_A huge thank you and congratulations to Team Cornucopia who have now completed this year’s Dragons’ Apprentice Challenge. The team, from Parmiter’s School, have been planning and organising fundraising events for DRUM since October 2015.

Team Cornucopia have organised numerous events, including Christmas craft stalls, raffles, cake and refreshment stalls, school trip hoodie sales, a Columbian food stall in London and public collections at Asda and Tesco. The team have also held fundraising events with DRUM, including the Christmas lunch and Christmas card and mug sales. Their biggest fundraising event, a Charity Fashion Show, raised an incredible £5,000! Over 400 items of new and nearly new clothes and fashion accessories were donated for the event, held at Parmiter's School on 25th February. Over 40 models, including pupils and teaching staff, took to the catwalk in front of a packed audience before the items were sold and auctioned at the end of the evening. There were also various stalls, refreshments and a raffle during the intervals and dance performances and a short film about DRUM.

Team Cornucopia have received fantastic support from teaching staff, pupils and parents at Parmiter’s School and from their own parents, who helped with many of the events and arranged some themselves, including a Halloween dress-up day at work and match funding from HSBC.

The Dragons’ Apprentice Challenge offers Year 12 students an opportunity to experience setting up and running a business, gaining organisational and job related skills and learning about the work of their designated charity.

The teams of young people are matched with a local business mentor (their dragon) and a local charity. Their challenge is to turn £100 into £1,000+ for their designated charity. The Watford and Three Rivers Trust has delivered the Dragon’s Apprentice Challenge since 2012, raising an incredible £43,000 for local charities.

The amount raised by all the teams for this year’s challenge will be announced at the awards evening, at Parmiter's School, on 25th April. Well done to all the teams and good luck to Team Cornucopia on the award’s night!

DRUMBEAT May 2016

Funding & Support DRUM is a small and local registered charity, not part of a larger group or nationwide organisation. DRUM is a user-led service which is run by a management committee of disabled members, carers and volunteers and an amazing and

dedicated team of part time staff and volunteers. DRUM employs five part time staff and five regular tutors, who work additional hours unpaid. DRUM does not employ a caretaker, fundraiser, catering or cleaning staff. These jobs are all carried out by our staff and volunteers, often in their own time. DRUM receives some funding towards the salaries of our part time staff from Hertfordshire County Council however, DRUM still has to raise at least £50,000 a year to cover the remaining salaries and pay for all the other costs of running DRUM, including the minibus and the community centre. Some of this money is raised through our daily attendance, lunch, transport and annual membership fees but the remaining amount is raised through fundraising and donations. Without the continued hard work of our team and the amazing support from the local community, we would find it extremely hard to raise enough money to retain all our services. The Dragons’ Apprentice Challenge has raised over £9,000 for DRUM over the past 3 years (not including this year) and our past Dragon’s, Alan from CLEMENTS and Sean from Travis Perkins, gave us huge support during the refurbishment project – which would never of happened without them, Décor Tiles, The Hooper Family, Councillor Steve O’Brien and the hard work put in by our staff, friends, family and Lee.

Thank you to the Herts Morris Minor Club for inviting us along to their meeting last month. Sarah, Gail and Lilian went along to meet with club members and give a talk about DRUM, as we are the club’s chosen charity for the second year running.

You don’t have to own a Morris Minor to get involved and their branch meetings are held at 7.30pm on the second Wednesday of each month at the Skew Bridge Pub, 59 Southdown Road, Harpenden, AL5 1PQ.

DRUM is also, for the second year running, the chosen charity of the lovely Cream Tea Brigade. CTB was formed by a small group of good friends at the beginning of 2012 and now has over 50 members. They are all bike riders or pillion passengers (riding mostly Harley’s) and enjoy riding all over the UK and Europe.

The On the Run Scooter Club of Watford are another fantastic group of people supporting DRUM for the past couple of years, raising money through their Christmas party and their Scooter Days, featuring The Spitfires and other local bands.

The Scooter Club has raised over £5,000 for DRUM and other Spitfire’s gigs have raised another £5,000 for DRUM over the past 4 years.

Sometimes it easy to get complacent, especially now that the building looks so lovely and we are getting such fantastic support from our team and others but we must never forget that funding can go as quickly as it comes. £50,000 a year is a huge amount of money to raise, especially for a small charity. We must continue to work hard and keep the money coming in, so that our members continue to receive a great service and DRUM can continue to go from strength to strength for many years to come.

SHREDATHON A huge thank you to everyone at Humphreys who raised £1,572 for DRUM during their Shred-a-thon week in January. Lovely people!

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DRUM is closed on Thursday 5th May, as the centre is being used for the local elections, so we have organised a trip out to Frankie’s and the cinema on that day – details on page 6. _________________________________

Please don’t forget to cancel your transport if you are not coming

in to DRUM, as other people need it and you may be charged for wasted journeys. Tel: Dial-a-Ride Tel: 01992 556771 DRUM Minibus 01923 442114. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you to Andrew O’Brien, at Metro Print, for printing all our new leaflets. Andrew has also reprinted the DRUM Policies and Procedures, which are kept in the office, dining and art room for our members to read.

Many thanks to the NCS volunteers, organised by the Watford FC Community & Education Trust, who have been working on our patio area. The young volunteers contacted local shops to source donations of plants, soil and paint. Just over £50 was also raised for DRUM from their raffle and cake sale. ______________________________________

Asda Shopping on a Tuesday & Thursday afternoon

Minibus leaves DRUM at 1.15pm, returning by 3pm. Volunteers are needed to assist our members with their weekly shopping. ______________________________________

Donations of coffee, teabags, sugar, squash and biscuits are required.

Many thanks for all your support.

**** Many thanks to the volunteers of the Prince’s Trust, organised by the Hertfordshire Fire Service, who have been making items for our patio area.

Art & Crafts at DRUM Art sessions are held on a Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday Morning, from 10am-12pm.

Painting Crafts Papier Mache Textiles Ceramics

Our current art project is inspired by your favourite hobbies and interests. This could be anything that you love to do (or did), anything that you have a real passion for or an interest in.

It could be something you enjoy doing at DRUM, at home or on holiday – art, reading, cooking, sewing, knitting, gardening, fishing, dancing, sporting activities, photography, exercise, going to the theatre or cinema.

You could theme your art work on your favourite hobby or something to do with it, like your favourite artist, musician, author or director. ________________________________________________________________________

DRUM Art Exhibitions ‘DRUMWORKS 2016’

Friday 1st July, 12.30pm Official opening of the DRUM Art Exhibition

and

Saturday 2nd July, 12.30-4pm Public Open Day, Art Exhibition & BBQ

DRUM will be closed on Thursday 30th June, so that our staff and volunteers can prepare for the art exhibition.

PLEASE PUT THESE DATES IN YOUR DIARY! _________________________________________________________________________

DRUM Service User Questionnaire Questionnaires, about our services, are now being distributed to all DRUM members. Can you please complete these and return them to the DRUM office by the beginning of May. If you need help completing the questionnaire then please just ask a member of staff or volunteer who will be happy to help you.

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A huge thank you to Mike Cooper for all his help with our printing over the past few years, especially printing all the DRUMBEATS every month and this is his last one, as Mike will soon be retiring from work. Thank you for all your help and support.

Get active & stay healthy at DRUM! Whether you have a short-term or long-term disability, or are experiencing mobility issues for any reason, physical activity is a great way of keeping active and staying healthy. Regular physical activities:-

improves cardiovascular fitness and endurance

helps develop and maintain joint flexibility, muscular strength and balance

helps control weight

improves bone density

gives you an enhanced sense of control

allows you to focus on your physical abilities, not your disability or mobility issue

gives you more energy, strength and confidence to do things on your own

Yoga Monday, Tuesday & Friday afternoons

Stroke Yoga Group Wednesday afternoons

Tai Chi Thursday afternoons

Come Dancing Tuesday mornings 10am, 5th April – 10th May These sessions are for members of DRUM (and their carers) and are for both wheelchair and non wheelchair users.

Soccercise Tuesday mornings, 11am, from 24th May Weekly ½ hour sessions with Watford FC’s Community Sports and Education Trust - combining a variety of gentle exercises with a football.

All the activities are adapted for our members, including those in wheelchairs. No experience is necessary – just come along and have some fun. Carers are also very welcome to join in with these sessions.

Stroke is the single largest cause of disability in the United Kingdom.

Over 150,000 people suffer a stroke every year.

Stroke Support & Exercise Group Wednesday Afternoons 1-3pm at DRUM

Our weekly session aims to improve your fitness and mobility, providing an opportunity to work on recovery, whilst forming new friendships and sharing coping strategies for moving forwards in life following a stroke. Join us for a friendly chat, a cuppa and cake. The cost is just £4.00 per session, which includes a yoga class with Sharon Dodd and refreshments. Local transport may be available from Dial-a-Ride so speak to Sarah.

Stroke Communication Group Thursday Mornings 10am-12pm at Parkgate

This is a new communication group, run by the Stroke Association, based around communication for those with aphasia following a stroke. The group are encouraged to use all modes of communication, not just speech.

If you are interested in joining this group then please speak to the DRUM office and we can refer you to Laura, from the Stroke Association. __________________________________________________________________________

Chiropodist Neil will be in DRUM on 22nd April, 24th May, 21st June, 26th July, 2nd September, 4th October, 11th November , 13th December

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Hollie’s Beauty Hub In-house services at DRUM – from a relaxing hair wash & blow dry to award-winning haircuts and colouring services. Make your eyes sparkle with semi-permanent eyelash extensions and infills.

Facial hair removal and eyebrow shaping using an ancient threading technique. Beautiful gel nails & extensions, more natural and less rigid than acrylic nail extensions. DRUM members and their carers get reduced rates for all services.

Frankie & Benny’s & Cinema - The Jungle Book

Thursday 5th May £30 (Carers £22) NEW As the community centre is being used for the local elections we will be spending the day at Woodside Leisure Centre in Garston. The cost includes breakfast (with unlimited tea & coffee) a ticket to the cinema and a two course lunch (with unlimited Pepsi, Lemonade and Tango) and service charges. We will meet at Frankie and Benny’s for breakfast, go to the cinema to see The Jungle Book and then back to Frankie’s for lunch. To book, please complete the slip on page 9.

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Day Trip to Southsea Beach Tuesday 17th May £23 The coach will leave DRUM at 9.30am and return to DRUM about 8.30pm. To book, please complete the slip on page 10.

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Canal Boat Trip, 12th July NEW

The boat leaves Apsely at 10am, returning at 4pm. Transport can be arranged. £20 includes refreshments and lunch. There is wheelchair access and a disabled toilet on the boat.

This is always a popular trip so book early! To book, complete the slip on page 10. _______________________________________________________________________________

Christmas Panto – Snow White, Saturday 17th Dec Show starts at 10.30am Reserve your tickets for this year’s Christmas Panto featuring Rita Simons (Roxy Mitchell from EastEnders). Tickets are £22 and your carer goes free. We will be heading off for a pub lunch after the morning show if you wish to join us.

Family & friends are welcome to come along. To reserve your tickets, please complete the booking form on page 10.

Forthcoming Social Events & Day Trips

Friday 22nd April Chiropodist

Monday 2nd May Bank Holiday (DRUM Closed)

Thursday 5th May Frankie & Benny’s and Cinema Book now (DRUM Closed)

Tuesday 17th May Day Trip to the seaside - Southsea Beach Book now (DRUM Closed)

Tuesday 24th May Chiropodist

Tuesday 24th May Soccercise Sessions Start – Every Tuesday morning 11am

Monday 30th May Bank Holiday (DRUM Closed)

Thursday 23rd June EU Referendum (DRUM Closed)

Friday 24th June Chiropodist

Thursday 30th June Exhibition preparation (DRUM Closed)

Friday 1st July DRUM Art Exhibition, 12.30pm

Saturday 2nd July DRUM Open Day and Art Exhibition, 12.30-4pm Keep this date free

Tuesday 12th July Canal Boat Trip Book now (DRUM Closed)

Tuesday 26th July Chiropodist

Monday 29th August Bank Holiday (DRUM Closed)

Friday 2nd September Chiropodist

Tuesday 6th September DRUM Annual General Meeting 11am

Tuesday 4th October Chiropodist

Saturday 29th October DRUM Halloween Party Details to follow

Friday 11th November Chiropodist

Saturday 19th November DRUM Christmas Fair 12-3pm Keep this date free

Tuesday 13th December Chiropodist

Tuesday 13th December Blue Check Restaurant – Christmas Evening Reserve your place now

Saturday 17th December Snow White Panto, St Albans Arena 10.30am performance Book now

Tuesday 20th December Christmas Lunch at DRUM Keep this date free

Wednesday 21st December DRUM Closed for the Christmas period

Tuesday 3rd January 2017 DRUM Open

Disability Recreation Unity Movement (DRUM) Registered Charity 1044836 Parkgate Community Centre, Southwold Road, Watford WD24 7DP

Tel: 01923 442114 Email: drumwatford@btinternet.com https://twitter.com/drum_watford

http://www.drum.btck.co.uk/

Dates for your Diary

Day Trips & Social Events Booking Forms ______________________________________________________

Frankie’s and Cinema Trip – Thursday 5th May £30

Name (s) ______________________________________________________________

Full Payment Enclosed @£30 per person (£22 Carers) £____________________ Cash Cheque

Do you require transport? Yes No

Please choose your breakfast, lunch and dessert from the menu below

Breakfast

Traditional Breakfast - Sausage, bacon, fried eggs, tomato, mushrooms, baked beans, crispy herb potatoes

Stateside Stacker - Freshly baked rosemary bread filled with a potato rosti, cheese, sausage patty, bacon, fried egg and tomato ketchup.

Four Egg Omelette (choose filling) Ham & Cheese or Cheese & Tomato Granola - Jordans Fruit & Nut Granola layered with strawberries, blueberries, natural yoghurt &

blueberry compote Breakfast Brushetta - Toasted rosemary bread, with button mushrooms, tomatoes, thyme, topped

with Grana Padano Fruit & Yogurt - Fresh fruit with natural yoghurt drizzled with maple flavour syrup and topped with a

sprig of fresh mint.

Lunch

Mushroom Pasta - Penne pasta in a mushroom white wine sauce, with fresh thyme & rocket Beef Lasagne Spaghetti Bolognese Fish & Chips - Beer-battered fillet of cod served with fries, peas, tartar sauce, a lemon wedge BBQ Cheese Burger served with chilli relish and golden fries BBQ Chicken Wrap - Chicken strips, roasted red pepper, cheddar cheese, iceberg lettuce, BBQ sauce in

a flour tortilla with coleslaw and fries BBQ Pulled Pork Wrap - Pulled pork, BBQ sauce, red onion, grated cheddar, lettuce in a flour tortilla

wrap ABC Salad - Avocado, bacon and chicken, tossed with mixed salad leaves, tomatoes and red onions,

with a honey and mustard dressing

Chicken Mojito Salad - Roast chicken tossed with mixed salad leaves, tomatoes, red onion, mint and lime and dressed with olive oil and our salsa rosso

Dessert

A warm cinnamon waffle topped with vanilla ice cream, toffee crunch pieces, toffee flavoured sauce Warm chocolate brownies with cream, brownies & cream ice cream & chocolate flavoured sauce Lemon Sorbet - Three refreshing scoops with a sprig of mint Three scoops of real dairy ice cream with a fan wafer

Choose from: Vanilla Strawberry Chocolate Toffee Brownies & Ice Cream

Southsea Beach – Tuesday 17th May £23 per person

Name (s) ______________________________________________________________

Full Payment enclosed @£23 per person £________________ Cash Cheque

Do you require transport to the coach in the morning? Yes No

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Canal Boat Trip – Tuesday 12th July £20 per person

Name (s) ______________________________________________________________

Deposit £5 Full Payment £20 Enclosed £________________ Cash Cheque

Do you require transport? Yes No

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Blue Check Christmas Evening - Tuesday 13th December Reserve your place now!

Name (s) ______________________________________________________________

Please reserve _______________ space(s) or a table for ____________ people

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Christmas Panto - Saturday 17th December, 10.30am

Name (s) ______________________________________________________________

Deposit £5 Full Payment £22 Enclosed Do you require a free carer’s ticket? Yes No

Total Amount Enclosed £________________ Cash Cheque

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Full payment must be received 4 weeks before the event - deposits are non refundable.