Committee

Chairperson's report 2004 - 2005

Chairperson Report 2004/5

Julie Brignall-Morley Chairperson 2004

Activities Since March 2004
2004 was silver jubilee year for Headway -the brain injury association, so Headway Doncaster joined other groups and branches across the region to celebrate with some joint activities.

March 2004 the year started off with a collection at PC World and raised just over £80, it was also a chance to raise local awareness about Headway.

May 2004 Mayor Winter visited our stand at the Frenchgate to discuss our work. He offered his ongoing support to any projects we may wish to include him in. We also had a mention in the Free Press along with our pictures, which were taken in the Frenchgate. An educational talk was organised for members to discuss work issues after brain injury and we invited along a Disability Employment Officer to explain their role.

June 2004 we carried on our work theme and a member of the Shaw Trust came along and explained their role in finding suitable employment for survivors of brain injury.

July 2004 five members/volunteers attended the Way Ahead weekend in Cheltenham. This is an annual event that is both educational and social. We meet up with other groups and branches from across the country to share ideas.
September 2004 Doncaster hosted a silver jubilee celebration event at the Doncaster Bowl and members from Rotherham and Sheffield joined us to make it a very successful evening.

October 2004 Yorkshire Family Day a regional event was held at the Northern College in Barnsley. A range of activities was enjoyed by everyone from face painting for the kids to landscape painting for adults. Lunch was included and the event was so successful it is hoped to be repeated in 2005.

December 2004 the final jubilee celebration was a dinner dance hosted by Rotherham, several Doncaster members enjoyed the evening, which was held at the Grange Golf Club.

Regular Events For 2005
Due to the success of the Bowling we now have a regular booking at Doncaster Bowl and meet alternate monthe to practice our skills. We have also had requests for regular meals out after our recent curry night, which was a very enjoyable evening. Dates for the alternate months to bowling will be coming out soon and we aim to sample different resurants across Doncaster.
Educational talks have been planned for May and October this year the first covering managing aggression after brain injury and the second communication issues after brain injury.

Changes to Committee
We have had a few people come and go this year. Firstly a big thank you to Bev Martin for all his hard work since this branch formed in 2000. Bev has been involved with Headway for many years and was our treasurerup until last year. He still intends to be involved but not as a committee member. Also Tracy and Andy Kettlewood have moved on and now live in Pickering. A big thanks to both of them for their involvement over the last few years. Tony Armstrong has also decided to take a break from involvement and our thanks were made to him.
Some new volunteers have joined the committee meetings and following the AGM they may decide to become committee members.

Campaign Activities
Two of the main aims set out over the past two years have been to raise local awareness of brain injury and also raise Headways profile. This continues to be a focus and we have managed to slowly increase our membership and attendance at events. We are also slowly raising Headways profile with statutory services and many of our new members come via local health professionals who have seen the benefits that can be made through working together to support survivors and their families.

Grants
We received one major grant this year from DMBC community support fund. This grant was for £2,340 and it has enabled us to provide information packs free of charge to survivors and their families, it will also cover the costs of our website that should be launched soon. Without grants like this we would struggle survive and develop as we are doing.

This report hopes to give you an idea of the work Headway Doncaster is involved in. It is purely a group of volunteers with no paid workers so if you feel you would like to get more involved and contribute to its future development then new volunteers are always welcome.