Recent Events: Below are some of our more recent community events. We take every opportunity to provide enjoyable occasions where we can meet people and raise awareness of how we can help carers and those they care for. Please visit our Forthcoming Events Page for details of future events.
If you have recently held an event to raise funds for Crossroads Care Cheshire East, Manchester & Tameside and would like the details posting on this page of our website please contact Phil Graham on 01625 524596.
Derek made a splash to raise cash for Crossroads! - 18th June 2011 On 18th June Derek Bates joined 10,000 swimmers for the 2011 Great North Swim. This was the UK's biggest outdoor swimming event which includes a one mile open-water swim in the beautiful but terribly cold waters of Lake Windermere, Cumbria. Derek has chosen to raise sponsorship for Crossroads Care Cheshire East, Manchester and Tameside competing against other first timers and even some Olympic champions!
Derek recently took up swimming and at 38 years old knew that this would be a tough challenge but the support from his family, friends and business colleagues has so far raised over £800 in sponsorship. Coming from North Manchester and working for Brother (International Europe Ltd.), who are based near Tameside, Derek wanted to donate to a local charity so that his efforts could benefit those around him. Crossroads Care also appealed to him having seen the great support that carers provide to families first hand.
Derek's employers of over twenty years; Brother, supported him in his fundraising efforts but Derek paid personally to participate in the event so any sponsorship raised will come directly to the charity.
Congratulations Derek and thank you for all your support!
Reaseheath Open, Vintage Day 2011 - 12th May Reaseheath College very kindly selected CCCEMT as their chosen charity for this year’s Vintage Open at the College’s very own golf club.
The immaculate nine-hole course was prepared in advance of the competition by a team of 15 student’s studying either Landscaping or Green-Keeping at the Agriculture College in Cheshire. The first and second year students voluntarily worked with the club’s head greenkeeper; James Grundy, to arrange the 2011 tournament which took place on Thursday 12th May.
Some of the participants travelled over an hour to take part despite the recent heavy rainfall so it was with a stroke of luck that the weather stayed fine for the best part of the day.
It was lovely to meet everyone who had worked very hard in putting this event together in aid of Crossroads and to see that they had maximised every opportunity for the participants to enjoy themselves as well as helping to raise even more money for the charity with additional putting competitions, raffles and a delicious barbeque.
Congratulations to the winners and thank you to everyone involved, both organisers and participants, I think we can all agree it was a great day!
John Lewis Ladies Evening - 29th April 2011 On Thursday 29th April CCCEMT teamed up with John Lewis at the Trafford Centre for a truly enjoyable ladies evening and fabulous fashion show.
Tickets for this event sold out in a matter of days with eager ladies looking forward to a night of Cava, canapés, style workshops a la ‘Gok Wan’, beauty demonstrations, fierce fashions and luxury prizes, not to mention the royal wedding finale; a theme which simply couldn’t be ignored on the eve of the big day!
The lovely team at John Lewis worked very hard in putting together this evening and helped us to raise £830 from the sale of tickets and the wonderful raffle which John Lewis also kindly donated prizes to. It was a pleasure to work with such a reputable organisation and we hope to work with them again in the future.
To make sure you don’t miss out - be the first to hear about any similar ladies lunches, evenings or outings we may arrange in the future; register your interest today by emailing Nicola at neaton@crossroadsce.org.uk or call 01260 292850.
Sandbach Concert Series - 27th April 2011 On Wednesday 27th April, CCCEMT were invited along to St. Mary’s Church Hall as the chosen charity for the April concert in the Sandbach Concert Series.
The new concert series is aimed at promoting music making by youth and community groups of Sandbach and surrounding areas in conjunction with professional musicians, on this occasion the Soprano; Jane Irwin performed accompanied by Julia Lynch on piano.
Each concert in the series has a nominated local charity which the proceeds from the evenings raffle are donated. The prizes, donated by local businesses, helped to raise £96 for CCCEMT as well as helping to raise awareness of the charity amongst the Sandbach community.
Many thanks for selecting Crossroads Care as the chosen charity for your April concert; we hope that people will continue to support this venture.
Visit http://www.sandbach-concert-series.co.uk/ for further information.
Golf Day - 18th March 2011 Our 1st Annual Golf Tournament was a huge success, with 18 teams taking part on what was an unexpected but most welcome lovely sunny day at The Tytherington Club.
Our eager golfers arrived from 9am to ensure that they had plenty of time to have their bacon rolls and coffee and hit a few practice shots before the shot-gun start at 10.30am. A great day was had by all out on the greens with ‘The Long-Shots’ taking home the ‘Winning Men’s Team’ annual trophy and the ‘Diamond Polishers’ clinching the ‘Winning Mixed-Team’ trophy.
Over £1,700 was raised on the day thanks to everyone’s generosity in taking part, entering our raffles, luxury prize draws and silent auctions as well as a few hole sponsorships. Thank you to everyone who took part and we hope to see you all again at next years tournament!
A big thank you must also go to everyone who kindly contributed a prize to our raffle, prize draw and silent auctions, these donations make a huge difference to our fundraising efforts and are very much appreciated.
If you or your organisation would like to be kept informed of our next golf event then please contact Nikki on 01260 292850 or email neaton@crossoradsce.org.uk.
Alternatively, you might like to get involved by supporting our next golf event in another way. We would welcome any sponsorship, both financially and gifts-in-kind or contributions towards our raffle and auctions. Maybe you would like to provide the winning prizes for next year’s tournament? If so, we would love to hear from you.
Congleton Rotary Club Swimathon - 25th & 26th February 2011 The Rotary Club of Congleton went to great lengths on Friday 25th and Saturday 26th February in their 19th annual Swimathon. Almost 9,000 lengths were collectively swam by 49 teams in order to raise money for three local charities. As CCCE was selected as one of the charities to benefit from this event we made sure that we were well represented.
We had 4 teams swimming over the weekend including staff, volunteers, young carers and new friends to the charity. Well done to The Seahorses, Flipper Feet, The Water Babies and Team Nemo and a BIG thank you for taking part! Thanks also to everyone that sponsored our teams – we should have a final amount raised very soon!
Many thanks to The Rotary Club of Congleton who did such a wonderful job in organising the event; we hope to have even more swimmers next year!
If you fancy joining one of our teams at next years event then get in touch today! We can keep you posted on similar events that are going on in the area, if we are involved in them, so you will never miss out on the fun! Call Nikki on 01260 292850 or email neaton@crossroadsce.org.uk to register your interest – thanks!
Tatton Yule Yomp 10K Run and 3K Family Fun Run - 12th December 2010 Egerton Youth Club, Knutsford, Sunday 12 December 2010
Thank you to everyone that braved the cold on Sunday 12 December to attend the Tatton Yule Yomp. We had a great day meeting participants and enjoying the festive costumes that some of the runners were bravely sporting!
We were very proud to be selected as one of the chosen charities for the 10K run and received a brilliant £1,800 from The Cheshire Hash House Harriers who organised the race. It was a pleasure to be involved in the community orientated; fun-filled event and we very much look forward to the next TYY. A special mention must go to Jane Fleet-Jones and her husband Matthew who represented CCCE raising over £1,000 - well done!
We hope to have even more Crossroads Care representatives running in 2011 so get in touch if this sounds like your ideal way of getting in shape before next Christmas!
Make sure you keep an eye out for what else we have planned in our 21st Year 2011!
Carers Right’s Day - 3rd December 2010 Overton House, Congleton, Friday 3 December 2010
We celebrated Carers Right’s Day in style this year at Overton House with relaxation therapists coming in to give our carers a well-earned treat.
A number of you, including a few local councillors, were able to attend our open-house for a mince pie, a glass of mulled-wine and a chat with some of the Crossroads team despite the snow! Our visitors were treated to an Indian head massage by Sue Davies and hand treatments by Emma Young and returned home feeling thoroughly relaxed! Thank you to Emma from ‘The Little Blue Jar’ who kindly donated 10% of her sales from the Neal’s Yard products available on the day.
Christmas Fair 2010 - 27th November 2010 Macclesfield Town Hall, Saturday 27 November 2010
We were thrilled with the out-come of our first Christmas Fair at Macclesfield Town Hall and are looking forward to it becoming an annual event on our fundraising calendar. Thank you to special guests; David Neilson, the Mayor of Macclesfield, for opening the fair for us and marking the special occasion and David Rutley, Macclesfield’s MP, for supporting the event.
The added attraction of the Macclesfield Guild Christmas Parade and the town’s Christmas light switch on generated an excellent turn out and we were able to raise over £1,600 on the day.
We couldn’t have done it without such brilliant support; from the various craft stalls in our Christmas Market Hall, St. Paul’s Church Choir who created a wonderful Christmas ambience with their carols, Nick Wright from Canalside Community Radio for providing a cheery festive atmosphere, Father Christmas and his little helper for dropping by and letting all the children come and deliver their Christmas letters and lastly but by no means least; Moo-Moo the Miniature Shetland Pony for being our Christmas mascot.
A special thank you to all of the volunteers who were a huge help on the day and for all your kind donations and support.
Congratulation to:
• Fraser who correctly guessed that our teddy bear was called Jamie.
• Joan Garbett who guessed that there were 1,600 jelly beans in the jar, a very close answer to the actual total of 1,674!
• Debbie Mode who was the lucky winner of our fabulous ‘Luxury Draw’ prize.
Children’s Halloween Party - 31st October 2010 Adlington Village Hall, Sunday 31 October 2010
We’ve had great feedback from everyone who attended so as well as making over £400 for Crossroads Care Cheshire East, we were able to raise awareness within our community and start to build relationships with local schools. Some of our Young Carers attended the event and even won prizes for ‘Best Fancy Dress’.
Thank you to APB Student Accommodation for making this possible with your generous donation.
Thanks also to:
Tesco Congleton, Morrisons Congleton, Morrisons Poynton, Co-op Food Chester Road Macclesfield, LEGOLAND Discovery Centre and Paradise Island Adventure Golf for your kind contributions.
Carers Week Carers Week was held over the following dates:
14th - 18th June 2010
We organised a number of events to coincide with Carers Week and held our annual Sponsored Walk on Sunday 27th June.
Should you wish to support us in 2011 please contact Jane or Carolyn on 01260 292850.
Walk for Carers This years sponsored walk took place on Sunday June 27 We had a lovely walk around the countryside of Congleton to help raise awareness of carers and also much needed funds to support them and the people they care for. So many of you were willing to raise money on our behalf and thank you all for taking part.
This event was run in partnership with Astbury Mere Country Park who held a Fun Day which was enjoyed by all those who took part in the walk. There were lots of activities both on and off the water including windsurfing, dinghy and kayak sessions, angling presentations, beat the goalie and face painting.
The Open Day was organised by Team Astbury, Astbury Mere Trust and Cheshire East Council
Carers Day at Crewe Alexander - 17th June 2010 Carers Day
Crewe Alexander Football Club
Gresty Road
Crewe, CW2 6EB
This day for carers took place at Crewe Alexander Football Club in Carers Week. Carers came along during the day to find out more about the services offered to carers in Cheshire East, including the help and support they could receive.
There were displays and stands from local organisations in the market place area and a series of workshops held throughout the day.
Alsager Golf Club supports Crossroads Care Crossroads Care Cheshire East, Manchester & Tameside is delighted that Bev King, 2010 Lady Captain at Alsager Golf and Country Club chose CCCEMT as her charity of the year.
“I have nominated Crossroads Care as the chosen charity for my year in office as Lady Captain at Alsager Golf and Country Club. Throughout the year our ladies section will be organising fundraising events for this very worthwhile cause. Our first event on 1st May was the traditional Captains’ Drive Off. The incoming Captain and Lady Captain both drive off with the old styled hickory shafted wood to celebrate and the members guess how far the drives will be. We raised £178 on the night and this amount will be split between Crossroads Care and the Captains chosen charity, which this year is St Lukes Hospice.
Each year the Club holds a charity AM-AM golf competition, which is open to all golfers. It is a great day out and all proceeds from this are donated to the two nominated charities. Entry forms are available from the Club by calling Margaret Davenport on 01270 875700.”
Everyone at CCCEMT would like to say a huge thank you to Bev for choosing CCCEMT as her charity and raising vital funds to support carers.
Former Mayor Visits Crossroads Care Cheshire East, Manchester & Tameside Ernest Clarke, former Mayor of Congleton and his wife, Joyce, visited Crossroads Care Cheshire East, Manchester & Tameside on Wed 19 May to make two very welcome donations – one supporting the core work of Crossroads Care and one specifically for young carers.
These generous donations were much appreciated and will enable us to do more of what we do best – supporting carers when they need it most.
The Fantastic Four Run The Manchester 10K On the 16th May, Anna Jordan, her sister Catherine and their boyfriends ran the Manchester 10k and raised over £400 to support the work of Crossroads Care Cheshire East, Manchester & Tameside. Catherine and Anna care for their father who has vascular dementia and have been supported by Crossroads Care since 2006.
The four really enjoyed having something to focus on and are now planning more events in the future possibly with a bigger team – they may even consider a marathon!
Well done to all of them – their hard work and enthusiasm is appreciated by all at Crossroads Care.
An Epic Journey In April of this year Ruby, a 1937 Austin Seven, and Wallace, a 1960 Morris Minor, made an epic journey from Lands End to John O Groats in aid of Crossroads Care Cheshire East, Manchester & Tameside. Ruby was driven by Jenny and Tony Lewis and Wallace had David and Colin Stretton at the wheel.
The total distance travelled by the team was a staggering 1754 miles (round trip) with some hairy moments along the way, particularly on the motorway around Edinburgh!
All arrived safely at their destination on April 11 and the team raised well over £3000 which was split between their three chosen charities, Crossroads Care, Guide Dogs for the Blind and Art Therapy Romania. Crossroads Care received a fantastic £1,275 plus gift aid.
Thanks so much to all involved for such a fantastic effort!
Wallace and Ruby at Land's End and a few miles later Ruby and Wallace in John O Groats
Easter Chicks
Many thanks to Pamela Price for kindly knitting these lovely Easter Chicks to raise funds for Crossroads Care.
Porsche Club GB North West Region 5 Many thanks to the North West Region of Porsche Club GB for nominating Crossroads Care Cheshire East, Manchester & Tameside as their charity for 2009.
The club's R5 2009 Charity Raffle was drawn at the annual Christmas Dinner at the Deanwater Hotel Woodford.
Prize winners were:
1st Prize - Matt Thompson - 24-hours drive of a current model Porsche
2nd Prize - Glen Partington - Porsche Design Selection Motorsport bear
3rd Prize - Phil Robinson - Porsche Design Selection Desk Diary
The prizes were generously donated by the Porsche Centre Wilmslow and the ongoing enthusiastic support given by Dealer Principal Steve Webb is much appreciated by all of the club members.
From left to right: PCGB R5 Regional Organiser Barry Dolton presenting the cheque to Crossroads Care Chief Executive Andrea Kinsey with Porsche Centre Wilmslow Dealer Principal Steve Webb
St. Dunstan Coffee Morning St. Dunstan's landlord, Richard Maurice hosted a coffee morning on 13th February in aid of two local charities - East Cheshire Hospice and Crossroads Care Cheshire East, Manchester & Tameside. The event was organised by Richard's sister Louise and friend Judith with the cake stall and raffle raising just under £600.
Richard has been the landlord of the St. Dunstan Inn for five years after many years running the Langley Village Post Office. He is heavily involved in preserving the local community promoting many more events such as this one.
St. Dunstan's has a welcoming atmosphere with guest ales and a Friday evening complimentary table of cheese, pate, fresh crusty bread and pickles. The simple things in life are always the best!
Cheers and many thanks to all involved.
The Footlights Fast Show Presented by the Footlights Players For two nights only at
Tytherington High School Macclesfield
7.30 pm Friday 12th and Saturday 13th February
All Tickets £8.00
Come and enjoy an evening of fun and frivolity, non stop laughs plus song and dance
featuring the fabulous
'DANCE AT THE SMITHY'
with numbers from their recent shows
60/70s Night
Crossroads Care Cheshire East, Manchester & Tameside 60/70s night with live band 'In The Red'at Wilmslow Conservative Club, Grove Lane, Wilmslow Saturday 30 January 2010
Christmas Card Shops Sales of Christmas Cards at Macclesfield Town Hall, Knutsford Tourist Information Office and Wilmslow Library raised over £800. CrossroadsCare would like to thank the volunteers who manned the shops and all who supported our charity in buying the cards.
Thanks again to Macclesfield Town Football Club CCCEMT would once again like to thank MTFC and the Silkmen fans for their continued support. The club invited Crossroads Care to the Macclesfield v Crewe match on Monday 28th December to raise awareness of our work and much needed funds to support carers.
The day ended with a fantastic result for the club as the team emerged victorious with a very impressive 4-1 win and also for Crossroads Care who raised a brilliant £340.04
Carers Rights Day The ninth annual Carers Rights Day was held on December 4 2009, with a national theme of ‘Caring for your income and pension’. CCCEMT extended an invitation to carers and those they care for to attend an open day to find out more about our range of services and how we support carers. Relevant organisations and professionals were also encouraged to come along.
Carers Rights Day is all about getting information to carers. The aims of the day are to;-
Increase the take up of benefits
Make sure carers know their rights
Guide carers towards practical support
Raise awareness of the needs of carers
In addition to the event raising awareness of Crossroads Care practical services there was an opportunity to talk to Dawn Kenyon from the Cheshire Carers Centre who was on hand to give advice and information on other carer’s issues, for example benefits.
The day was very well attended with a range of visitors including carers, the cared for, local councillors and representatives from other third sector organisations. This type of event is a great opportunity to talk about what we do and how to access our services.
CCCEMT will be holding open days during Carers Week 14 – 20 June 2010.
Details will be posted on this website and also in our spring newsletter.
Crossroads Care staff and trustees reach new heights to raise money Carrie Clark (Crossroads Care Carer Support Worker) and Martin Sinker (Crossroads Care trustee), scaled new heights recently to raise money for Crossroads Care.
Carrie, along with her dad and friend, climbed Scafell Pike in the Lake District in challenging weather conditions. Carrie said “ The weather was quite atrocious at times. My dad and his friend said they would not have contemplated doing it if it had just been the two of them! I am very proud of myself, it was tough going but I just put my head down, determined to do it under my own steam”
Martin and two friends, Jan Preston and Joan Wilks, were also determined to rise to the Three Peaks Challenge and climbed Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon at the end of October 2009.
All at Crossroads Care would like to say well done and thank you to Carrie and Martin for their fantastic efforts, it is much appreciated!
Sponsored events are a great way of raising money to help support carers. If you would like to undertake a challenge and need sponsorship forms or ideas please contact us on 01260 292850.
Crossroads Care Public Meeting - Celebrating Change On Tuesday November 3rd Crossroads Care Cheshire East, Manchester & Tameside held a Public Meeting at the New Life Church, West Road in Congleton. The evening was an opportunity to talk about recent changes, service development and to allow carers to give their own views on carers issues and support available from Crossroads and other organisations. The event began at 6pm with refreshments, followed by a programme of speakers from Crossroads Care and the wider community.
Mike James, CCCEMT Chairman made the introductions, set the scene, welcomed the speakers and thanked all those who had taken the time to attend the meeting on a cold November night.
We were then delighted to welcome John Weeks, Strategic Director People CEC, who gave a very informative presentation about Cheshire East Council’s “Vision for the Future within Adult Services”.
Mr Weeks was followed by Andrea Kinsey, CCCEMT Chief Executive who discussed the schemes recent merger and relocation and also the future direction of service development. Next was Sue Crawforth, CCCEMT Business Development Manager, who outlined the current changes in adult social care, what this meant for carers and how Crossroads Care Cheshire East, Manchester & Tameside was aiming to support carers with regard to Individual Budgets and Direct Payments.
A number of presentations highlighting particular services followed. Jon Lee gave an update on the Carers Emergency Response Service and was followed by trustee and carer Adrienne Fox who spoke on behalf of a carer whose family had been supported by this service. Hilda Gaddum, Carer and CEC Councillor talked about how the palliative care team had recently supported her family. Lastly Jean Herbert , CCCEMT Childrens Services Lead bought us up to date with what the young carers have been doing recently and introduced Mark Gould, a young carer who gave a powerful presentation about his own experiences and his involvement with the INCLUDE project.
One of the highlights of the evening was a short drama performed by a group of young carers which explored issues around bullying.
The evening was then summed up by Roland Domleo, Adult Services Portfolio Holder CEC, who reflected on the diversity and strength of the presentations and thanked the speakers for their contributions.
Thanks to everyone who attended and particular thanks to the staff of the New Life church who helped to make the evening a memorable event for all who attended.
Introductions by CCCEMT Chairman Mike James - Young Carers Cutting the Cake
Astbury Golf Club supports Crossroads Care Each year the incoming Captains at Astbury Golf Club choose a charity to support. Crossroads Care was delighted that Gill Hodges, the Ladies Captain, chose to support Crossroads Care for 2008/9. Gill and the members of the club have been holding events throughout the year including “Flower Odyssey” a unique flower arranging demonstration, an Auction Night and a “Cash in the Bottle” event.
The Club held its biggest charity event of the season, the Captains Charity Open, in aid of Crossroads Care Cheshire East, Manchester & Tameside on Aug 13. It was beautiful weather and over 140 people took part, from clubs as far afield as Bedfordshire. An army of helpers enabled the day to run smoothly with the Captain, Fred Reed and Lady Captain, Gill Hodges both taking part. The event raised a fantastic £1200 for Crossroads Care.
The Captain and Lady Captain were delighted to find that at the end of the year, a fantastic total of £5,800 was raised and a cheque was handed over to Kate Wilkinson from Crossroads Care at a recent club dinner.
Crossroads Care would like to say a huge thank you to Astbury Golf Club for a marvellous effort in raising such a large sum of money which will be invaluable in providing much needed support to carers and those they care for.
Stockport Golf Club Ladies from Hazel Grove Golf Club recently organised a Golf Charity Day in memory of their good friend Margaret Parker. Margaret had been looked after by Crossroads Care and the event took place to raise funds to support our work. The day was well attended, enjoyed by all and raised over £1,000. The superb effort made by Janet Howarth and all those who helped to organise the day is very much appreciated by all at Crossroads Care and will ensure more carers receive support when they need it most.
Wilmslow High School Students from Wilmslow High School invited Crossroads Care to attend their school assembly in order to hand over a cheque for £500 to support Young Carers to attend a Young Carers Day in 2010. The students had worked hard to organise a range of fundraising events in the school to raise the money and we would like to say a huge thank you to all those involved.
Wilmslow Guild Flower Club Thank you to all the ladies of the Wilmslow Flower Club who raised £1,000 to support the work of Crossroads Care in 2009. The cheque was handed over at a recent flower arranging event and is very much appreciated by all at Crossroads Care.
Trustee Runs for Cheshire East Crossroads
David Arthur, a trustee from Cheshire East Crossroads, recently ran the London marathon to raise funds for Crossroads. David, a GP from Knutsford has raised a fantastic amount in sponsorship with the total currently standing at £1800. We would like to say a huge thank you and well done to David on behalf of everyone at Crossroads.
If you or anyone you know would like to raise money for us by running a marathon or completing a challenge please give Kate a ring on 01260 292850
Carer Open Days
During Carers Week, 8 – 14 June, Crossroads held a series of Open Days to encourage carers and professionals to visit Overton House and find out more about what services Crossroads delivers and how we can support carers, particularly those who currently receive no help. All three days were extremely well attended and Crossroads staff welcomed a huge range of visitors including carers, representatives from other organisations, relevant professionals and local councillors.
Tea and cakes were on offer and the event provided a lovely opportunity to spend time with carers and colleagues and discuss what really works and how we can improve and develop our support in the future. Many of those who called in were particularly interested in joining up to CERS (Carers Emergency Response Service), a service which provides peace of mind that, in the event of an emergency, the cared for will be well looked after. For more information about how Crossroads can help please visit our service pages.
Carers enjoying their visit to Crossroads
Carers Week Sponsored Walk
Crossroads held a sponsored walk on June 14th to celebrate carers week and the fantastic contribution made by carers. 75 walkers turned out on a lovely summer’s day and enthusiastically set off at 11am on a 10km walk around the countryside of Congleton. The route started at Overton House and took the walkers around Astbury Mere, through Astbury village and on to the canal towpath. The walk then proceeded along the canal and back to Overton House via Lamberts Lane. Lots of families and children took part with the youngest walker being just three and a half years old!
After a couple of hours energetic walking (with unplanned detours by some) the walkers arrived back at Overton House to enjoy a picnic in the garden as a reward for all their hard work. The walk was a huge success and will definitely be repeated next year. Watch this space for details.
Crossroads would like to say a huge thank you to all those who helped make the day such a success, with particular thanks to Matt from Astbury Mere Country Park, all the marshalls who ensured no one got lost on the day and to Cavern Clothing who donated high visibility tabards. A big thanks also to the volunteers who spent the morning making sandwiches!
One of groups starting from Overton House - Molly and Sophie Rigby, Gabriel Fleet-Jones and Amber Cooper walking through the woods
Street Collections A big thank you to our volunteers who collected in Knutsford on the 3rd and 4th July.
Street Collections Thanks again to our volunteers who collected in sunny Macclesfield on the 12th and 13th June.
Street Collections Many thanks to our volunteers who braved the cold and rain to collect in Wilmslow on the 15th and 16th May.
Macclesfield Beer Festival raises £17,000 for Carers The 15th Macclesfield Beer Festival took place on the 8th and 9th May and was a resounding success. During the weekend of the Festival the event attracted more than 3000 visitors to the Big Marquee. Those who attended were in fine form and sampled the range of over 100 speciality beers on offer with enthusiasm. More than 11,000 pints of beer were consumed and sales of wine and unusual ciders were at a record high.
Visitors danced the night away to the tunes of local bands Dazed and Confused and The Screaming Beavers who added to the general air of festivity.
A huge thank you goes to Macclesfield Round Table, Mickey Jones and all the organisers of this fantastic community event. Also to Trevor Gammage and CAMRA and all the event sponsors, in particular Storm Brewing Co and Alderley Asset Management.
The event raised a staggering amount to support the work of Crossroads and will be used to pay for a minibus and a group activities room.
Janet Barrow (Care Manager) and Lisa Nield (Group Care Senior Carer Support Worker) accepting the cheque on behalf of Crossroads from Chris Davis (Macclesfield Round Table), Mickey Jones (Beer Featival Organiser) and Richard Wilkinson (Macclesfield Round Table)
Launch Party at Overton House Thursday 30th April
Quiz Evening and Supper Wincham Community Centre
Church Street
Wincham
CW9 6EP
Friday 24th April at 7.30pm
Macclesfield Town Football Club
kindly invited Cheshire East Crossroads to attend the Macclesfield vs Chesterfield match on Saturday April 4th in order to raise funds to support our work.
Gareth Evans scored the equalising goal to give a 1-1 draw - a magnificent result against a team near the top of the league table.
Many thanks to Macclesfield Town Football Club and all those who supported CEC on the day.
Macclesfield High School raises funds for Young Carers
Staff and pupils at Macclesfield High School recently held a week of fundraising events to raise money to support CEC. The students were particularly interested in raising money to support the Young Carers Project and threw themselves into fundraising with great enthusiasm, taking part in a range of activities including cake sales, a sponsored walk, ‘beat the goalie’, raffles and even a sponsored silence!
The week was a great success and the school has raised over £1,250 to support our Young Carers. This opportunity was greatly appreciated by Crossroads as it gave the opportunity to raise awareness of the issues surrounding this group of carers and ensure young people know how to access support.
Cheshire East Crossroads will go to any lengths to support carers
Sunday 8th March
Three teams of Crossroads staff and clients took to the water to raise money for Crossroads at the Rotary Club Swimathon at Macclesfield Leisure Centre on Sunday 8th March.
Jackie Newton, a Carer Support Worker who organised the teams did a fantastic job of encouraging staff and clients to take part and managed to ensure CEC had teams in three lanes. All three teams, named Water Babies 1,2 and 3, swam brilliantly and completed over 80 lengths each in the hour they were allocated.
The event was very well attended overall with 53 teams swimming a grand total of 4551 lengths to support a wide variety of charities in addition to supporting the Rotary charities which include the Polio Plus eradication programme.
Sponsor money is now being collected and the teams expect to raise over £350 to support the work of Crossroads. This was a tremendous effort and a big thank you goes to all those who took part and to the Rotary Club for organizing the event.
Water Babies 1
Water Babies 2
Water Babies 3
Selfridges and Crossroads - 2nd to 14th February
Valentines Day 'Love Wall'
The Trafford Centre
Selfridges' event organiser Leonie & colleague Jemma with some of the messages
After a slow start because of the snow, the Love Wall steadily grew with customers and staff entering into the spirit of the event with some witty, artistic and moving messages. Each one had its own little story from the 'I love Liverpool' to the young boy whose picture and message was emailed to his father who is serving in the army in Afghanistan. A huge thanks to Selfridges for organising the event, the volunteers who helped out and the many interesting messages.
Harry Trotter & the Pirates of Prestbury - 6th & 7th February Footlights at Fallibroome High School Theatre Macclesfield
Written and produced by Colin Dutton, the Footlight Players staged an epic production drawing inspiration from Harry Potter, Only Fools and Horses and The Pirates of the Caribbean subtly re - naming the characters. The audience were treated to singing and dancing by talented young performers ably supporting an experienced group of amateur actors. The entertaining 'Pantomime World Premiere' was enjoyed by young and old alike.
SPONSORED BY SYLK DECORATING - ALL PROCEEDS TO LOCAL CHARITIES Cheshire East Crossroads - Alzheimers Society - Diabetes KIDS - Riding for the Disabled
Maisie Burton Fund - Paul Simpson Tribute Fund - Friends for Leisure
On February 2nd Cheshire East Crossroads was given the opportunity to share good practice at the RIPFA conference ‘Focus on Carers’
The event aimed to bring together experts from practice, policy and research to explore support for carers and was open to carer leads, commissioners, social workers and anyone else with an interest in supporting carers.
CEC gave a presentation in the afternoon outlining the research and development stages of the project SeCurE, Supporting Carers in Employment. Other presentations included projects addressing support during an emergency, carers of those with mental health issues and identifying hidden carers. Carers also spoke of their own experiences.
60's and 70's Disco a sell out - 31st January
Pan's People!
It was a trip down memory lane for Cheshire East Crossroads staff and supporters when they attended a 60’s and 70’s disco at the Conservative Club in Wilmslow on Saturday 31st January. The disco was organised by one of the charities trustees, in memory of his wife Janet to raise money for Crossroads which provides a range of support services for carers. Two of Janets school friends, Ros Brownbridge and Beryl Holland, helped organise the evening with another friend, Scott, taking photos to sell on the night.
Those who attended the disco enjoyed a hot pot supper and raffle before they danced the night away to the tunes of the swinging 60’s and 70’s kindly provided by DJ Garry Pepper. The disco was a complete sell out and plans are already underway to repeat the event next year.
Thanks to Bentleys for the hotpot supper and to the local shops in Macclesfield and Wilmslow for donating raffle prizes. The evening raised almost £1,000 to support carers in the Cheshire East area.
This unique demonstration was a great success and discussed the developement of flower arranging from the time of Tutankhamun to the present day. The arrangements represented periods in History and the availability of plant materials to produce the most stunning displays. These were kindly donated by Pam as prizes for the raffle at the end of the evening. The proceeds for this event will be donated to the Captain's Charity - Cheshire East Crossroads.
Many thanks to Pam and Gill for organising this popular event and the support of all who attended.
Pam Ingham & Lady Captain Gill Hodges with two of the beautiful arrangements
Christmas Raffle Draw - 17th December 2008
Our Christmas Raffle was drawn on December 17th
We are very grateful for the support of local businesses and individuals who kindly donated the prizes
The first five LUCKY WINNERS are as follows
CHRISTMAS HAMPER won by Brenda Pugh
MEAL FOR TWO WITH A BOTTLE OF HOUSE WINE won by Pat and John Williams
donated by LOCH FYNE RESTAURANT ALDERLEY EDGE lochfyne.com
BOTTLE OF GLENFIDDICH WHISKY won by Dennis Caveney
donated by TRAILBLAZERS SPAIN COMPETA trailblazers-spain.com
BOTTLE OF MOET & CHANDON CHAMPAGNE won by Mrs D Bexon
donated by TRAILBLAZERS SPAIN COMPETA trailblazers-spain.com
TRAVEL VANITY CASE won by M Preece
donated by TRAVEL BY DESIGN ALDERLEY EDGE travelbydesigngroup.com
East Cheshire Crossroads Open Public Meeting - 20th November 2008
Thank you to everyone who attended our Public Meeting and 18th Birthday Celebration !
On the 20th November Crossroads held a Public Meeting at the McIlroy Suite to acknowledge the contribution made by carers, showcase our new services and celebrate our 18th Birthday.
The evening was very well attended with representatives from local statutory and voluntary agencies, carers, staff and volunteers.
A diverse range of speakers ensured an informative evening and it was lovely to hear from carers about how our services support them in their daily lives.
Speakers included:
Mike James - Chairman of the Trustees
Andrea Kinsey - Scheme Manager
Tim Mann - County Manager for Community Wellbeing
Roland Domleo - Deputy Leader of Cheshire East Shadow Council
Aspergers Social Skills Group – children
Bernard Harris - Children Services Lead & Julie Alexander, parent carer
CERS – Carers Emergency Response Service
Jon Lee - CERS Project Co ordinator & Pauline Simpson, carer
SeCurE – Supporting Carers in Employment
Kate Wilkinson - Service Improvement Officer & Vaughan Wolstenholme, carer
Carers Support Group
Janet Barrow - Care Co-ordinator
Following the speakers Andrea Kinsey and Josh Simpson cut our birthday cake and refreshments were served.
The evening was a huge success and those who attended supported us by buying Christmas cards and raffle tickets in addition to being able to access information about our services.
We hope the next 18 years will be as enjoyable and successful !!
Charities Bazaar - 15th November 2008
The 33rd Annual Charities Bazaar was held at the Senior Citizens Hall on Saturday 15th November. East Cheshire Crossroads attended and ran the ever popular bottle tombola, sold Christmas Cards and raffle tickets and took the opportunity to raise awareness of our services. £339.86 was raised on the day!
This event was very well supported by volunteers so thank you to all those who generously gave up their time to help out.
Alison Potts and Friends' Gift Party - 12th November 2008
Many thanks to Alison Potts for hosting a gift party and donating the proceeds of £155.00 to Crossroads. An additional £55.00 was raised by the sale of Christmas cards during the evening.
Alternative Christmas Fair - 8th November 2008
This years alternative Christmas fair, was held at Prestbury Methodist Church on the 8th November. The event provides a number of local charities the opportunity to sell alternative Christmas gifts, along with an extra room for the sale of Christmas cards.
This year our stall was manned by Martin Sinker, Trustee, and his daughter and son-in-law, Chloe and Dan. Martin sold £240 pounds worth of alternative Christmas gifts in the form of donation vouchers - a fantastic amount!
On top of this Chloe and Dan also managed to sell over £90 worth of Christmas cards.
A big thank you to Martin and his family from everyone at ECC, just attending an event like this enables ECC to raise its profile within the community.
The Crossroads Association AGM - 14th & 15th October 2008
Crossroads Association AGM was held at the Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool on 14th and 15th October. Several members of staff attended including Andrea Kinsey, Janet Barrow, Bernard Harris, Kate Wilkinson and Lara Rigby.
The event was very informative with a diverse range of speakers including Anne Roberts, Chief Executive of Crossroads Association, Beverley Maybury, Head of Modernisation at Oldham Council and Christine Lenehan, the Director of the Council for Disabled Children.
The afternoon featured more input from the Crossroads schemes and East Cheshire Crossroads was delighted to be invited to speak about innovation and our experiences in the Dragons Den.
Following a busy day all the staff who attended enjoyed a gala dinner at the hotel with Rhydian Roberts providing some unexpected entertainment. Rhydian has supported Crossroads since his success in the X Factor and continues to be an ambassador for our work.
East Cheshire Crossroads Summer Fair 2008
Volunteers paint faces at the fair
On Saturday 21st June 2008 East Cheshire Crossroads held a summer fair to celebrate the contribution made by carers and to raise awareness of services available.
The fair was a huge success with stalls ranging from the usual plants and cakes to more unusual jewellery, home made fudge and artificial flower displays. Children thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to have their face painted, design a pottery tile and beat the computer wizard. £1300 was raised on the day to support the work of East Cheshire Crossroads plus the opportunity to raise awareness of support services for carers was invaluable.
As it is our 18th birthday this year, Celebration Cakes of Macclesfield kindly donated a birthday cake which was won by M Gardner after she successfully guessed its weight.
To end the afternoon on a high 300 blue and white balloons, all sponsored by supporters of ECC were released by The Mayor of the Borough of Macclesfield, Councillor Thelma Jackson. The balloon ticket returned from the furthest destination will win a mystery prize. The fair was also attended by Sir Nicholas Winterton MP.
Up Up Up and Away! 300 balloons mark the end of the fair
Thanks to all the volunteers who helped on the day and those who donated a huge amount of cakes, books, bottles, plants and good as new items.
Thanks also to John Lewis, David Mansfield, Arighi Bianchi, Celebration Cakes, B&Q, McGregors, Prestbury Nurseries and Croftland Nurseries for their generous sponsorship and donations.
East Cheshire Crossroads Christmas Carol Concert
2007
Crossroads staff enjoy a glass of mulled wine with carers after the carol concert
East Cheshire Crossroads was one of more than 800 organisations across the UK taking part in Carers Rights Day on Friday 7th December. Carers, volunteers and staff braved the weather to enjoy traditional carols and readings at a Christmas Carol Service held at Holy Trinity Church Hurdsfield. Following the service apple punch and mince pies were served which gave an opportunity for those who attended to have a chat and meet other carers and staff from Crossroads.
We would like to say a huge thank you to all at Hurdsfield Holy Trinity Church who gave us so much help and made us so welcome.
Enjoying a drink after the concert
Crossroads staff with volunteers from Hurdsfield Holy Trinity Church
If you are a carer needing more information or would like to support us please get in touch.
