Fit 4 Reading…

Wow – it’s been a while since I wrote a blog, doesn’t time fly! I do find I’m like this with my journal too – write in it every day for a while then the next entry has an opening line of…”wow doesn’t time fly – I really must write more often”. Now why would blogging be any different?

I’ve been on another planet for a bit, then mega busy but felt I should update on what events have happened and also need to talk about a great one coming up!

ADHD Awareness week – our talk in Chelmsford

On the 14th of September we held a talk as part of our ADHD Awareness week events where we also had a stall for information in High Chelmer Shopping Centre. The talk was really well attended with over 20 parents/carers/professionals turning up to hear our speaker Sue Cook. She told her story about how she discovered a way to rewire childrens brains who suffer from Dyspraxia, Dyscalculia, Dyslexia, ADHD and Aspergers.
It was a fascinating talk and we had some great feedback. THE bar in Chelmsford allowed us to hold it there so we are really grateful to them for looking after us. (and will bring more cups for coffee next time).
We’ll be doing some more work with Sue in the future and have already designed her logo, and we produced some flyers which we shared cutting the costs and doubling their exposure.
Find out more about Sue and her programme at www.fit4reading.co.uk – I’ll add any further events about this to our website as well.

SHARE A SMILE CAMPAIGN… I think this deserves it’s own post so I’ll update that seperately.

VOTE FOR ME… please support me in keeping my top 5 positition in the Community Champion awards by voting for me… http://www.community-champions.org/nominees/59/tracy-shave

Another update will be with you shortly, I think that’s enough for today.

Buggies are a lifesaver – don’t judge….

What a week it has been. With Autism Awareness Day fastly approaching – oh yes ONE DAY TO GO – we’re launching our campaign called Stand Up 4 Wheels and the website will go live friday. This campaign is all about challenging people’s behaviour when it comes to wheelchairs, specifically Special Needs buggies or even normal buggies with older children in. I remember going on holiday last year and Jamie still had a normal buggy. I’d had to buy it in an emergency while on holiday because there was no way I could cope going out and about with him and staying in the caravan was NOT an option – we do enough staying in at home thank you very much.

So walking around Skegness with a 6 year old boy – who can clearly walk and doesn’t look disabled – I did get some strange looks and comments. I felt like putting a t-shirt on him that said I HAVE AUSTISTIC SPECTRUM DISORDER AND ADHD – YOU try taking me out! (now theres a project!). I’d seen and heard other people talking about the hassels they have on Buses and thought that this year, for WORLD Autism Awareness MONTH (APRIL) we would do more than just having an awareness stand in the town centre. This year we would try to do something more pro-active.

We do have a stand in High Chelmer Shopping Centre – I shall be there FRIDAY 2nd – SUNDAY 4th doing lovely EASTER facepainting to raise money and we’re also launching our website www.standup4wheels.co.uk.

I AM SO EXCITED to also report that FIRST transport who provide our buses here in Chelmsford have agreed to put up our stickers on 500 of their buses in the area and CHelmsford Borough Council are paying for them to be printed!!! What an achievement!

You can go to the website after 1am on 2nd April – add a comment and share your stories.

Let’s understand eachother because you should NEVER judge someone else unless you have had to walk a mile in their shoes through the mud, cobbles and thorns.

Eating Disorder Awareness Week and the Local Press.

Ah… the press – don’t you just love them? We rely so much on the local press to increase the coverage of our messages. This week saw the result of our Eating Disorder Week display in High Chelmer Shopping Centre. Don’t I look lovely with my face painted.  It was a bit disappointing to see that the Essex Chronicle didn’t add in there that it was a Moulding Futures campaign to raise awareness of the eating disorders that are less “press friendly” because you can’t actually see a problem – like bulimia, as well as the others which are normally seen. We were fundraising for BEAT – the Eating Disorder Association with face painting, a raffle and also selling Nikki’s books – and Nikki was on hand to sign them and help out (she is a star! – and had a star facepaint but that was after the photograher left). The paper didn’t mention the face painting though so I just look like an idiot. Quite funny though I guess.  The whole piece is about the statistics but I’m sorry – these are so incorrect. We know it is a growing problem. We know the numbers are high. We also know that the numbers are a hell of a lot higher than those reported because many people don’t even realise they have an eating disorder when they do. THAT was supposed to be our message. Highlight the issue, make people more aware and provide them somewhere they can go to get help and advice. Unfortunately the profile of my story got cut so this information was totally missed.

So – when sending a story to the paper do remember that it won’t actually get printed the way you want it to – they generally do their own thing or get it wrong somehow. Very frustrating but there is nothing you can do about it.  If you would like to know more information about eating disorders go to BEAT at www.b-eat.co.uk

Save the Children… EVERY ONE – (do we as Moulding Futures do enough saving?)

When I see charities like these and the work they are doing to save the lives of millions and thousands of children from dying under the age of five – I wonder what I am doing and that perhaps I should be doing more.  We don’t save lives, well not yet anyway. Mental Health conditions can also take lives and being part of Moulding Futures could be the turning point for some. The difference between a life with little opportunities purely because of lack of confidence, or that negative voice telling you that “no one will ever employ you… why would they?”

So while I may not be saving millions of childrens lives I am raising awaress of it and if I can change even one persons life, change a day from grey to pink and make someone feel that they DO have an important part to play on this planet and that their life really is worthwhile, that they can be creative and that they can also help others – then I shall be happy and we have already done this! If you know anyone who would benefit from feeling worthy, who wants to do something but thinks there is nothing out there because of their illness, circumstances or lack of exams etc, then tell them to get in touch with me because I believe taking part in something like Moulding Futures can save lives too. (or at least guide someone down a different path…).

Speaker for the Business Woman’s Network

The Business Woman’s Network have such a fantastic speaker lined up for the launch of their Chelmsford group! She is such an amazing person – attractive, funny, bubbly and a real star! It is me of course! I spoke to Mandie Holgate who founded and runs the Network today who gave me a bit of  a pep talk. She is a fantastic life and business coach and can really help when you have no confidence. I’m absolutely fine talking in front of an audience – I love it. Meet me five minutes before it starts and I’m a nervous wreck!

Monday though I shall be talking about one of my passions – something I have been interested in since I was a teenager and that is PR (Public Relations). The title of my talk is Free Publicity – Thinking Outside the Box. For talks like this I don’t plan a big speach or a powerpoint presentation. I do. I love to talk and planning in that way for me makes me more nervous and creates a stilted, too formal atmosphere for me. I shall be going to staples once again tomorrow to get some things blown up to A3, then I’ll write a few notes on the points I want to cover – maybe thrown in something that is interactive to make it a bit more fun and I’ll be feeling as confident as ever. I do have a cold at the moment though so I just hope that it’s not the thing that hinders me on Monday at 10am at the Waterfront Place in Chelmsford. Pink Suit PR and Design is a project of Moulding Futures.

What’s your learning style?

 

To find out for sure go to http://www.open2.net/survey/learningstyles/

Was you right? Write a comment below and tell us.

Money Money Money….

Business Womens Network 18 Nov2009

Getting a big cheque handed to you can be a bit of a weight to hold up but it’s certainly not a bad feeling to have. Here I am being presented with a cheque by Susan Pattrick of SMP CONSULTANCY who very generously donated £500 to us back in November to go towards our Make it Mental! campaign and any other projects. We spent the money on the event and the remaining amount was spent on some promotional material for Moulding Futures as an organisation.

SMP Consultancy are Equality and Diversity specialists. They make sure businesses are within the rules of the DDA - Disability Discrimation Act.

Susan has also become an advisor on our committee for Moulding Futures and we have already been able to do some design work for her as part of our Pink Suit Pr & Design project.

This cheque presentation was done at the Business Woman’s Network and it was wonderful to share the moment with other like-minded women. I hadn’t realised I’d be asked to get up and talk about Moulding Futures though. Anyone who knows me well will know that I could possibly compete professionally in any verbal olympics. Talking about Moulding Futures is never a problem for me (well not unless I’m having a less than confident day – and yes they do happen). I get quite nervous still. Even though I have spoken to audiences of hundreds – it’s easy to let those negative voices take over every once in a while but Susan Jeffers (Worldwide bestseller author of Feel the Fear and do it anyway) teaches us that we have to drown those out, tune into our higher being and that no matter what, we will be the best that we can be and that will be good enough.

Giving in to blogging…

Hello there – welcome to my blog all about Moulding Futures and my world within it. I belong to the Business Woman’s Network and last month we had a talk from Mockett Media about blogging. As a writer (or perhaps that should be wannabe), I’ve always liked the idea of sitting down and blogging but the only thing that put me off was that I love to journal. Hand written journaling, when you can really make a dent on the page, smell the paper and write as big or as small as you want depending on your mood. Of course I can type about 90% faster than I can write, and of course even though I love to write free hand; I very rarely remember or have the time to do it. Each page starting with “I can’t believe how much time has passed since my last entry…” and every new years eve promising to write more about me, my feelings and what I’ve been doing. Then it’s may.  Time ticks by so quickly and before you know it you’re writing your next disappointed and guilty entry on new years eve again.

So, here I am. Blogging. I may not be connected to the page as much but I’m here and its much faster. Plus it’s work related, and as a workaholic not in recovery I can’t think of a better way to get me to start!

I am hoping (let’s not be too optimistic) that I’ll write here regularly about our work at Moulding Futures and anything in the category of Tracy’s World will be news from the planet I like to call Traciness. It will all help people to make sense of what we are trying to achieve at Moulding Futures and you’ll go through the stress, the tears and also the good times with me as we move forward with our plans.

So – Welcome to the first post!