News and Events Archive

MARCH NEWS UPDATE

Libra has had a very exciting and busy month with everyone fully occupied with fundraising and training. March began with our New Forest Sponsored Bike Ride and was immediately followed with our team member’s Romanian Training Day at Winchester College.

ASDA Bag Pack

Following all the excitement at the beginning of the month Libra held its Easter fundraising Bag Pack event on 27th March at Asda supermarket in Chandlers Ford. The team worked very hard and, although there were not as many shoppers as we had hoped for, we managed to raise over a £1000, which was absolutely fantastic.

The Asda customers we met were very interested in Libra’s work and the credit for that must go to the team members who were so enthusiastic about their involvement with the charity. Someone even donated a £20 note and once again the Asda staff and the general Managers were especially helpful on the day.

Thank you to all the Libra team members who took part in the Asda Bag Pack; as well as Asda’s generous customers and its wonderful staff.

Adult Team Members Training

The very next day all the Libra adult team members gathered at Libra Lodge for a training session. The purpose of their training was to gain knowledge of Libra’s Policies and Procedures in preparation for their roles as adult team leaders during the summer project in Romania.

The day wasn’t all hard work as the training was followed by a team building evening playing Skittles.

Team Building Skittles Evening

The event was held at The Old Ship in Redbridge, Southampton, and with the aim of fundraising always in mind, all those that attended (the adult team leaders, Trustees and students) managed to raise £90.
Staff at The Old Ship were very hospitable and the team eagerly tucked into the pub food that was provided after they had worked up an appetite bowling. Everyone joined in and some individuals appeared to have a natural talent for the game including one particular student team member - Tom Johnson. Well Done Tom!

Remember Remember!

Don’t forget Libra Team members can regularly catch up with all the latest Libra news on forth coming fundraising and training events here on the website, or by email and on Facebook too! Don’t Miss Out!

Libra Students attend team training event

On Sunday 7th March, The Libra Foundation held a training event for the student team in preparation for their visit to Romania in July.

The day was hosted by Winchester College, a wonderful venue with its beautiful “School” and Flint Court classrooms and it proved to be a great success. The Libra team enjoyed coffee and cake before the proceedings began and started the day with a warm welcome from Virginia, Libra’s Project Director and an introduction to Libra’s Trustees and the new office support recruits Anna Rubycz and Becky Dawkins.
The students attended workshops on sports and games, art and craft, Romanian language and how to approach and manage children with disabilities, providing them with skills to work with the children in Romania.

Barrie Westwell of Westwell Associates www.westwellassociates.com gave an excellent and entertaining presentation on Presentation Skills and we feel sure that his communication skills will have a positive impact not just on the student’s fundraising for Libra but on their own confidence in public speaking. It was lovely to watch the students receiving his words of wisdom!

The Libra Team are indebted to Clare Talks, Winchester College’s Libra Staff Representative, the Porters, the caretakers and the caterers for their hospitality and also to the students, the adult leaders and the Trustees, all of whom helped to make the day an enormous success.

Students Pedal for Funds

Up to 50 A-level students will be braving the wintery weather, grabbing a bike and getting muddy on Saturday 6 March as they ride up to 30 miles each to raise funds for disadvantaged children in Romania. If you would like to learn more, you can read the complete press release here Do join/support us by calling 01590 642185 and/or sponsor us at www.justgiving.com/librafoundation.

To download the signup form, Click here

To download a sponsorship sheet, Click here

A fond farewell to Heidi and a happy hello to Becky and Anna

Heidi Groves-Raines joined us in April 2008 and brought a wealth of knowledge, and enormous energy and inspiration. She re-designed and updated many of the Libra documents, created our fundraising strategy and the student fundraising guide and she persuaded, coerced, cajoled and supported the students to reach their £200 fundraising targets in 2009. Heidi was a pleasure to work with and has a tremendous sense of humour and fun. Following a spell of ill health and the demands of three very little girls (and one big husband!), Heidi made the tough decision to leave the job she loved to devote more time to family life. She has given the Libra Foundation's student support programme a sound start and we are all extremely grateful for her time and effort and we look forward to welcoming her and her family back to our events. The trustees would also like to thank Ben Groves-Raines, Heidi’s husband, for his behind-the-scenes support and look forward to his continuing informal input too! We are pleased to take this opportunity to welcome Becky Dawkins into Libra as our Grant Fundraiser and part-time administrator. Having been the manager for Independent Arts, a charitable organisation on the Isle of Wight, Becky has an enormous amount of experience in the challenges of charity work and has come into Libra and already put her sound knowledge to the test in developing an excellent grant fundraising strategy. In her interview, Becky described her weakness as being a perfectionist; a weakness that we are more than prepared to work alongside!

Following a competitive round of applications and interviews with a strong field, we are also delighted to welcome Anna Rubycz into the Libra family to replace Heidi Groves-Raines in her student support role. Anna brings with her a wealth of experience in the fundraising industry and whole-heartedly believes in the role that the arts and culture can play in the development of young people's personal skills. She has recently returned from six months of arts-based voluntary work and independent travel across Latin America and before that, worked at the Theatre Royal in Winchester. Anna had the briefest of induction periods and attended meetings at the schools and colleges from her very first day. She is already getting to know the students.

We are delighted to welcome both Becky and Anna into the fold and look forward to their support in raising much needed funds and equipment for the children and young people in Romania.

Libra Scholarship awarded to Lily Green

Congratulations to Lily Green – a Libra team member from Peter Symonds whose dedication to the project has been rewarded by the 2010 Libra Scholarship. Lily has not only been involved in getting the Peter Symonds team firmly launched as a recognised College Activity, but she has also been instrumental in running fundraising events with her colleagues and raising much needed funds for the children in Romania. She is an inspiration and an encouragement to us all: well done Lily !

Christmas Fundraising

In the days leading up to Christmas the Libra Foundation held two great fundraising events. The first was more fun than fund-raising: a Christmas Ceilidh held at Brockenhurst Village Hall. Over 70 people attended the dance and enjoyed the fun including hotdogs, mince pies and mulled wine. The traditional Ceilidh band was a terrific success, getting everyone onto their feet. With the help of an entertaining party game called “Heads and Tails”, the evening raised £250. The second fundraising event was a bag-packing day held at ASDA Supermarket in Chandlers Ford on 23rd December. And what a challenge it was! The Libra students, their friends, family members, and others proved to be great stalwarts and braved terrible weather, icy conditions and the chaos of pre-Christmas shopping mayhem to attend and pack bags for ASDA customers. Their determination deserves great thanks as the event raised a brilliant £1,400.

Fund-raising fun gets started

Libra’s students have started fundraising for the trip in 2010 with a number of fun activities over the last 2 weeks. The most successful was the Peter Symonds team’s cake bake which raised just over £190 – big congratulations to them for this excellent effort.

Many congratulations also to the Harden family who organised the highly professional Romsey Wind Band to entertain shoppers in the Marlands Centre, Southampton on Sunday 13 December. The collection from grateful shoppers raised just over £100.

Students from KES, Tauntons and a few of the 2009 Team who are now at Southampton University donned Santa hats and gathered on Southampton Central railway station to harmonise a few carols for weary travellers on South West Trains. This remarkable carol singing session raised £30.

The next Libra fundraiser will be a Christmas Barn Dance at Brockenhurst Village Hall on Sunday 20 December. Tickets are selling fast at £10 per person for those who pay in advance. Tickets will be available on the door at £15 each for latecomers. There will be a professional Ceilidh Band to lead the dancing, with excellent wines and fine local beers to refresh the revellers. Hot dogs and mince pies will also be provided by Libra’s enthusiastic catering team. The take-up on the tickets has been substantial already, and we are hoping that this may be the first Libra event to sell out as we are limited to 150 tickets, so email heidi.GR@librafoundation.org.uk if you have not already purchased yours.

Libra invited to Romania Day celebrations

Libra’s Trustees were delighted to join in the local celebrations on Tuesday 1 December for National Romania Day at the invitation of the Romanian Honorary Consul in Southampton. A Latin restaurant on Southampton’s Town Quay provided the venue for the party held to mark the anniversary of the unification of Romania in 1918. The Mayor of Southampton attended, along with over 100 business and community leaders and members of the Romanian community resident in Southampton. Music and dancing was led by the Romanian electric violin group “Hypnotique”, and a fine dinner based on Romanian dishes was enjoyed by all. The extraordinary Hypnotique have been invited to play at Libra’s Music Festival on Saturday 26 June 2010.

Cash for Printer Cartridges and Mobiles

Everyone knows recycling is good for the environment, but did you know that recycling is also good for The Libra Foundation? Libra has just partnered with the experts at the Empty Cartridge to launch an exciting new fundraising initiative that recycles mobile phones and used printer cartridges - and we want you to be part of it!

If you use a printer or fax machine, each spent cartridge could earn The Libra Foundation money. Considering more than 1.1 billion inkjet cartridges are used around the world, the fundraising potential is tremendous!

Any old mobile phones in your cupboards? Libra could earn around £5 for every used mobile phone donated in our name. Estimates suggest there are close to 90 million handsets hiding in drawers and cupboards in the UK alone, so if any of these are yours, why not use them to raise valuable funds for Libra.

Taking part is easy - simply email heidi.GR@librafoundation.org.uk and she will send you a freepost envelope to fill and you simply pop it in the post box – no postage cost ! You can put in up to five items per bag and Libra can provide more bags if necessary. If you have more than 30 items please contact Heidi by email at the address above or call on 07932 755297.

Thank you for your support.

Xmas Barn Dance

There will be a Christmas Barn Dance on the evening of Sunday 20 December at the Brockenhurst Village Hall. Music and calling will be by the Woodsiders Ceilidh Band who have apparently played at Goodwood and are excellent fun. There will be a paying bar and hot dogs and mince pies available.

This is intended as an opportunity for Libra members to bring their family and friends to a casual, fun event. Anyone remotely associated with Libra will be welcome, including grand-parents, cousins, uncles and aunts, friends and their partners. Tickets are £10 each if ordered beforehand (because we need to plan the food). The event is limited to 150 tickets and they are selling fast. If there are any left over they will be available for £15 on the door. Please email heidi.gr@librafoundation.org.uk to order your tickets. They will be distributed at the students' school meetings, so please bring the relevant money to the next meeting.

2010 Team hold 1st Bonding Event

Having completed the recruitment of students for the 2010 team, a fun supper was held in Bella Italia in Southampton on Sunday evening November, 22nd. The event was the first opportunity for the new student team members to meet each other. Over 40 people attended in an atmosphere of anticipation and expectation. A joint award of a free dinner was awarded to Sophie Carruthers and Alice Tofts for winning the “people bingo” which was used as an ice breaker. The students were organised into 4 tables and a competition was held to mould the best playdough animal. Students thoroughly enjoyed the dinner and the chance to meet their fellow team members with whom they will be working for the next 9 months.

Bella Italia have invited us back to hold the same event next year.

Winchester College joins Libra Projects

The recruitment for the 2010 student team is now complete with student teams from Brockenhurst College, Taunton's College and King Edward VI School in Southampton now having been selected. Peter Symonds have also provided a substantial team next year as part of their “Activities Programme”. The Trustees are delighted to announce that Winchester College has joined the project for the first time and an initially small group of 8 students has been selected to work alongside students from Peter Symonds and the other colleges.

Libra Therapists work their magic again

Libra’s therapists, Diana Heatly (Physiotherapist), and Rosie Mitchell (Occupational Therapist), have been working with both Residential and Day Centre children from the Alexandra Centre during their annual October visit to Onesti.

Corina Botez, Director of the Alexandra Centre and Vice President of the Inclusion Association said: “We are most grateful for Libra’s therapists’ continuity, their sharing of professional expertise and their continued commitment in developing the Inclusion programme. Their help in preventing institutionalisation of the children with disabilities in Onesti is significant. We are very grateful to have The Libra Foundation as committed partners in our programme for the best interests of each child”.

Corina Botez, who kindly hosted the project, had a programme prepared for our therapists in which the focus of their work was concentrated on children who attend the Day Centre. The children were seen at the Centre and some also received home visits. Working together with Izabela, the Centre’s physiotherapist, and with Irena translating, Rosie and Diana assessed children and made recommendations to facilitate maximum independence. Rosie and Diana were able to reassure the parents that the support and professional advice they receive from Izabela is excellent and they are lucky to have her professionalism.

The home visits looked at environmental issues such as wheelchair positioning, positioning in the home and skills such as self-feeding and safe moving and handling. There was an obvious need for more suitable seating for the children with more severe physical problems. Measurements were taken in the hope that we can locate suitable chairs in England that we can then send out to the families.

The week’s work in Onesti culminated in two presentations, one to the parents and one to the staff of the Residential Centre. The content was focused on communication and feeding issues. Demonstrating the point that food consists of different textures, participants were asked to feed each other with custard and raisins at different speeds which created much hilarity, and delivered the message with great clarity. In addition, different positions were adopted by the participants to demonstrate clearly the need for correct positioning for the children being fed.

Libra Supports Water Supply Project in Romania

Following a request by Daniel Hristea of the FAST Charity for help with installing 300 meters of mains water supply to connect the Tarlungeni families to running water, the Libra Foundation is very pleased to be able to donate funds to provide 15 meters of water supply to the project. Libra’s evaluation team were able to go and visit the exact site where the pipe will run. After only 1 week, FAST have already raised sufficient funding to enable the first 100 meters of mains pipe which will connect the first few families. Daniel is delighted with the rapid response from his donors which enabled him to sign the contract for the water project whilst Libra was there. On 31 October, after Daniel confirmed that FAST had received the donation, the evaluation team was able to visit the site where the pipe will be laid. Work is expected to start in early November.

Evaluation Team flies out to Romania

The evaluation team arrived in Romania on 20 October to visit all of the Romanian partner organisations in order to receive feedback from the summer 2009 visit and to start making preparations for the 2010 trip. They received a warm welcome from staff at FAST and AAS in Sacele and have made new contacts with the Residential Home and Special School in Bradet, just outside Sacele. The directors in Bradet, Doamne Ulea and Doamne Buna, made them feel very welcome and showed them around their beautiful home and school and some of the Libra students have been invited to work with the children and staff there next year.

All of the partner organisations on the other 4 projects in Comanesti, Onesti and Bacau were also visited and feedback received from each of the directors. Libra has asked the FSC to replace our involvement in the urban project in Bacau with a rural project which is likely to run in Motoseni. Libra is delighted to have been invited to run all of the other projects again in 2010. With the new project in Bradet, and with a further possible new project at a special school in Roman, Libra is now well set up to cater for the larger numbers of students planned for 2010.

First Friday Lunch

On Friday 2nd October the Libra Foundation held a First Friday Lunch in the Milford-on-Sea Church Hall. Students who travelled on the 2009 Summer Project shared their experiences of this year's work with a capacity audience who thoroughly enjoyed the event. Many diners were kind enough to make donations on top of paying £4 for their Romanian style lunch. Libra was pleased to have raised £250 from a most enjoyable event.

Libra receives approval from Taunton's College

Libra met with the Principal and vice-Principal of Taunton's College on Tuesday 15th September to discuss the outcomes from the Child Health and Social Studies Department's involvement in the Libra 2009 projects. The Principal has decided to extend the opportunity for 2010 to students outside of the CHSS department. Libra then presented to Taunton's students on Wednesday 23 September and applications are currently being processed.

Libra part of Brockenhurst College's Enrichment Programme for 2009/10

On Friday 11th September members of the leadership team were delighted to give a short presentation to 1st year students at Brockenhurst College who were learning about their Enrichment opportunities. A number of students have already expressed their interest in applying for the 2010 projects.

BBQ Bash kicks off recruitment

A BBQ was held for existing Libra Team members in Milford-on-Sea on Saturday 5 September to provide feedback to the Team and to kick-off the recruitment process for students for the 2010 projects. Current team members will be explaining the projects to their colleagues in the lower sixth forms and encouraging them to get their applications in to Libra by Friday 25th September.

Libra in Lymington High Street Publicity Event

The Libra Foundation is very pleased to announce a modest surplus achieved at a publicity fundraiser on Lymington High Street on Saturday 29th August 2009 in the courtyard of Moore & Blatch, Solicitors. We are most grateful to Moore & Blatch for providing us with this opportunity, and to Everton Nurseries for providing us with plants for the plant sale.