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.

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.

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

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…).

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.

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

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

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.

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!