Wishing all our members and friends a very

Supporting Children and Young People with Disabilities, and their families
Charity No. 900216
Wishing all our members and friends a very
Merry Christmas
and a
Happy New Year
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Please note, that no photographs or images from this newsletter can be reproduced
without written permission from Forest Pulse.
Forest Pulse c/o Heart of the Forest Community Special School, Speech House, Coleford, Glos. GL16 7EJ
Tel/Fax: 01594 826357
Email: [email protected] Web:www.Forestpulse.co.uk
Who We Are and What We Do
Forest Pulse is a local registered charity which supports families who have a child with disabilities living or attending school in the Forest of Dean.
The Charity is run by a group of trustees, mainly parent members, who form the management committee.
Family Support: Parents can contact the charity Manager to discuss any aspects relating to the care of their children – we won’t know the
answer to everything, but hopefully will know someone who does. Issues might include benefit applications, contacts for other services, grants
for equipment, holidays etc, statementing, respite, behavior issues, out of school activities – anything anyone wants to know more about really!
Or perhaps just to meet other parents in a similar position.
Parent Information Sessions: Our Wednesday morning coffee mornings have been put on hold for a while as they did not seem to meet the
needs of our members. As a pilot we are holding evening parents groups at the Main Place in Coleford. These will be held bi-monthly on
Monday at Coleford Library, 6.45 – 8.15 p.m. The January meeting will look at ‘What Happens After School/College, and we will be inviting a
speaker from Gloucesteshire, County Council. Contact the office or visit our Website for the dates of forthcoming meetings.
Activities: A variety of out of school activities are provided, and the main ongoing ones are listed below. However, additional activities are
organised at different times. Please contact the office if you’re interested in participating.
Summer Activity Club: A programme of activities including art and craft, music, sport, circus skills, animation as well as free play and
organised games. Above all, it is a chance for children to meet up with their friends during the long school holidays. Experienced staff supervise
a core of volunteers from the local community to ensure all children have the support they need to take part in any of the activities they choose.
In addition, activities are held during most of the shorter holidays.
Family Trips to places such as Cattle Country, soft play centres, farm parks, swimming etc.. These give parents the chance to meet and chat,
give the children chance to have fun with their friends, and brothers and sisters have the chance to join in the treat. Family Social Events such as
discos, line dancing, etc are also held periodically.
Bream ‘Devils’ is an integrated Youth Club held on Thursday evenings. Open to any young person aged between 13 and 19 who lives in the
Forest of Dean (transport can be provided from most areas of the forest). An interesting and varied programme of activities including games,
sports, music, dance, outdoor adventure etc, all of which are accessible to everyone.
Independence Trips: which help young people develop skills to access mainstream community activities. Support is provided by
an experienced worker, who also provides transport. Younger members are supported by a ‘Buddy’ whilst older members receive
discreet staff support e.g. through mobile phones.
After School Club: Most Wednesdays during term time children attending Heart of the Forest School travel by bus to Whirlikidz in Chepstow
where they have lots of fun burning energy on the soft play equipment, socializing with their friends and other children attending the centre. We
pause for a cooked meal, when children can develop skills needed to ‘dine out’. Children not attending Heart of the Forest can join this group at
Chepstow at 3.45 p.m. if they wish, and children can be collected from either Chepstow or Heart of the Forest. This activity session has replaced
the after school café visits, which were followed by Dance or Sport.
Dance Sessions: We are very proud of our Fused Dance Company, which grew from an after school dance session. Disabled and nondisabled dancers choreograph their own pieces and frequently perform both locally and county wide, and their achievements are inspirational.
This dance company is now aimed at dancers over 18 years of age. We have recently added a new branch to this dance company, Fusion,
which helps younger dancers aged 10-18 develop their dancing and choreography skills. Both groups meet at Heart of the Forest School on
Wednesdays 6-7 p.m., for most weeks during term time create audition opportunities to Joined Fused. We are also looking to create a new
‘senior’ arm to Fused, for our older members.
Music sessions: Held after school on Fridays and offer 1:1 or small group specialist music sessions.
Family Swimming Sessions held fortnightly at Whitecross Leisure Centre, Saturdays 4 - 4.50 pm - FREE.
Weekend Activity Club We have two Activity Clubs which are held on alternate Saturdays (the same dates as the Family Swimming sessions)
The first session runs 10am – 2pm at Heart of the Forest School and is primarily aimed at young people 12+. There are a variety of activities on
offer such as art and craft, soft play, music, dance and much more. The second group is for those aged 6-11 and starts at 2.45 at Heart of the
Forest where we run a short soft play and sensory session and then head over to Lydney for Swimming. Parents can collect children at the pool
at 5.15 or back at the school at 5.45
Forest Friends: A relatively new project. A weekly social/learning group for young people aged 18 and over. Run in partnership
with the Forest Youth Support Service, and meeting weekly at the Main Place in Coleford, 6.30 – 8.30p.m. Members get the
chance to meet up with friends, socialise and learn new skills in the areas of cooking, recreational skills, problem solving etc.
News from the Office ………………….
Hi everyone. I find it really hard to believe Christmas is only three weeks away – where has this year gone?
I want to begin with a few pleas to our members for help and support. We are seeking 3-4 new trustees to
join our Management Committee, to help ensure the smooth running and continuity of Forest Pulse. We
meet on the first Wednesday of the month at Heart of the Forest Community Special school 7.30 p.m.
We would like one or two more parent members, so if you are interested give myself or one of our Trustees a
ring – see our Website for details of existing trustees. However, we would also like to recruit two more
members from the local community/business world to join us, to give us a wider range of experiences. So if
you know anyone who might be interested please talk to them, and ask them to contact us. It might be
someone who works in a local shop, your bank manager, someone who works in health, education or the
caring profession but not already involved with Forest Pulse. Someone who thinks the services we provide
are important and should continue!
Secondly we are looking for people to join our fundraising committee to help organise event to raise funds
for the charity, e.g. Auction, Swimathon, Sponsored Events, Raffles, Table Sales, Bucket Collections etc. As
you know we recycle clothes, bedding etc to raise funds for the charity. We have some very nice items
donated which I am sure we could sell on ebay - is there anyone out there who could co-ordinate this for us
and sell items on behalf of the charity? If you like spending time on Facebook and trolling the web, this
could be your excuse to spend more time doing just that, whilst raising much needed cash for the charity.
As I have said many, many times over recent months it is getting harder and harder to attract funds to pay the
running costs of Forest Pulse – and many other small charities are in the same position, with some of them
sadly ceasing to exist. The trustees are determined that Forest Pulse will not meet that fate and are working
non-stop to identify funding sources. But the future of the charity is still at grave risk and at the moment we
have not secured sufficient funding for the next financial year, April 2015-March 2016! So we appeal to you
to help. If you do not want to commit to joining the trustees or the fund-raising committee, perhaps you
could organise a fundraising event on our behalf, or take part in a sponsored event in support of the charity.
One of our volunteers/staff members is going to leap out of a plane for us! Or maybe you have heard of a
grant or an organisation that gives money to support charities such as ourselves, or know or someone who
raises funds for charity and is looking for a beneficiary! Do you know a shop, pub, or social club who might
have one of our collecting boxes? There are lots of things you could all do to support us to continue our much
needed parent support and all the wonderful activities we provide such as Youth Club, Weekend and Holiday
Club, afterschool club, music and much much more!
And on that note, a HUGE HUGE thank you to all our members and friends of the charity who have raised
money by taking part in sponsored events, run charity Line Dance evenings, quiz nights, music evenings and
other exciting ventures. This year we hope to raise upwards of £25,000 through donations and fundraising –
next year we need to raise even more!!!
On a more positive note, the trustees still have a vision. To find a piece of land or a building which we could
buy to create a centre from which to run all our activities. This would give us the opportunity to generate
some of our own funds, and also provide work experience opportunities for our older members. It would be
a building designed by and for disabled children and young people, being accessible in every sense of the
word, and they would then be able to invite their non-disabled peers to join them in fun activities. It would
also hopefully be a one-stop-shop for all the services you and your family need. It would be an innovative
venture, and a flagship for the Forest! So if anyone is aware of a piece of land which might be suitable
please let us know!!! Or if you know anyone has a piece of property or an unused building that could be
adapted and they would like to put it to charitable and community use, again let us know. We can do this
together!
I wish you all a Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year, and look forward to seeing you all at our New
Year Party at Speech House on 4th January.
Pam Jones, Family Services Manager
General News & Information
CONTACTING FOREST PULSE STAFF ‘OUT OF HOURS’
Can we respectfully request that members do not contact Forest Pulse staff or volunteers via their
personal facebook pages with general queries about activities. Instead, please contact the office
01594-826357 Monday, Wednesday, Friday 9 am- 4 pm., Tuesday & Thursday 9 am – 3 p.m.
Outside these hours you are welcome to leave a message on office answer phone, to email Pam,
Kim or Jean at any time on their work email addresses, or contact/ leave messages on Pam’s
mobile (07863-339702) but please bear in mind that she might not respond until the next working
day. Also, if for any reason you have personal mobiles for any of our staff or volunteers (e.g. if
they provide outreach services) please do not phone before 9 a.m. or after 6 p.m. unless this is
unavoidable.
www.forestpulse.co.uk
Now firmly established, the Forest Pulse Website is the place to go to find information about the
activities and services provided by the charity. Please use this as your first port of call to find
details about what, where and when things are being held. Also, please visit the website to check
for cancellations of activities during bad weather.
Hand Made IPad Carry Bags
Forest Pulse has been lucky enough to have had several hand made cotton IPad carry bags made
for us to sell to help raise funds for our activities. They come in various colours and are washable
and lightweight. If you would like to purchase one they are on sale for £10 so please come along to
the office to select one. We are also hoping to be able to offer cotton neckerchiefs in the near
future so please let us know if you would be interested in purchasing these.
Forest Pulse Drink Beakers
Available in a range of colours, these high quality beakers allow our members to publicise their
favorite charity – us!! At the bargain price of £3:50 how can you resist!!
Forest Pulse now on Facebook
Please check out our facebook page it has information on regarding events and cancellations and
even some useful links to other information.
Two Grants available from Barnwood Trust
For more information visit their website or contact Gail Rodway, Grants Manager on 01452
611292 [email protected].
The Small Sparks Fund has been created to help small groups of people throughout
Gloucestershire to get together to do something they enjoy and make a difference to where they
live. It might be that you can think of an activity that your son/daughter might enjoy alongside 3
friends. It can be anything really – maybe a games night rotating round everyone’s house and you
apply for money to buy a selection of board games, or additional consoles for a play station.
You can apply for a grant of up to £250 if you can show us that:

At least one of you wanting to enjoy the activity has a disability or is an older person who
would like to make more friends

There are at least four people involved in total

Everyone is prepared to contribute their time, energy and talents.
If you would like more information or to talk through your idea before applying contact
Thank you to the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner Gloucestershire who have
funded a number of the Small Sparks grants. For more information about the PCC
visit www.gloucestershire-pcc.gov.uk.
The Wellbeing Fund (£50-£750) enables individuals to live independently - whether that means
help with the purchase of domestic appliances, holidays, personal items, adaptations, disabilityrelated equipment or other things that would otherwise be beyond their reach.
Some previous examples include:

Equipment for use at home – such as riser/recliner chairs

Mobility aids and equipment - such as Motability deposits and pavement scooters

Domestic appliances - such as cookers, fridges and freezers

Household expenses - such as repairs, bedding and furniture

Sundry expenses - such as holidays and computers
ADHD SUPPORT GROUP – GLOUCESTER
Meets the first Thursday of every month from 9:30am till 11:30am
at
Christchchurch Church, Heron way, Abbeydale, Gloucester GL4 5EQ
For parents of children with ADHD and co-existing conditions.
Everyone Welcome
Please contact Clare Gulley on 07816 779473 or
[email protected] for more details
Donations -
A big thank you for the following donations:
T & K Weaver St Joseph’s Mrs Federick Grimwade Reed Business P H Powell S Sanghera
T C Wood E Timmins & Friends B Couzens & Friends N Wellsted Lady of Lourdes Newent Church
We have also received a number of other donations/filled penny boxes & collection boxes from
members and their friends, and would like to extend our thanks and appreciation.
Grants 2014 –2015
Henry Smith £10000 Freemasons £2000 Drybrook Council £50 FODDC Youth Activities £3800
FODDC Small Community Grant £250 Mayfield Trust £1170 Active Togeather £5000
West Dean Parish Council £1500 Glos Community Foundation courtesy of Comic Relief £5000
Hilton £741.60 Barnwood House £1750 – SAC & £750 – Drama
Lloyds Bank Foundation £16000(over two years) Gilbert Lane £1500
Glos County Council £20161 – Sac & £13000 - Wac
Sponsored Events A huge thank you to everyone who organised or sponsored these events.
Swimathon £920 Over the Rainbow Cycle £850 Highways Music Event £255.75 Gnome Festival £200
School Fete £204 Summer Raffle £49.50 Blakeney Duck race £115 Sponsored Slim £215 Lydney
Fete £450 Mr Kibbles Music Night £250The Feathers Bed Push £553 N Wellsted £330
Charity Ball £960 divided equally between Forest Pulse & Heart of the Forest Community Special
School. A number of other people have run Marathons for us, or are planning sponsored activities to
raise funds for us and we will let you know how they get on in the next newsletter. Thank you to
everyone who has raised sponsorship for us in some way.
Bonus Club
The latest prize winners are:-
February – No 12 – £100 March – No 9 £25 April – No 81 £25 May - No 21 - £100
June – No 70 - £25
July – No 84 - £25 August – No 30 - £100 September – No2 - £25
If you would like to join, membership costs £20 per year (£5 per quarter). You have a chance of
winning £100 every three months and £25 every other month. This is open to all your friends and
family, so please encourage them to join. For a small outlay you can support us in a big way.
A Small Contribution makes a Big Difference
We are asking members of the charity and their friends if they would like to make a small monthly or annual
donation to help towards core costs of the charity. As you are aware we do not charge membership. This is an
opportunity for those who wish to make a contribution to charity funds - A monthly gift aid payment of £4, with
tax relief, raises £60 for our funds! Donations can be made by cash or standing order. This is an entirely
voluntary contribution.
Clothes Recycling
Pam Jones is asking that you let her have any of the following items which she will then take for
recycling and donate the proceeds to the charity. Please ensure that all items are CLEAN, bagged and
labelled separately as per below list:- Items which are ripped or stained in any way are not accepted:




Clean Men’s, ladies’ and children’s clothes
Sheets, blankets, duvet covers, pillowcases and curtains (NOT duvets)
Shoes (pairs), Bags, hats, belts
Books, toys, DVDs and CDs
Soft Toys
The clothing will be collected by a recycling company and redeemed for cash.
Penny Boxes
If anyone would like a penny box to have at home or at work to collect their small change then
please contact the office and we will send one out. These amounts really soon add up and
every little helps.
Collection Boxes
If anyone is able to place a collection box for us or knows of any shop, restaurant or business
that can then please contact the office and we will arrange delivery of one. We still have a
few of the beautiful handmade wooden interactive boxes made for us by Year 9 pupils at the
Dean Academy which are looking for homes.
The Giving Machine
As you know Forest Pulse is registered with The Giving Machine which is a wonderful website which
allows you to donate money to Forest Pulse while shopping online and it does not cost you a penny. All
you need to do is register for free at www.thegivingmachine.co.uk and choose your nominated charity –
you can choose more than one. Then click on the links to your favorite shops. The companies
themselves make the donation so it really won’t cost you a penny. As Christmas is approaching and we
know lots of you do your shopping on line; log on to The Giving Machine then follow links to your
favourite shops and donation will be made to Forest Pulse. Shops registered include Amazon, Next,
M&S, John Lewis, Debenhams. ELC, Boots and many more, even Supermarkets such as Tesco and
Sainsburys are listed.
Just Text Giving
It’s now easier than ever to make a donation to Forest Pulse. Just text KIDS28 followed by the
amount you want to donate to 70070.
Buy Traidcraft Goods – Support Forest Pulse
Fabulous fair trade clothing, accessories, toys, home wares, stationery and food are all on offer in the latest Traidcraft
catalogue, and, we are pleased to say, you can now order these through Forest Pulse!
Forest Pulse earns money from every order we make with Traidcraft and that cash goes towards funding Forest Pulse
activities. At the same time, the Traidcraft Company supports small farmers and artisans in developing countries to
trade their goods at a fair price. So, in buying from Traidcraft through Forest Pulse, you are supporting two great
organizations.
Please take a look at a catalogue to see if anything takes your fancy. The catalogue has a range of products including
cards, wrap, stocking fillers, food hampers, clothing and jewellery.
If you order through Forest Pulse we will get between 10 and 15% of the amount you spend.
A number of catalogues will be made available at Forest Pulse activities – just ask Kim, Pam or Carly – or you can
request one from Sharon Shirley, our Traidcraft Fair Trader, on 01594 825967. Thank you for your support. Happy
shopping!
Forest Pulse – Christmas Hamper Raffle
1st Prize Deluxe Hamper
3rd Prize Super Hamper
2nd Prize Super Hamper
4th Prize Mini Hamper
To be drawn on 13th December at the Weekend Club
Tickets can be purchased at all the activities
Or you can arrange to take some home and sell to your friends, family and
work colleagues.
Tickets are £1
One of our Parents has kindly set up this special fund raising event to help raise
funds for Forest Pulse.
Dates for your diary
Swimming Sessions 2014
Fortnightly swimming sessions continue at Whitecross Leisure Centre on
Saturday afternoons from 4.00 – 4.50 pm
(free entry)
29th November & 13th December
10th, January
7th, 21st February 7th, 21st March
4th, 18th April
If any parents would like volunteer support for their children at these sessions, please phone
the office and we will help if we can.
Coffee Mornings
Replaced By
Parent Information Sessions:
Our Wednesday morning coffee mornings have been put on hold for a while as they did not
seem to meet the needs of our members. As a pilot we are holding evening parents groups at
the Main Place in Coleford. These will be held bi-monthly on Monday at Coleford Library, 6.45
– 8.15 p.m. The January meeting will look at ‘What Happens After School/College, and we will
be inviting a speaker from Gloucesteshire, County Council. Contact the office or visit our
Website for the dates of forthcoming meetings.
Youth Club Christmas Party Reminder
On
Thursday 18th December
At
The Main Place Coleford
7:15 – 9:15
Buffet & Disco
Usual Fees Apply
Visitors £3 (But please call the office and let us know you are coming)
Pamper Evening
A group of 15 students from RFDC College are taking part in the National Citizen Service.
As a part of their own NCS project they get the chance to put together a social action project that will
hopefully make a difference to our local community. With this idea in mind they visited different charities
and organisations in the local area of the Forest of Dean.
On their first outing they visited Forest Pulse and were inspired by the amount of work that goes into the
charity by parents and staff. They met Deb, a parent of one of the children, and it was clear that she adores
her son but it was difficult to get any time to herself. This sparked the basis of their project; they not only
wanted to do something for the children/teenagers, but also wanted to do something for parents/carers to
allow them to get some time to themselves.
On Thursday 11th December they will be hosting a disco from 6pm to 9pm for children and young adults
complete with refreshments and party games at Heart of the Forest School. At the same time and place they
will be hosting a pamper evening with high tea for parents and carers.
We hope you are able to make the event and we are looking forward to seeing you and your child. If you
want to attend without your child that is fine and equally if your child wants to attend the disco but you aren’t
able to come to the pamper session this is fine.
Please RSVP your invitations to Forest Pulse by Friday5th December. For any more information please
contact Kim and Pam in the office on 01594 826357
Bring the children & grandchildren along to meet Santa
At
Three Shires Garden Centre Newent
From 29th November till 21st
December (Saturdays & Sundays only)
11:00 am – 4:00pm
AT
THE SPEECH HOUSE
HOTEL
with
Music & Illusionist
A fun packed afternoon!
Cost - £3 per person
(to include a buffet prepared by the Hotel Catering Team )
Tea, Coffee & Bar available
~ ~ ~ Raffle ~ ~ ~
Sunday, 4th January 2015 – 4.000pm – 6.00pm
Please note that no individual supervision is provided at this party as it is designed to be a family event. However, we
know that some of our older members prefer to come independently –
please contact Pam to organise. We hope that you will join us for this party.
Remember volunteers and ‘friends’ and their families are very welcome.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
FOREST PULSE NEW YEAR’S PARTY – TICKET REQUEST
TICKET COST £3 PER PERSON
NUMBER OF TICKETS REQUIRED …………………….
NAME………………………………………………………………………
OCTOBER
Dominic Waltham
Shay Roberts
Tom Bunyan
Rachelle Thomas
Kayleigh Evans
Thomas Lindsay
Millie Batts
Kaylee Brain
Rudy Seager
Paul Tipple
Shannon Grindle
Oliver Landsbert
Joshu Keen
Finlay Cox
Issac Brooking
Benedict Couzens
Chloe Pitt
Daniel Matthews
Mark Hook
Roy Downey
Charlie Vaughan
Andrew Fellowes
Rhys Wilcox
Sarah Jane Price
Evie Grace Lewis
Aiden Trump
NOVEMBER
Emilia Cherry
Sam Motterham
Max Wilkinson
Jonathan Holmes
Alex Lloyd
Phillippa Ayre
Morgan Peck
Megan Evan
Isobel Dennis
Harry Childs
DECEMBER
JANUARY
Toby Vincent
Christopher Ware
Tessa Mitchell
BeauTimmins
Daniel Howard
Hannah Walker
Bethany Askwith
Anya Claridge
Isaac Eaton
Joseph Burns
Louis Cherry
Redd Tyler
Harry Stares
Zoe Monk
Charlie Moorhouse
Josh Hughes
Yasmin Matthews
Wesley Beach
Jamie Birt
Charlie Wall
Harry Dymock
Jack Spowart
Leon Adjei
Shannon Atkinson
Luke Trapnell
Ashley Bell
Ryan Gwilliam
Ione Buzzard
Molly Verry
Kira Warne
Adrian Worthington
Abbie Morse
Jordan Burns
FEBRUARY
Luke Campbell
Polly Worgan
Chrystal Weightman
Kieran Butcher
Sam Gwilliam
Danraj Sanghera
George Churcham
Teisha Jae Mincham
Rae Thomas
Owen Golding
Molly Teague
Toby James
Freddie Shirley
Sam Robinson
Alex Groom
Phoebe Robinson
Christmas Quiz for Kids Questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
What colour is Rudolf's nose?
Name 2 of Santa's reindeer.
Who helps Santa Claus to make toys for Christmas?
What do reindeers like to eat?
What colour is Santa’s suit?
Match the pictures to the words.
Father Christmas
Christmas Tree
Stocking
Present
Cracker
Have a great Christmas!