Disabled sportspeople from around the world will compete to win medals in athletics, 7-a-side football, wheelchair basketball and boccia. The World Cup is also an important qualifying event for those hoping to take part in the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

For more information or to book tickets for the event visit the Paralympic World Cup website.

And if you can’t be there in person the event is being broadcast on Channel 4 so you can watch highlights of all the action on televison.

Throughout May, we’ll be sending out Top Tips Bulletins to all our staff, focusing on a different topic each week.

We’ll also be giving you the opportunity to nominate your Customer Care Heroes and presenting awards to the winners.

And at our upcoming Business Plan Roadshows we’ll be discussing the importance of customer care and our traing model ‘The Creative Way’.

Send your questions and suggestions to marketing@creativesupport.co.uk or call us on 0161 236 0829, and look out for more information coming soon!

The day began with an introduction from board member Elaine Horrocks and a presentation from the Pankhurst Centre.

A range of arts and crafts sessions were on offer including salt dough, mirror making and printing. There was also a self defence workshop.

Throughout the day, those present wrote the names of their most inspirational women on colourful paper and attached them to Shelia the Creative Support mannequin!

There was also a very popular clothes swap stall where people could bring along their old clothes and swap them for something new or make a donation to charity in return for a new outfit.

The day drew to a close with a presentation by the Lesbian and Gay Foundation, a raffle and an amazing Chinese dance performance. Thank you to everyone who attended, we’re already looking forward to next year’s event!

The Phil Meadows Group are performing at lunchtime on Friday 15th June as part of The Bridgewater Hall’s ‘A Little Bite Music’ sessions. This outing will be a great opportunity to  make new friends and enjoy some great music!

For more information go to our new Service User Events Calendar or visit the Bridgewater Hall website. Entry to the event is free of charge, so to book your place call Jackie Beckett on 0161 228 1629.

Back in 2010, John went on a trip to France and Belgium where he visited a memorial for his great uncle Joseph who died in the Battle of the Somme during the First World War.

And more recently, in March this year, John visited the final resting place of another great uncle who also died in the army before being deployed during the First World War.

John rented a vehicle and drove to Eastbourne with his support worker. Whilst there, he laid flowers and paid his respects at the grave of his relative Robert in Seaford Cemetery.

John had wanted to visit the grave for a long time and the trip meant a lot to him. He then spent the rest of his two night holiday enjoying himself, eating out and getting a suntan on the pier at Eastbourne.

Showing on Sunday 15th April is ‘Pirates! In an Adventure With Scientists’, an animated tale featuring the voices of Hugh Grant and Imelda Staunton.

At these events, the lights will be on low, the volume will be turned down, there will be no trailers at the beginning of the film, you’ll be able to take your own food and drinks and you’ll be able to move around the cinema if you like.

For more information visit the Dimensions website or email autismfilms@dimensions-uk.org.

The contest to choose which pieces will be displayed is now open for entries so we want you to send us your paintings, sketches, photographs, creative writing, sculptures and other works of art!

For more information, take a look at the Creative Support Art Exhibition poster, call Ben Thomas on 0161 236 0829, or email ben.thomas@creativesupport.co.uk.

The event will feature guest speakers, craft workshops, a clothes swap, dancing and film screenings.

Tickets cost £4 including lunch. To book your place or for more info, call the marketing team on 0161 236 0829 or email marketing@creativesupport.co.uk.

Creative Support’s Quit Smoking Scheme offers service users and staff an incentive of £130 to stop smoking. To sign up, call Natasha Kirby at Head Office on 0161 236 0829, or email natasha.kirby@creativesupport.co.uk.

And for more useful advice and information, visit the No Smoking Day website.

This outage was due to our previous webhosting company suspending our website account unexpectedly and without warning as they claimed our website was using too many of the server’s resources and was affecting other websites that were on the same server (we were on what is called a “shared hosting package”).

The number of visitors to our website has increasingly grown since it’s re-launch in 2008. This would have caused the server to use more and more resources over time (however, a warning in advance that it was nearing their acceptable limits would have been the correct approach).

We have now moved to a “dedicated web server” package (this means that the server is for our website alone) with a different provider, which should minimise the risk of this happening again.

The trip takes place from Monday 16th to Friday 20th of April 2012 and costs £170 per person. It will be led by Karin Albinsson and David Morris who have been organising similar excursions since 2005.

During the week you will have chance to get involved in a busy programme of fun activities such as horse riding, boat rides, mountain bike riding, quad biking, hill walking, zoo visits and a cruise on Windermere.

For more information, call Suzy Kennedy at Head Office, email suzy.kennedy@creativesupport.co.uk, or click here to see the Howe Top Activity Holiday poster.

We value you and your voice and we want to find out what you think we can do to improve our services. Your idea might be about…

• Service user activities
• Health and safety
• Marketing strategy
• Training and development
• Policies and procedures
• Service management

…or something else!

To enter, fill out the Creative Ideas Competition form, telling us about your idea in no more than 100 words. Then return it to Head Office before the closing date of 31st March 2012.

For more information, call Tracey Oliver on 0161 236 0829, or email tracey.oliver@creativesupport.co.uk.

The record features a wide variety of songs by artists including Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Elbow, Mr Scruff, and many more. So whatever your favourite sounds may be you’re sure to hear something you like.

CALM aims to reduce the high suicide rate amongst males under 35 by providing an online community and a helpline which is targeted at young men but is also available to anyone who needs help or support.

Currently the CALM helpline is open four nights a week. The charity hopes to make enough money from sales of ‘Thirty One Songs’ to make the service available every evening, all year round.

Radio One DJ and CALM supporter Zane Lowe says:

What support groups like CALM do is help men to understand that they are not alone. That when things get too much, there is help at hand. It’s really important that music plays a part in this. It helps people to express themselves when simple dialogue is not enough.

Click here to buy a copy of the album, and for more information about CALM including details of how to contact the helpline, visit their website.

2012 is already set to be every bit as fun filled as last year. If you take part in any exciting events or interesting activities, be sure to send your stories and photos to marketing@creativesupport.co.uk, so we can share them on this website and in our newsletters and maybe they’ll be included in next year’s highlights!

We’re working to put together more films in the coming months and we want you, our service users and tenants, to help. Take a look at our film making group poster for details of how you can get involved.

Highlights of 2011

They are holding a taster day with a range of activities including music, art, animation, computing, photography, cooking, mosaic making and games.

The event is set to take place between 1pm and 3pm on Thursday 9th February at:

Medtia Place,
80 Union Street,
Oldham,
OL1 1DJ

For more information call 07951 763 601, email info@gosupport.org.uk, or visit the Go!Support website.

• In London, Bedfordshire, Leeds and Tameside, projects are holding conferences, presentations and workshops to encourage people to speak about dignity in care

• Arts and crafts sessions focused on the theme of dignity are being held throughout February in Hartlepool

• In Bradford and Liverpool events are being held at projects to get people reminiscing about their lives and talking about the importance of being treated with dignity

• Nationwide, we will be filming service users speaking about their lives and the importance of dignity, and Creative Support projects in the North East are making their own film focused on Dignity Day

If you would like to get involved in any of these events, please call Suzy Kennedy on 0161 236 0829 or email suzy.kennedy@creativesupport.co.uk

We have also gathered together a range of resources for use during Dignity Month:

Dignity Challenge Poster

Dignity Cartoons

Choice and Control Factsheet

Communication Factsheet

Eating and Nutrition Factsheet

Pain Management Factsheet

Personal Hygiene Factsheet

Practical Assistance Factsheet

Privacy Factsheet

Social Inclusion Factsheet

Dignity Challenge PowerPoint Presentation

Dignity Questionnaire

Easy Read Dignity Questionnaire

Dignity Champion Flyer

On 28th January they are showcasing their first full length routine ‘Shake The Tree’ at Dance City in Newcastle Upon Tyne.

The show tells the story of George, a young man with a learning disability, on the verge of adulthood and faced with many important choices.

Tickets cost £8 or £5 for concessions and are available online from the Dance City venue. To find out more about The Flex Dance Company, visit their website.

On 19th March, So Many Words theatre company are hosting a special event called ‘On a Starry Night We Met’, celebrating disability arts at the Lowry Studio Theatre.

The group are seeking contributors to take part in the show. They are interested in theatre, music, dance, film or any other artwork created or performed by people who have disabilities.

To get involved call Jamie Patterson on 0161 921 2898 or email jamie_patterson@btinternet.com. More information about the event, including how to buy tickets, is available on the The Lowry website.

Accommodation is offered in Bond Hotels, which are fully accessible and offer a range of facilities to cater to guests’ needs.

Bond Hotel Group owner Shaun Atkinson says:

We sincerely believe that everybody should be given the chance to enjoy a short break, and we offer all our guests the chance to have fun and create happy memories which can be remembered for a lifetime.

Blitz is now accepting applications from individuals, families and groups who wish to book a holiday.

For more information or to apply, visit the Bond Hotels website or call Karen Burns on 01253 341218.

The event took place on January 12th in the Legends Lounge at Ewood Park stadium, and trophies were handed out by Sweden international and Blackburn Rovers FC star midfielder Martin Olsson.

Café Hub, which supports people in recovery from drug and alcohol misuse, were crowned league winners, beating James Street Elite to the title on goal difference.

Gaz O’Hara (pictured left, receiving his award) of James Street Elite, which provides supported accommodation for people in Darwen, was named player of the year, and The Fountains Hospital, which specialises in psychiatric rehabilitation for men in Blackburn, picked up the team of the year award.

The Mental Health Football League provides opportunities for participation in friendly football competition, while further contributing towards encouraging and supporting individuals to make healthier lifestyle choices. It also seeks to promote self-confidence, self-esteem and peer support amongst service-users taking part, as well as social interaction, community cohesion and partnership working.

More information is available on the Blackburn Rovers Community Trust website or by calling Elliott Noble on 01254 296 256 or Paul Hardman on 01254 664 975.