News

Chaseley Chasers put their best foot forward (September 2011)

Participants of the inaugural Chaseley Chase laughed in the face of a dire weather forecast to enjoy a brisk and bracing walk or jog along the seafront, to raise funds for The Chaseley Trust and The Friends of Chaseley.  The event, which took place on Sunday 9^thSeptember, started with an initial battery of rain and hail but soon the clouds lifted and the sun came out, allowing everyone to have an enjoyable day.  Sponsorship monies donated so far have exceeded £3,000, with more to come as pledges are gathered in.

Chaseley would like to thank everyone who took the trouble to join in the event and in particular the Robertsbridge contingent organised by Tony Robins of the Ostrich, and also the volunteers manning the check in stations.  Thanks are also due to Tesco in Lottbridge Drove for supplying the much appreciated bottles of water. 

First person back from the shorter 2.5 mile Pier distance was Chaseley’s Deputy Manager Julie Walker, pushing her young granddaughter Alexandra, and first back from the longer Sovereign Centre distance was Victoria Reffell from Seymour Mullins, who did the 6 mile round trip in under an hour.  Another fast time was put in by Chaseley’s own Oscar Chaparro-Pallido, who also ran the distance in one hour.   Four legged friends were also welcome at the event and their entry fees will be donated to Eastbourne’s Canine Concern.

Hover your mouse over the pictures for details.

Annual Staff Awards at Chaseley (August 2011)

Every year The Friends of Chaseley sponsor two awards to recognise outstanding contributions made by staff at The Chaseley Trust, as voted for by residents, outpatients and staff at the charity caring for disabled people.  The first honour of Employee of the Year went, for the second year running, to Activities Assistant Debbie Crook, who is pictured with Chairman of the Friends, Mitch Kerry.  Mitch presented Debbie with a certificate and £100 in vouchers.  The Department of the Year award went to Chaseley’s Therapy team, who received a certificate and cheque for £250 to spend in the department.  The team are pictured with Mitch Kerry and Chaseley’s Chief Executive Sue Wyatt.

Chaseley also sponsored an award for Volunteer of the Year, and this year’s winner is Carol Gumbrell who has been volunteering at the Home for just over a year, helping members of the very popular art group develop their skills.  Carol is pictured receiving her certificate and prize from Chaseley Trustee John Smith.

Sue Wyatt commented, “Many individuals and departments received nominations in our annual awards, reflecting just how much our staff and volunteers are appreciated by our service users and those who work for the charity.  However I am delighted that we had clear winners again this year, and everyone at Chaseley offers their sincere congratulations.”

Awards for 10 years continuous service were also presented to Julie Walker, Roy Blackmore and Mark Franklin.

Achievers Awards for Chaseley staff (August 2011)

Ken Hylands and Rasa Donovan, both NVQ3 Nursing Auxiliaries for The Chaseley Trust, recently completed their NVQ Team Leader 2 qualifications with Baldwin Training of Eastbourne, who specialise in training for the care sector.

The two students so impressed their Assessor Bridgette Dixon that she nominated both for a Learner Achiever of the Month award and she was delighted to present them with their certificates and trophies at a recent ceremony.  Bridgette commented, “Ken and Rasa thoroughly deserved this award as both are conscientious, caring and committed individuals, which are excellent qualities to have in their field of work.  Both had to overcome different challenges to achieve their qualification and they listened to our guidance, took on board our suggestions and successfully overcame these challenges to gain the Team Leader 2 qualification.”

Afghan War Hero Visits Chaseley (August 2011)

The Chaseley Trust had a very special guest recently, all the way from Helmand Province in Afghanistan.

War hero Brin was a stray dog who voluntarily patrolled with British troops, alerting them to the presence of roadside bombs.  During one attack when the troops had to be airlifted to safety, Brin was left behind and was captured by the Taliban.  They thought he was a trained member of the Army and a ransom was demanded for his safe return, but he was rescued by Afghan forces and after a fundraising campaign by Hailsham teacher Sally Baldwin, was brought to the UK for a safer life. 

Brin’s days of helping people are not over though, and he has now joined Canine Concern, a charity that undertakes therapeutic visits to nursing homes, hospices and hospitals, and his first official mission was to Chaseley Home, where he behaved impeccably.

Brin has also recently received a commendation from the PDSA for animal bravery and devotion, which is a rare honour.

New Pottery Kiln for Chaseley (August 2011)

A new pottery kiln has just arrived at residential nursing care home Chaseley, in Eastbourne, enabling residents to fire their own clay creations thanks to a number of much appreciated donations. 

Donors included Brighton’s Servimus Lodge 5832, who recently presented a cheque for £100 towards the kiln and Uckfield’s Loxfield Lodge who contributed £155, which was matched by Sussex Masonic Charities.  The Friends of Chaseley also donated £500, with the balance of the £2300 purchase price being provided by a timely legacy donation.

Chaseley resident Mary Tester commented, “We are all very excited about the new kiln which we have been patiently waiting for while the necessary funds were found.  We are so grateful to everyone for their contributions and can’t wait to try it out.”

Garden Party Raises over £1,000 for Chaseley (June 2011)

High winds didn’t trouble us too much at our garden party, as we were able to use a marquee left by Eastbourne & Wealden Lifeline following their anniversary party at Chaseley the previous day.  This enabled us to have all our stalls under cover, which was a great bonus.  Entertainment was provided by the lovely Mel Hayes (pictured) and we raised over £1,100 on the day, which was very worthwhile. 

Many thanks to all those who came along and supported us, to those who sponsored our raffle and donated prizes, particularly £100 cash prize donor Cornfield Law, and of course to our many volunteers to helped out and made the event possible.  DIARY ALERT: Our garden party in 2012 will be on Saturday 30th June.

Enterprise shops support Chaseley  (June 2011)

Michael Ellis-Williams and Geoff Thompson, proprietors of two shops in the Enterprise Shopping Centre in Eastbourne, supported local charity The Chaseley Trust with a fundraising event by providing two great prizes for an exclusive draw. 

Michael, who specialises in Caithness glass, fine china and cutlery, donated a boxed set of Brierley Crystal Goblets and Geoff, designing and making individual handcrafted jewellery items at Gef Tom Son, donated a fantastic necklace. 

These items were won following Chaseley’s recent Treat Yourself event for ladies, with winner Alison Lowles from Polegate correctly guessing that Caithnes Glass started production in 1961 to win the goblets, and Paula Schiraldi from Eastbourne answered correctly that Lapiz Lazuli was the blue stone from Afganistan, to win the necklace.

Photos: Michael Ellis-Williams with the Brierley Crystal Goblets and Geoff Thompson with the beautifully presented necklace.

‘Eggs’cellent donation to Chaseley (June 2011)

Eastbourne charity The Chaseley Trust, which runs two nursing care homes in the town, received a cheque for £362 from the Old Polegate Station, being the proceeds of a giant Easter egg raffle held at the pub and restaurant.  The egg was won by Mrs Watson from Eastbourne, who kindly donated it to the Demelza Children’s Hospice in Hailsham. 

Picture: A group from The Chaseley Trust receive a cheque for £362 from Karen and staff at the Old Polegate Station, before enjoying lunch there.

Ladies enjoyed their Chaseley treat (May 2011)

One hundred ladies enjoyed a cream tea and fashion show by Shirlz at care home Chaseley last week, plus chocolate and wine tasting, the opportunity to buy clothes and handbags, as well as have their skin analysed.   The Treat Yourself event was a sell out and raised just under £1,000 for the charity.

Chaseley’s Fundraiser Christine Ellis said, “We had some marvelous new volunteers from the Department for Work and Pensions who made it all happen, and great support from local businesses including The Very Nice Handbag Company, Sheer Bliss, the Raw Chocolatier, H T Whites, Natural Fitness Centre, CPinksilver, Gef Tom Son and Michael’s Caithness, Dartington and Brierley Gift Shop.   Shirlz put on a fantastic show, and we greatly appreciate the support of all our guests who helped to raise such a fantastic sum.”

Photo: Shirlz proprietor Shirley Sutcliffe (second left) and her models.

MFPA at Chaseley (April 2011)

The Easter weekend brought a colourful display of framed prints to Chaseley, which hosted an exhibition by The Mouth and Foot Painting Artists.   Featuring an international collection of work, artists Tom Yendell and Keith Jansz were also on hand to demonstrate their techniques and give further information about the association and its members to visitors.

Funds were also raised for Chaseley through sales of cards and a raffle, with Mike Jeffries winning the main prize of a framed print of his choice.

Photo: Eastbourne Mayor Carolyn Heaps with Mouth and Foot Painters Keith Jansz and Tom Yendell and Chaseley’s CEO Sue Wyatt.

Eastbourne MP Visits Chaseley (April 2011)

Representatives from the Department of Health visited Chaseley at the invitation of Stephen Lloyd MP.  The purpose of the visit was to ensure policy advisors on the future healthcare of war veterans are fully aware of the facilities and history of Chaseley, and its suitability for both short and long term care of severely injured service personnel.

Stephen Lloyd also talked to Trustees, staff and residents about how funding cuts for adult social care are impacting on Chaseley’s services, and how this could have a detrimental effect on the long term health of its service users.

He commented, “A number of the residents had contacted me, extremely concerned about the withdrawal of funding for therapy by their care commissioner.  I understand that things may have to be funded differently in future, but what is essential is that there is joined up thinking in providing complete care packages.  It is not acceptable that these vulnerable people receive letters advising their therapy will no longer be funded, when it is an absolutely essential component in keeping them healthy and mobile.”

Chaseley Home’s Registered Manager Helena Barrow added, “We are grateful to Stephen for highlighting our concerns.  Therapy is not an option for many of our residents, it is an absolute necessity.  If care commissioners decide it should be funded from a different pot in future, I think they need to act responsibly and ensure alternative funding is in place before they withdraw their own funding.   Therapy is a lifeline for many people and to receive a letter simply telling them it will no longer be funded causes a great deal of distress.”

The Eastbourne and Willingdon MP intends to continue his campaign to protect the services provided to disabled people and will be following up on his visit to Chaseley with local Primary Care Trusts.

Photo: Stephen Lloyd (second left) with residents, staff and Trustees.

Chaseley supports Prince’s Trust programme (March 2011)                                 

The Prince’s Trust runs a 12 week programme where participants take part in a variety of activities designed to help develop and improve skills.   Part of the course involves planning and working on a community project, and one group decided to spend their project time at Chaseley, revitalising the residents’ herb garden. 

Under the guidance of Project Coordinators Kyle Holman and Alex Bellamy, the group spent a whole week in March digging, weeding, hedge cutting and generally working extremely hard in transforming the somewhat neglected area.  They also developed two new raised vegetable planters for the residents.  Participant Amy commented, “It was hard work and my legs hurt, but it looks nice now and was worthwhile.  I’m coming back to do my work placement here for the next two weeks.”

Team member Lewis added “It was an enlightening experience.  To see a real environment where people with severe disabilities live gives you an understanding of the issues they face.  Although the project was hard work and may not have been the most enjoyable experience, it really makes a difference.  All our group have been together now for six weeks and we really get on well.  They are all nice people.”

Eastbourne’s ESK Warehouse gets a huge vote of thanks from team members Amy and Charlie, after responding so positively to a personal request for assistance. Charlie said “We are all very grateful to ESK for the donations of gardening equipment.  It would have been difficult to successfully complete the task without their help.”

Kyle, who empowers the team to make their own decisions regarding community projects and work placements said, “I would like to thank Chaseley for supporting the City College Prince’s Trust programme.  Little projects like this help to give young people the opportunity to show independence, organisation and gain a real sense of achievement.”

A tea party was hosted by staff and residents for the team at the end of the week to say thank you and Simone Moate, Chaseley’s Social Care Coordinator, expressed her delight with the results of the project.  “We really enjoyed having the team at Chaseley and they all worked very hard.  The herb garden looks lovely.  We wish them all success and fun with their work placements and the rest of the project, and look forward to seeing Amy again for her work placement with us.”

Christmas Cheer from Mears (December 2010) 

A team from the local branch of Mears Ltd, along with their mascot Mr Mender, hosted a ‘Heavenly Hampers’ Christmas coffee morning at residential nursing care home Chaseley this week.   As well as providing seasonal refreshments for Chaseley’s residents, day care guests and staff, the company presented two luxury hampers and are also donating £100 to the charity.

Mears takes care of almost 4,500 properties in the town for Eastbourne Homes Ltd and both the company and individual staff have supported Chaseley in the past.

Chaseley’s Fundraiser Christine Ellis said “We so appreciate Pete, Tammy, Gary, Barrie and Jacko from Mears and Clive from Eastbourne Homes spending time with us, and we had a very enjoyable morning.  We are also extremely grateful to all the Mears team for the hampers and donation.”

Photo Caption 1: the Mears team (L to R): Barrie Poole, Steve (Jacko) Jackson, Mr Mender (Gary Pelling), Pete Allistone, Tammy Rhynes, plus Clive Stoneman from Eastbourne Homes.

Successful seminar (September 2010)

A one day seminar organised and hosted by The Chaseley Trust to explore the needs of people living with a physical disability was a great success.  Attended by 80 health care professionals, the aim was to put across the viewpoints of people with disabilities and their carers through an open dialogue.

The event was chaired by Equality Consultant Sarah Playforth, who provides training and consultancy in access, diversity and equality, underpinned by a deep understanding of the access needs of deaf and disabled people and an empathy with people who experience discrimination.  Sarah, who is profoundly deaf herself, also made a key note speech covering her own personal journey of adapting to becoming a carer when her husband had a succession of strokes.  Other key note speakers included Nick Tapp, Chief Executive of East Sussex Disability Association, (ESDA) who presented a very realistic account of the Government’s agenda on “Putting People First” and Cris Hanniver, Legal Executive from Cornfield Law LLP, who shared her experiences of working with Mental Capacity issues.

Delegates then had a choice of workshops hosted by care professionals, carers and service users.  Chaseley’s Chief Executive Sue Wyatt commented, “Chaseley is in a unique position to assist health care professionals understand the physical and psychological care needs of people living with a disability. We are delighted that so many took the opportunity to come along and be a part of this event.  The positive comments received have been encouraging and will inspire us to run another seminar next year.”

Art Exhibition well received (September 2010)

The Eastbourne Open Art & Sculpture Exhibition attracted a good number of visitors, with Mouth & Foot Painting Artist Tom Yendell providing an added attraction with an interesting talk about the association. Tom also demonstrated his foot painting techniques and displayed a remarkable range of work by MFPA members.

Many positive comments were made about the quality of the exhibits, and there were some delighted buyers, both local people and holidaymakers.     Over 100 votes were cast by visitors who nominated their favourite exhibit in the People’s Choice Award, sponsored by PlanAhead.  The winner was Derek Baulcomb with his painting ‘Dipper’, who received £100 of vouchers and the runner-up, receiving £50 of vouchers, was Michael Harrison with ‘Seascape’.

The organisers would like to thank exhibition sponsors DP Interiors, Towergate Patrick and PlanAhead, all the artists who took part, the visitors who were all very complimentary about the work on display, Tom Yendell for participating so enthusiastically and everyone who purchased raffle tickets and made donations, helping to raise over £300 for Chaseley.

Generous Donation from Lion Hotels Group (September 2010)

Sheikh Abid Gulzar, Chairman and Managing Director of Lions Hotels, visited Chaseley to present a cheque for £1,100, which will be used to fund wheelchair adaptations and servicing.  This was half the proceeds of a charity barbecue held at Lions Farm, the other half of the proceeds going to children’s charity Rockinghorse.

Accompanied by his son Sasha, Group Operations Manager Peter Hawley and Events Manager Sharron Winter, Mr Gulzar was shown the new therapy department where wheelchair assessments are carried out.   He commented “I am very pleased to be able to donate this amount to Chaseley, and I am very impressed by the work done here.  I hope to be in a position to continue supporting Chaseley with more fundraising events in the future.”

Rachel Wilson, Therapy Manager commented, “Access to an appropriate wheelchair is essential to our client group.  We provide assessment and loan wheelchairs and cushions to our residents and are also able to support them by providing specialised adaptations such as attendant controls and powerpacks for manual chairs.  We spend almost £4,000 a year on wheelchair servicing and adaptations, so we greatly appreciate this donation.”

Lions Farm Visit (August 2010)

Two groups from Chaseley recently paid a visit to Lions Farm on the Pevensey Levels, following a personal invitation from Sheikh Abid Gulzar, Chairman and Managing Director of the Lion Group of Hotels and Lion Farms.  As well as seeing the array of animals there, including sheep, goats, cattle, rabbits, emus and alpacas, the groups enjoyed sitting by the lake, sharing some of their snacks with the many waterfowl who came up to investigate.

Mr Gulzar himself met the first group who visited in the morning and one of Chaseley's staff mentioned afterwards that certain areas they would liked to have gone were not very accessible for wheelchair users.  Within two days, the necessary alterations had been made.  Mr Gulzar said "I am happy and proud to make these changes, so people in wheelchairs can get closer to the lake, the birds and animals."

Mr Gulzar is keen to support local charities, and is hosting a charity barbecue at Lions Farm on 20^th August, in aid of The Chaseley Trust and children’s charity Rockinghorse

New Wheels for Jim  (July 2010)

A former articulated lorry driver who now attends The Chaseley Trust’s day care centre in Eastbourne has found a new and somewhat different set of wheels, thanks to the Heron’s Ghyll Carriage Driving Group, part of Riding for the Disabled.   Jim Jenner was persuaded earlier this year to have a go at Carriage Driving, a pastime already enjoyed by one of Chaseley’s long term residents, and in just a few months he has come on in leaps and bounds.  He entered his first competition at the RDA Southern Show in Felbridge on 15^th July, and came first in the Novice class.

Jim, who had no previous experience with horses says, “It’s thanks to Chaseley that I’ve discovered a new aspect to life I never thought I’d have.   It’s as though another door has opened and I can’t tell you how exciting it is.  To be free on a lovely carriage with a beautiful horse in front of you that will respond to your commands is such a thrill.  Everyone should have a go at something like this and the brilliant group of people at Heron’s Ghyll make it all possible.  They all have the patience of a saint.”

Anthea Shipley, the Chairman and organiser of the RDA group, spotted Jim’s potential early on.  “The minute Jim picked up the reins I thought he was a natural.  To see the pleasure he and other participants get from it is the reason our group exists, and for him to win his first ever competition is amazing.”

The win means Jim will soon be competing with far more experienced drivers, including Chaseley’s own Bill Dempsey, an old hand and winner of many competitions.  Jim adds “Bill’s been a great help and I love watching him.  I can’t wait to have a go at the more complex manoeuvres he does so well.”  Such is Jim’s enthusiasm for his new hobby, he is studying more about harnessing and carriages at home, and looks set to be a long term convert to the sport of carriage driving.

Jim is pictured with his trophy and rosette, with proud whip Shirley Price looking on.

Steve’s walk for Chaseley  (July 2010)                                              

Steve ‘Jacko’ Jackson recently walked 9 miles of the South Downs Way to raise funds for The Chaseley Trust, and is pictured presenting £163 to the Trust’s Chief Executive, Sue Wyatt.

Steve works for Mears Ltd, which takes care of almost 4,500 properties in the town for Eastbourne Homes Ltd.   Steve first visited Chaseley’s main nursing care home in South Cliff last year, as part of a Mears hosted Christmas coffee morning, and was sufficiently impressed by the staff and disabled residents he met to want to donate his sponsorship money to them.  Sue Wyatt commented, “We are very grateful to Steve for thinking of us and to all the sponsors who supported his walk.  Many have signed up for gift aid so this donation will go even further towards the purchase of some new equipment for our home.  Mears is clearly a very community spirited company and we are one of many charities who rely on such goodwill from local businesses and individuals to help us support people in need.”

Physio Students raise funds for Chaseley (June 2010)

Three students from Brighton University’s Eastbourne campus walked from Birling Gap to Eastbourne Pier recently to raise funds for The Chaseley Trust, a charity supporting people with severe physical disabilities.  Thanks to generous sponsorship, the students raised £175 for Chaseley.

Organiser Tesha Lutchmun recently spent six weeks working in Chaseley’s Therapy Department as a clinical placement, which is part of her three year physiotherapy degree course, and was so impressed with the place she wanted to help raise funds.  She came up with the idea of a sponsored walk over the downs and also roped in two of her fellow students and flatmates, Natalie Kennett and Keira How, to join her.

Scorching Day for Garden Party (June 2010)

The sun blazed down on Chaseley's annual garden party, providing the perfect day and setting for people to come along and enjoy a range of attractions, from the delightful music of the Eastbourne Silver Band, to Eastbourne Beekeepers with their live bees and bee products, demonstrations from the East Sussex Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers and of course, a wide range of creatures to marvel at from East Sussex Reptile and Amphibian Society.  Canine Concern brought a number of their stars along, and there was also lots to eat, with a barbecue, cakes and ice creams.  Along with some generous donations made on the day, just over £1,000 was made from this event.  Chaseley would like to express grateful thanks to everyone who came along on the day, including our visitors, attractions, staff and volunteers, who all contributed to its succes.

Great Atmosphere at Healing Weekend  (April 2010)

Mind, body and spirit were soothed at Chaseley's Healing Weekend and around 150 people came along to enjoy the choice of twenty workshops, talks and demonstrations, plus a wide range of taster treatments including reflexology, acupressure massage, Bowen Technique, Indian Head Massage (pictured) and reiki healing.  Numerology, psychic and tarot readings were also available, along with a range of stalls in the marquee offering nutritional products, aloe vera products, organic vegetables, books, CDs, crystals, bath and hair products and more.  Thanks to the generosity of visitors and participants, over £800 was raised for Chaseley during this event.

Charity Auction a great success (Feb 2010)

Eastbourne College provided a perfect setting for Chaseley's Charity Auction, with 54 lots being put up for auction, all generously donated.  The lots included holiday breaks, signed memorabilia, unique days out, food and drink, and the afternoon raised over £5,000 for the charity.   

Around 100 guests attended, enjoying cocktails and canapes before the auction, and auctioneer Paul Achilleous from Eastbourne Auction Rooms expertly extracted generous bids from guests to raise this fantastic sum.

Everyone at Chaseley would like to offer sincere thanks to all who supported this event.

Quality Certification for Chaseley (Feb 2010)

The Chaseley Trust has achieved ISO 9001:2008 certification.  This internationally recognised standard aims to ensure customer satisfaction by providing a tried and tested framework for a systematic approach to managing the organisation's processes.

Chaseley’s Chief Executive Sue Wyatt commented, “We wanted to find a way to illustrate to both our existing and prospective service users, and to those purchasing placements here, that we provide a quality and consistent service, not just in terms of hands on care for which Chaseley is already renowned, but in all aspects of our business.  Being independently audited for ISO 9001 seemed the ideal route to take, and I am delighted that through the hard work of our staff, we have achieved certification.”

Chaseley was independently audited by ISOQAR, an accredited certification body that is authorised to audit organisations and issue certificates against a variety of management system standards.   As an independent, third-party assessment body, ISOQAR audits a wide range of manufacturing and service companies, both throughout the UK and across many parts of the world.

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