance service (TVACAA). The residents raised the money by holding coffee mornings for local residents, selling raffle tickets and holding Bring & Buy sales over the course of the year.

Each year, residents of the 55 self contained apartments on Manor Farm Close in Dedworth decide on a charity that they will adopt for the year. Whereas other sheltered schemes may only raise money for their own use, these residents selflessly donate all money they raise to a different nominated charity each year.

Kathy Lee, a Manor Farm resident said, “We’re a small community and it’s a good opportunity to all get together and socialise whilst raising money for a good cause. We know the money we raised is just a drop in the ocean for them but it’s a help and hopefully might raise some awareness of this vital charity.”

The Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance celebrated its 10th Anniversary in mid June and has flown its 11,000th mission last week following an emergency air lift from Welford, near Newbury to the Great Western Hospital in Swindon.

Collectively, the air ambulance service is the busiest voluntary emergency service in the country and is on call seven days a week, 365 days a year. The red and yellow liveried EC135 helicopter, based at RAF Benson in Oxfordshire, can be airborne within three minutes and can land in an area of half the size of a tennis court.

Although the TVACAA generally operates across Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, there are no boundaries and the crews are frequently called out to attend emergencies in neighbouring counties when required.

The average running costs are £165,000 a month, meaning each mission costs over £1,200. The TVACAA require £2 million a year to operate their seven day service and receive no funding from Central Government or the National Lottery so are dependant on donations and fundraising of generous members of the public, like the Manor Farm residents.

TVACAA's Chairman, Colin Lee MBE, said: "It has been quite a month for everyone involved with the Air Ambulance but we have been able to use these landmark occasions to good effect by establishing ever stronger links with the community and reinforcing our fundraising message of ‘We rely on you, so you can rely on us'. In these recessionary times we must all work harder to raise the £2million we need each year to keep our helicopter flying."

Manor Farm residents welcome any members of the local community to attend their coffee mornings and help raise more money for deserving charities, every Wednesday from 10am in Manor Farm Close, Dedworth.

Wii Tuesdays

Residents of Windsor Housing’s Leslie Dunne House Sheltered Scheme in Dedworth are the latest converts to the Nintendo Wii phenomenon that is sweeping homes and families across the UK. “Wii Tuesdays” will not only encourage sheltered residents to have fun and stay active, but also offer another activity for residents to enjoy when their family visits.

The residents’ social club organises activities for most days including carpet bowls, bingo, quiz nights, bring & buy sales and shopping trips. They purchased the Wii console with a Community Chest grant awarded by Community Link, an independent residents group that works to promote the interests of residents in Windsor Housing homes.

As an introduction to the finer nuances of the games, the social club, supported by Windsor Housing’s Community Development Team, has enlisted the help of a local youth club, the Manor Youth Centre. The youngsters from the club have agreed to visit the sheltered scheme to show the residents how to use the console and challenge them to a game of tennis or golf.

Ken Barber, resident, said “I enjoyed the Nintendo Wii. I would like to play it often. I am pleasantly surprised how well I did”

The project will help the residents interact and utilise modern technology, whilst breaking down barriers and stereotypes between the different age groups within the local community. Stacey Medhurst, a member of Manor Youth Centre, said “It was great fun. It was a good experience playing with the older generation. I lost to Kathy in bowling!”

Mick Gibbons MBE , Area Youth Worker for Dedworth said, “Intergenerational working is the way forward for both generations to learn new, or old skills, together. Just because some people believe that our younger or older generations cannot speak their words so well, doesn’t mean they don’t each have a voice.”
 
Sahil Khan, Resident Involvement & Community Initiatives Officer, Windsor Housing added: “I’m really glad to have been a part of this project, as it’s such a good way of keeping fit and active and having lots of fun. I would like to commend all members of the Leslie Dunne House Social club for all their hard work in getting this innovative project up and running.”

Leslie Dunne House is a purpose built residence offering sheltered accommodation for the over-55s. There are a number of local amenities within 15 minutes walk including shops, churches, doctors, dentists, chemist, public houses, etc.

 
All apartments have central heating and double glazing and are linked by an intercom system via a pull cord in each room, to the scheme manager when on duty, or to a supporting control centre afterhours.

 
For more information about vacancies at Leslie Dunn House, or any other Radian sheltered housing schemes, please call Lynne Huggins on 01753 777401

How to cook a hedgehog

Windsor Housing has worked with young members of East Berkshire’s Gypsy Romany Traveller (GRT) community to give a rare insight into their culture and way of life in an intergenerational interview in which a young member of the Traveller community interviews her father to discover more about her heritage. The interview, which contains fascinating information such as how to cook a hedgehog and why the GRT would burn a caravan full of belongings is available to listen to here: http://www.windsorhousing.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=153&Itemid=111 

In the interview, the father explains how he completed his schooling without ever learning to read or write, the GRT’s unerring respect for their upbringing and why a dog is not a pet. Other anecdotes include:

• How his father, John, got the nickname ‘Jack’; “He was so strong they reckon he could pick up the back of a wagon so they could change the wheel when it broke.”
• Dispelling the myths surrounding how a hedgehog tastes; “There are two different flavours of an hedgehog, all depends on what he’s been eating. One tastes like pork, one tastes like beef.”
• Exposing first hand experiences of prejudices that are still held against the GRT community; “As I’m the supervisor they give me the keys to the site. Not knowing I’m a Gypsy they’re telling me to lock up the gates or the travellers will be in to rob you.”

The broadcast was produced by young people who learnt to conduct and record radio interviews in a youth GRT project managed and lead by Windsor Housing’s Community Development Team.

Windsor Housing, part of Radian, manage a GRT site in Datchet, East Berkshire which currently accommodates over 16 families and also house a significant number of settled GRT in ‘bricks and mortar’ homes. Extracts from the audio footage generated by the young people, including Windsor Housing residents, has already featured in an exhibition about GRT culture and youth identity at the Fire Station Arts Centre, Windsor.

“We hope it will encourage greater community cohesion by breaking down barriers through better knowledge and understanding about this often marginalised community. It has also given the young people involved the opportunity to learn interview skills, operate radio recording equipment and add something exciting and unusual to their CV.” Rachel Bennett, Windsor Housing’s Community Development Team

The project was run in partnership with Reading Community Radio, Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Youth Services and the Thames Valley Traveller Education Services. For more information please contact Rachel Bennett – 01753 777493 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .