LifeAutumn 2013 Dear Friends of Oakleaf,
Welcome to the Autumn 2013 edition of Oakleaf Life!
I’d first like to introduce myself as the new Events and Marketing Executive at Oakleaf Enterprise! I’ve been with Oakleaf for only 2 months now, and have enjoyed learning about this wonderful charity and all it does to support mental health in the community.
We’ve had a busy summer with some great fundraising events and activities that are featured in the edition.
Our biggest event this Autumn is the Great South Run. We’ve got a strong team who are running 10 miles in support of Oakleaf and are very excited to have this platform to promote Oakleaf and the services we provide, not to mention we’ve caught the running bug ourselves and have secured a spot in the London Marathon and are taking part in the Great South Run again next year! Runners be warned - we’re coming after you and we will catch you!
We are looking forward to a great year end with all the activities we have planned and inviting you to upcoming events, and of course continuing to share news and success with all of our amazing clients, volunteers, staff and supporters.
Best wishes,
Deepti Parmar, Events & Marketing Executive
5 Numeracy & Literacy5 Confidence Course5 Social Activities5 Great South Run5 Stevens & Bolton5 Golf Day 5 Winter Gardening 5 Events Diary
Numeracy & LiteracyThis month we are excited to announce the return of our Numeracy and Literacy course! The course will
be held every Friday afternoon at Oakleaf for two hours, and will run for ten weeks and is designed to help
people who have not achieved a pass in their Maths or English GCSE.
A Note from our CEO
We have had a great summer with new programmes
starting and some very interesting collaborative partnerships
developing. We successfully won a small contract from DWP
to work with young adults with “complex needs” which has
entailed offering them intensive pre work support. We also
started supporting SAdAS (Surrey based drug and alcohol
charity), to deliver outreach services in Waverley & Surrey Heath;
both of which are progressing very well.
Over the past few months I have been working very closely
with Guildford Borough Council, The YMCA and Surrey Lifelong
Learning Partnership. We have been developing a proposal to
undertake some of the Boroughs horticultural work across all of
their residential retirement homes, and I am delighted to say we
will begin a 2 year trial contract starting 1st December. This will
bring a wealth of new and interesting work which will hopefully
create a number of employment opportunities for our clients.
This enables us to keep our independence but at the same
time work in partnership to deliver our aims to a much wider
audience, which can only be for the positive.
Thanks, Clive Stone
OUR CLIENT TRAINING & ACTIVITIES
The fruits of the Glasshouse Growing Group
Confidence Course
Our confidence course is delivered by
Loran Northey, a freelance wellbeing
coach who has been helping our clients
for nearly five years. The course lasts for
ten weeks, and comprises a small group
workshop which meets for two hours on
a Monday afternoon at Oakleaf. The
course is designed to help our clients
identify what ‘confidence’ is, why some
people have it and others don’t, and how
to feel more confident in various day-to-
day situations which may ordinarily leave
them feeling anxious or worried. We have
successfully run this course for a number
of years now, and clients have thoroughly
enjoyed the greater sense of self-belief
which it has brought to them.
Guitar Lessons
Our Guitar Lessons have been a great
hit, and now we are also excited to
announce that they are open to public!
Come down to Oakleaf for a good jam
session every Tuesday at 1:45pm! All you
need is a guitar!
For more information please contact
Client Services at 01483 303649 /
It also encourages those who wish to improve their
confidence with spelling, grammar, punctuation,
letter writing, budgeting, managing bills and money.
The course is delivered by Tanya Scrivener from
Guildford College, who leads a number of outreach
projects to help disadvantaged groups increase their
numeracy skills across the Guildford area.
Social Inclusion Activities
BBQ & Cake Sale Success
The sun shone and there was a great crowd at the BBQ and Cake Sale held on 12th September 2013. Clients,
volunteers, Board Members,Staff and supporters made their way down to enjoy a great lunch followed by
scrumptious goodies all donated by staff and clients! And let us tell you, there are some amazing bakers our
there! The event was a great success and we were able to raise useful funds from the cake sale! We’ll be
looking forward to another event like next year (maybe two if we get a stellar summer again)!
PLEASE SUPPORT US!You can support our work in a variety of ways:
5 By making a donation
5 By donating time, services or products
5 By becoming a corporate or community partner
5 By organising or taking part in fundraising events/activities
5 By supporting our activities or events
Clients, Volunteers & Staff enjoying the Oakleaf BBQ & Cake Sale!
Upcoming Client Activities:
• Confidence Course Starts - 7th Oct at 1:30pm
• Happiness & Wellness Event - 10th Oct from 10:30am-3:30pm
• Numeracy Sessions Start - 11th Oct at 1:30pm
• Bowling at Guildford Spectrum - 12th Oct at 11:00am
• Restaurant Night - 17th Oct at 5:45pm
• Literacy Sessions Start - 18th Oct at 1:30pm
• Big Breakfast - 23rd Oct at 10:00am
Many of you may have heard about
the “Mental Health Patient” costumes
that were advertised by ASDA, Tesco
and Amazon. Mind Charity and Time to
Talk started a campaign asking people
suffering with mental health issues to
tweet in their “Mental Patient” costumes
to fight against the stigma associated
to mental health issues. Oakleaf was
behind this campaign, and we sent in
our photos too! Mental health issues
affect 1 in 4 people over the course of
their lives, irrespective of age, gender or
social class, so who’s to judge?
Stop the stigma!
Sweet 16Oakleaf turned sweet 16 on 19th
September! We are grateful to all of
our wonderful clients, volunteers, staff,
and supporters to helping us make it to
another year!
Volunteers Needed! We are always after volunteers to help us
out with running our Coffee Shop, helping
in our IT, Horticulture and Upholstery
departments and teaching new skills!
Contact us if you are interested in sharing
a language or skill with Oakleaf!
OUR CLIENT TRAINING & ACTIVITIES
Volunteer LunchesEach week, volunteers and clients have been taking part in
preparing hot lunches as part of our Coffee Shop. The aims of
this activity are to provide clients with quick and easy meal
ideas. By using recipes sent in by staff or volunteers, we aim
to help clients plan for meals by making the most of their
ingredients and showing that they don’t have to cost a fortune!
It’s been a great success, and we are looking forward to
creating our very own recipe book which will be available to
purchase. Keep an eye out for our stall at the Farmers’ Market
in Guildford!
Oakleaf Choir Are you interested in joining the Oakleaf
Choir? Come along to meet new people,
learn new songs and feel uplifted!
Contact Mike Curtis or Client Services for
more information at:
01483 303649/[email protected]
Staff, Client or Volunteer - can you tell?
Great meals prepared at Oakleaf!
“Mental Patient”
BUPA Great South RunOUR DONORS, SUPPORTERS & VOLUNTEERS
RAISE MONEY FOR OAKLEAF JUST BY SHOPPING! Give as you Live works with thousands of stores that have signed up to donate a commission on every online purchase. Install a simple app, choose Oakleaf as your charity and shop away! Visit www.giveasyoulive.com to donate to Oakleaf while you shop!
Members of Team Oakleaf training for the big day!
Could you consider leaving a gift in your will to Oakleaf? Gifts in Wills (or legacies) form the foundation of charities in the UK. Many large charities rely on legacies;
without them they would not exist or would have to cut crucial services. Legacy income is currently worth
nearly £2 billion a year to UK charities. However, despite the fact that 74% of the UK population support
charities during their lifetime, only 7% currently leave a gift to charity when writing a Will.
Interestingly, the Cabinet Office’s Behavioural Insights Team conducted a trial earlier this year (in partnership
with Remember a Charity and The Co-operative Legal Services), looking at legacy giving in the UK. The
team looked at over 1,000 new Wills over six months and noted that when solicitors simply mentioned to
people that leaving a gift to charity was an option, the percentage of people who did so rose to 10%. It
rose again, to 15%, when people were also asked if there were any charities that they were passionate
about. Many more Britons would leave a gift to charities of their choice if reminded to consider this
opportunity by their solicitor.
If you feel that Oakleaf has had a positive impact on you, your family or our local community (and once
you have made provision in your Will for your family and friends), it would be deeply appreciated if you
could consider supporting the continuation of our work in this way when you next visit your solicitor to write
or update your Will.
The Great South Run is just around the corner! Our first time
taking part and we have an amazing team supporting Oakleaf
Enterprise and mental health awareness! The 10 mile run is
taking place in Portsmouth on 27th October, 2013. Come along
and cheer on the team!
Missed out on running with us? Not to worry - we’ve signed up
for the Great South Run again next year! For info or to support
us, contact Deepti at :
01483 303649/[email protected]
World Mental Health Day 2013 To mark World Mental Health Day 2013, Oakleaf is pleased to share the
Happiness and Wellness Event! The event will aim to promote the health of
our minds by teaming with local mental health and community organisations
across North-East Hampshire, Surrey Heath and Farnham.
Information will be available on how we can all choose to have
improved mental health through healthy living, choosing the right help
and support when we need it, and taking part in community activities. For information on activities and locations, contact 07900 507450
Youth and Philanthropy InitiativeEach year thousands of secondary school students
participate in YPI, the signature program of the Toskan
Casale Foundation. YPI has engaged hundreds of schools
worldwide, across Canada, United States, England, Scotland,
and Northern Ireland.
Earlier in Spring, Oakleaf was lucky to have students Keira
Speaight and Lucy Ware from Carshalton High School For
Girls choose us as their nominated charity for the YPI project.
The girls took on the initiative and organised a bake sale and
sponsored walk in which they raised £180!
Our heartfelt thank you goes out to the school, tutors and
students for supporting Oakleaf and our aims!
OUR DONORS, SUPPORTERS & VOLUNTEERS
Oakleaf’s Golf Day took place on 6th September at Merrist
Wood Golf Course. Forty-eight golfers took part in rasing over
£5,500 - all of which will allow us to continue supporting those
suffering with mental health issues in the community.
Teams enjoyed the 18-hole championship course, along with a
putting competition, followed by a lovely 3-course dinner, live
auction and entertainment.
We would like to thank everyone who participated in the event
and helped make it a great success!
Office SpaceWe currently have 1 two-person office
available for hire, with occasional use of
our training/board room permitted. For
more information, please contact our
CEO, Clive Stone at: 01483 303649/
Golf Day at Merrist Wood
Stevens & Bolton supporting Oakleaf’s Golf Day
Teams at our Golf Day Event at Merrist Wood
London MarathonWe are excited to announce that we
have secured a spot at the 2014 Lon-
don Marathon! A wonderful opportunity
to platform Oakleaf and our role in the
mental health community.
For more information, contact Deepti
Parmar at: 01438 303649/
Stevens & Bolton - Oakleaf PartnershipWe are excited to announce that Stevens & Bolton LLP solicitors in Guildford have adopted Oakleaf Enterprise
as their sponsored charity until April 2015!
Stevens & Bolton have already raised £1850 from their own annual
golf day in June and joined us at our golf day at Merrist Wood in
September. Along with that, some of their top runners will be part
of the Oakleaf Great South Run team, and will later this month
hold an in-house promises auction night, with all the proceeds
going to support Oakleaf.
We are lucky to have a great organisation supporting us and
creating awareness for better mental health in the community!
OUR CUSTOMER SERVICES
eBay SalesDo you have any high quality items
you no longer need, such as furniture,
designer clothing or electronics? If so,
please consider donating these items to
us so we can continue to raise funds.
If you’re looking to buy any good
quality items, check our eBay page by
searching for seller ‘oakleafenterprise’ in
the advanced search.
As well as this, we would like to welcome
any donations of CDs, DVDs, mobile
phones and printer cartridges as we are
able to recycle them to raise funds.
You can either drop them off at our
centre or contact us to organise a
collection!
Keep your Garden Blooming in the Winter! Winter is fast approaching and before we know it the cold
weather will settle in. Our Horticulture department gives us tips
to help you make sure your garden is winter ready!
• Don’t leave containers/pots in garden , roots will die if they
get to wet and frost may also cause pots to crack
• Don’t leave fushsias, geraniums and begonias outside, if
possible put in green house or cover
• Don’t leave lawn covered with leaves, this can cause
diseases and turn the lawn yellow
• Don’t cut lawns in winter, let it sleep
• Don’t walk on lawns when wet and icy, this can also
damage grass
• Don’t leave leaves and debris on top of ponds, this is fatal
for fish as they cannot get enough oxygen
• Don’t prune cherry and plum trees, as it may increase the
possibility of silver leaf infection
• Don’t leave taps/pipes uncovered as this is a leading cause
of leaks
• Don’t leave dahlias outside, store in boxes
• Don’t dig around shrubs, as it will dispute roots
• Don’t leave snow on any branches of trees, possibly
breaking them
Upholstery for the Season As the holiday season is upon us, keep in mind that having
something re-upholstered or getting those matching cushions for
a sofa can make a great addition to your home, or the perfect
gift for friends and family!
By using our services, not only will you be delighted with the work
done, but you will feel good knowing that you have provided
work experience to our clients and valuable funds to enable us to
continue training and supporting them!
For more information contact Steve at: 01483 303649/
Farmers’ MarketCome see us at the Guildford Farmers’
Market, the first Tuesday of every month.
We’ve got some great buys - cushions
and plants from our Upholstery and
Horticulture departments. And lots of
goodies for stocking fillers!
Find us located by the WHSmith!
Our Forthcoming Events:
5 World Mental Health Day 2013 Thursday 10th October, 10:30am - 3:30pmMark the day by attending the Happiness and Wellness Event and join local mental health and community organisations working in partnership across North-East Hampshire, Surrey Heath and Farnham. Free entry.
Contact [email protected] or 07900 507 450 for more information.
5 Bowling at the Guildford Spectrum Saturday 12th October, 11am For our clients - come and join us for a fun day out! £9.50/ each. Contact Client Services for more info - 01483 303649
5 Great South Run Saturday 27th October, 10am, Portsmouth Join us and cheer on our runners at this 10m run around the most iconic sites in Portsmouth!
5 Farmers’ Market First Tuesday of each month, 10am-3:30pm Guildford High StreetCome and check out our handmade items and plants grown by our clients. Free entry.
5 National Eczema Society Christmas Fair Saturday 16th November, 10am-3pm, Guildhall, High Street, Guildford (under the clock) Come and see what lovely things we’ve been making, great! Free entry.
For more information, please check our website, phone 01483 303649, or email [email protected]
Registered Charity Number: 1064524
Company Limited by Guarantee Number: 3388671
Help Us & Yourself!Do you want to save money on your
household bills? Then switch to Utility
Warehouse and get one simple monthly
bill, at a cheaper price. For every
customer who joins Utility Warehouse,
Oakleaf gets 5% of your household bill
each month. Who said donations had to
come from your own pocket?! Call 0800
131 3000 today for more information,
quoting ‘K34376’, or visit:
www.costfreegiving.org
MEETING AND KEEPING IN TOUCH WITH OAKLEAF
Facebook & TwitterGet your Oakleaf news first from these
sources and you’ll gain a real insight into
what goes on here without even moving!
Search for @_oakleaf on Twitter and visit: www.facebook.com/oakleafenterprise
Happy Clients!
“Thank you Oakleaf for being there for
me always, no matter how big or small my
problems were :)”
Past Client
“I’ve found Oakleaf to be a really good
platform for socialising, when it is not
always possible to find when dealing with
mental health issues”
Current Client
“I am very grateful for having been
given a place at Oakleaf and think it is a
fantastic opportunity for people to gain
skills that may help them meet others and
perhaps gain paid employment”
Current Client