Colchester Gateway

NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS 

Hear My Voice Songwriting Course 3

Our third songwriting course has ended.  Head over to the songwriting page to watch the song videos.

Many thanks to the Hyperlocal Fund for the grant that made the course possible.

BEYOND WORDS BOOK CLUB

Our first Beyond Words Book Club will be in Colchester in September on Monday mornings.  Beyond Words received lottery funding for their book club project and we are delighted to be part of it.  We have been been given training and all the resources we will need in a wonderful "Book Club in a Box."  We will be offering a Beyond Words Book Club in Clacton as well.  Beyond Words books tell stories through pictures rather than words, so being able to read is not necessary.  All of the books are aimed at adults with Learning Disabilities.

For more information contact Victoria: victoria.gamble@colchestergateway.org.uk
07710 177050

Funding for art project

Our popular Rose Art Project will be able to continue thanks to a grant from Grassroots.  Mandy Hudson, Operations Manager, said: 

"A BIG thank you to Grassroots for supporting us with a grant to continue our Rose art project which has is bringing such enjoyment and confidence to our members".

iPads for our Advocacy and Support Team.

Our Advocacy and Support team now have iPads with keyboard cases so they can complete their record keeping on the go.  Victoria Gamble, Operations Manager said:- "This grant makes a huge difference to the team's efficiency, meaning they have more time to spend with clients.  Thank you so much ECF and the East of England Co-Op Community Cares Fund."

SONGWRITING

Our third SongWriting Course is underway thanks to a hyperlocal grant.   Head over to the Songwriting page to watch videos of songs that have been written so far.

Entrance Fees

From 1st April 2024 our entrance fees will be:-Tuesday Club £8.00
Thursday Club £11.00 
Friday Club £8.00
Ukulele Club £10.00

We got funding!

Our Advocacy and Support team will soon have new iPads with keyboard cases to enable them to access our new online record system, apply for benefits and Blue Badges, and support our clients to access the internet for things like online shopping.  Thank you East of England Co-op Community Cares Fund.

New Time for Clacton Club

Starting in February, our weekly Well-being Club in Clacton will start at 12.00 and close at 2pm.  For more information call Victoria on 07711177050.


Congratulations Emily

Emily Campbell, one of our Advocates, has completed The Level 4 Independent Advocacy Practice Award.   Congratulations Emily.   January 2024

Our What's On Calendar is back

We are going to produce monthly calendars of what's on at Gateway every month, as we did before Covid.  The first one is out now - check out the What's On page to find it.  It's also the cover photo on our Facebook page.  Activities are subject to change, so if you plan to go to a Club for a specific activity you might want to ring ahead of time to check it is going ahead.  Phone numbers are on the bottom of the calendar.  (January 2024)

Thank you Lottery Players

Today The National Lottery is celebrating lottery players who enabled them to award almost £580million to community groups this year.  AND WE ARE ONE OF THEM!  We;'ve received three years funding for our Advocacy and Support Service - so thank you to everyone who plays the Lottery - you really do make a difference.#NationalLottery
#NationalLotteryCommunityFund
NTLCommunityFund

Mandy is semi-retiring

After 30 years working for Gateway and 17 years as our charity manager, Mandy Hudson is semi-retiring. We are thrilled Mandy is not completely retiring and from today, 1st November, Mandy will become the Manager of the charity's Colchester Clubs and Victoria Gamble will become the manager of the charity operations, Advocacy and Support Service and our Tendring services.  We look forward to supporting Mandy and Victoria in their new roles.
Veronica Scriven (chair) on behalf of the Trustees of Colchester Gateway Clubs

We got funding

The National Lottery Community Fund is going to giving us a grant to continue our Advocacy and Support Service for the next three years.  Victoria Gamble said "This is fantastic news, it means we can carry on providing this vital service to people with learning disabilities and their families."
Thank you National Lottery Community Fund.

Goodbye and Good Luck to Beth

We said a very sad goodbye to Beth at the end of September.  She has been a wonderful member of our Advocacy and Support Team, and is leaving to do a degree in Social Work.  We wish her all the best for the future and hope she will come back and see us - and maybe even do a placement with us as part of her degree.  Good luck, Beth, and thanks for everything.

NOTICE OF AGM

You are all invited to our AGM which is to be held on

14th November 2023 at 7.30pm

Kingsland Church, 86 London Road, Colchester CO3 9DW


Food Support Funding

Essex Association of Local Councils has funded us once again to provide food support to families and individuals - this time we will be offering vouchers from ASDA - who have added £60 to the fund.  Contact the Advocacy and Support Service for more information.  Thank you EALC, this funding much such a difference.

Active Sessions at Foxash

We got funding from the Mencap Together Fund to run Active Sessions at Club at Foxash.  Some of the sessions will be lead by qualified coaches.  Here are some photos from the first session where Matt from Therapy Gym lead us through a warm up first, then exercises, including squats.

 

Entrance Fees are Going Up

We last increased our entrance fees in April 2019 - that's FOUR YEARS AGO.  With the rise in prices and the national wage, we are going to have to increase entrance fees by £1.50 from 1st April 2023.

Tuesday Club £7.50
Thursday Club £11.50 (includes lunch and hot drinks)
Friday Club £7.50
Ukulele Club £9.50 (includes hot drinks and biscuits).

We are still the best value -
- just £3.75 an hour for Clubs, with no extra charges for activities


If the price rise is really difficult for you, have a chat with Mandy.


First Roy Clarke Award Scheme Certificates Presented

On Tuesday 21st February 2023 the first Roy Clarke Award Scheme Certificates were presented to members who attended our Songwriting Courses.  They can use the Certificate towards their Skills Badge if they want to.  Well done everyone.  Go to our Songwriting page to see a video of the event. 

As ever, thank you to the Ashley Family Foundation for the grant that made our songwriting courses possible.

Change of Address

Now we no longer use Wilson Marriage Centre for any of our activities, we have changed our postal address - with thanks to all at Kingsland Church, our formal postal address is now:-
Colchester Gateway
Kingsland
86 London Road
Colchester CO3 9DW

David Richardson

We were so sad to hear that David Richardson had died.  He was a member of Gateway for many years and we have so many fond memories of him.  His family put together this document which is photos of David throughout his life.  Click on the link to have a look.
David Richardson.pdf

Funding News

Our Advocacy and Support service has just received funding from  the North East Essex Health and Wellbeing Alliance.    Thank you C360 and TCVS.

We got funding

Great news, our Advocacy and Support Service has received a grant from the National Lottery Community Fund.    Advocacy and Support Manager Victoria said:  "This is amazing, it means we can develop the support side of our work. Thank you National Lottery Community Fund."

SATURDAY DISCOS
DUE TO VERY LOW ATTENDANCE WE WILL NOT BE HOLDING REGULAR SATURDAY NIGHT DISCOS ANY MORE.  
See the Social Clubs and Activities page to find out when there will be a disco at our Clubs or on special occasions. 

NOTICE OF AGM

We will be holding our Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Tuesday 15th November 2022 at 7.30pm at Kingsland Church.  
Everyone is welcome.

CLACTON CLUB - new times

Clacton Club is now 1.30pm-3.30pm.  

Our Jubilees  Exhibition Opens

We had a wonderful time celebrating Our Jubilees - The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and Colchester Gateway’s Silver Jubilee. Thank you to everyone who took part, everyone who came, everyone who worked so hard to make it possible, and Arts Council England for funding it.  The Exhibition will be running in Kings Cafe at Kingsland Church until the end of June.  See the video below.
16th MAY 2022

MAGIC LITTLE GRANT

We have received a Magic Little Grant of £500 towards our Ukulele Club!

Magic Little Grants are through the partnership between Localgiving and Postcode Places Trust.  Postcode Places Trust is a grant-giving charity funded by players of the People's Postcode Lottery.  Localgiving is the UK’s leading membership and support network for local charities and community groups.   Magic Little grants can be applied for here: 

www.localgiving.org/magic-little-grants/


Thank you Localgiving and Postcode Places Trust.

THANK YOU WAITROSE COLCHESTER

Today Mandy went to Waitrose Colchester to accept a cheque for £500 - woo hoo!  It will be put towards our Ukulele Club.  
Thank you everyone who was part of us getting this lovely donation.

4th May 2022
WELCOME

Jess Thripp has just joined the Advocacy and Support Service covering Emily's Maternity Leave.  You can find out more about her on the Advocacy and Support page.  

Welcome to the team Jess.
NEWSFLASH      13th April 2022

We Got Funding!

2022 marks 70 years since Her Majesty The Queen ascended the throne, which makes it her Platinum Jubilee.  1st June 2022 is also 25 years since we became a Charity, making it our Silver Jubilee.  To celebrate these two events we want to hold an exhibition called Our Jubilees and now, thanks to funding from the Let's Create Jubilee Fund, we can go ahead.  

Hooray - and thank you Arts Council England.

High Sheriff Presents Award to Victoria

NEWSFLASH 16th MARCH 2022

Last night Victoria was presented with the High Sheriff's Award "for her outstanding dedication and commitment during the Covid pandemic, working tirelessly to ensure the Learning Disabled community were well supported with advice and practical help." Here are some photos of the High Sheriff, Simon Brice, presenting her with the Award. We are all so proud of you Victoria!

GOOD NEWS ABOUT ENTRANCE FEES


ENTRANCE FEES will NOT increase in April this year.  They will be reviewed again in October.

Colchester Gateway Clubs Registered Charity No 1063731