At Gofal, we are delighted to have signed up to support Age Cymru’s ‘Rule Out Abuse’ campaign. You can join us in showing support for the campaign by signing the  Rule Out Abuse Charter today.

Everyone hopes to grow old healthily and safely. We hope our relatives will too. Sadly, this is not always the case. Many older people in Wales are victims of abuse which takes many forms including: physical; financial; emotional; sexual and neglect.

A few facts to consider:

• Wales has the highest prevalence of elder abuse in the UK.
• Based on population estimates, this equates to 39,000 older people in Wales who are being abused in their own homes.
• In 2009-2010, only 4,913 cases of adult abuse were reported in Wales.

We need to do more.

We have the opportunity to make legal history and make sure that a new law is introduced in Wales which protects and supports older people against abuse for the first time. The Rule Out Abuse charter explains what we believe this law should do.

There are 3 simple principles:

1. Keeping older people safe
2. Respecting older people’s choices
3. Treating older people with dignity and respect

We need as many people as possible to sign the charter by World Elder Abuse Day, 15th June 2012. We will then take the charter to the Welsh Government, and ask them to pass the laws we need to protect and support older people.

Click here to sign the Rule Out Abuse charter today.

Thank you for your support!

Time to Change Wales, the campaign to end the stigma and discrimination faced by people with mental health problems in Wales, is collecting photos to create a montage of faces from Wales for their leaflets and publicity materials. The campaign is keen to use photos of real people, both with and without lived experience of mental health problems, to highlight the message that the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental health problems affects us all and that together we can work to end it.

If you or anyone you know would be happy to submit a photo it would be gratefully appreciated. The campaign needs lots of photos, so please encourage colleagues, friends and family members!

Time to Change Wales is asking for people to send in a high quality JPEG – it doesn’t matter what the background is or what you’re wearing, just that your face is visible. The image can be cropped, so don’t worry about that either. Please send your photos to ttcwales@yahoo.co.uk (this email address has been set up for this purpose only, everything else should go to info@timetochangewales.org.uk).

For an idea of how the photo will be used, please see the montages created by TTC in England: http://www.time-to-change.org.uk/shop/pledge-posters-postcards

The photos must be of you and you must own the copyright. Sending your photo to the above email address will be taken as permission to use it for the purposes outlined.

A consultation on the Welsh Government’s new mental health strategy has been launched today by Health Minister Lesley Griffiths.

‘Together for Mental Health’ is a cross government strategy, which covers all ages and seeks to ‘promote better mental wellbeing among the whole population’ and ‘address the needs of people with mental health problems or a mental illness’ in Wales.

Gofal has welcomed the launch of the consultation, praising the cross directorate approach and reiterating the need for the final strategy to be ambitious, measurable and outcome focussed. Along with other third sector organisations, Gofal has worked with Welsh Government officials during the drafting of the strategy and believes that this type of collaboration is essential for delivering real and lasting change.

Gofal will be responding to the consultation in due course, and maintains that the final strategy must be ambitious and measurable, placing responsibilities on every Welsh Government Minister, and focussing on whole population wellbeing, as well as mental illness.

The consultation documents can be found on the Welsh Government website.

Ewan Hilton, Director of Gofal, said:

“The new mental health strategy presents a real opportunity for the Welsh Government to build on the highly regarded Mental Health (Wales) Measure, which is being implemented this year.”

“The Minister’s foreword rightly identifies that no single organisation, agency or sector can transform mental health in Wales, and we welcome the commitment to working across all areas of government, as well as with the third sector.”

“It is essential that the final document is ambitious, measurable and focuses on whole population wellbeing as well as mental illness, and we look forward to responding to the consultation and continuing to work with the Welsh Government to ensure that the new strategy delivers lasting improvements.”

Gofal has secured Big Lottery funding to run the innovative new ‘GreengAge’ project. This exciting initiative combines Gofal’s mental health expertise with horticulture and volunteering, in order to improve wellbeing and reduce social isolation amongst older people in Cardiff.

Social isolation is a concern for many older people, as physical health begins to restrict their involvement in social and recreational activities, sometimes leading to a deterioration in their mental health and wellbeing.

GreengAge will provide volunteering opportunities for older people to work with other older people, in order to help them participate in activities such as growing fruit, vegetables or plants in their own homes and gardens. This one-to-one befriending service will also encourage older people to increase their exercise, self-confidence, and social contact.

GreengAge is now receiving referrals, working with other projects within Gofal and a number of other organisations, to identify older people who would benefit from this initiative. Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you would like to make a referral from your organisation.

The project is also ready to recruit volunteers in the Cardiff area, who would like to help others to engage in gardening activities. If you are aged over 50 with an interest in horticulture and befriending, this may be the perfect way for you to make a difference and give something back to your community.

For more information, to make a referral, or to volunteer with the project, please contact the GreengAge project coordinator Gwyneth Thomas on 02920 440197 or gwyneththomas@gofal.org.uk

Join us at the LC, Swansea on
Saturday 4^th August 2012 from 2-4pm to take part in a Charity Zumbathon on behalf of Gofal.

A fun and exhilarating workout, Zumba is a great way to socialise, meet like-minded people and improve your general wellbeing. Zumba has proven physical and mental benefits, decreasing your stress levels, whilst increasing your happiness, wellbeing and fitness.

There is no fee for taking part in the Zumbathon; all we ask is that you collect as much sponsorship as you can to support an excellent cause. Whatever you can collect will go towards improving the lives of people who experience mental ill health in Wales.

Although there is no minimum sponsorship amount, we suggest that you set yourself a fundraising target. For example, £140 will provide the required care for someone experiencing severe mental ill health to be supported in our Crisis House, the only Crisis House in Wales that offers an alternative to hospital admission.

Open to all abilities, the Zumbathon begins at 2pm and will last for 2 hours and be led by a qualified Zumba instructor. All participants will be asked to complete a brief Health Questionnaire on the day and will be provided with a Gofal t-shirt to wear during the event. Registration will open at 12pm to ensure a prompt 2pm start.

Anyone aged 13 or over can take part; however those under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.

Download the Zumbathon Booking Form here.

Once a completed booking form is received, you will be provided with Gofal Sponsorship Forms to begin collecting towards the event. Alternatively you can setup your own Just Giving page and link it to Gofal.

All collected sponsorship monies can be given to a Gofal member of staff on the day of the event or forwarded to the Gofal offices following event completion.

Zumba your way to good mental health and wellbeing!!!

For further information about this event, please contact Gofal’s Fundraising Manager Trystan Jones on 01656 647722 or email trystanjones@gofal.org.uk.

On Sunday 15^th April 2012 the third Brighton Marathon took place, attracting over 9,000 runners and raising over £4m for more than 300 charities.

Gofal would like to congratulate Paul Jones of the Mumbles Milers running club who completed the marathon on our behalf in a chip time of 3:54:13.

This is an excellent achievement and Gofal is extremely
grateful of his efforts. The money raised by Paul in completing the marathon will support the charitable work of Gofal and help support those who experience mental ill health throughout Wales.

Paul, who is from Swansea and works for Swansea Metropolitan University, commented: “The Brighton marathon was a great event, though I found it to be the toughest marathon I’ve completed so far having completed the London marathon three times and New York marathon once! Many thanks for giving me the opportunity to run at this event and I look forward to doing more for Gofal in the future.”

If you are interested in taking part in an event on behalf of Gofal please take a look at the Fundraising section of our website, or contact us via the online enquiry form.

On Thursday 19th July 2012, Gofal are hosting
a Charity Golf Day at the prestigious Vale Resort in the Vale of Glamorgan.

Vale Resort – Wales National Golf Course

The award winning Wales National Golf Course is destined to be one of the greatest UK inland golf courses; mature woodland, fearsome bunkers, tricky water features and USGA standard greens combine to make a challenging round of golf.

The par 73 Wales National golf course was opened in June 2003 by Great Britain Olympic gold medallist Sir Steve Redgrave, has already played host to several European Challenge Tour and Seniors Tour events as well as the Europo Tour.  The golf course was also the venue for the Sky-televised FIRSTPLUS Wales Seniors Open and SWALEC Wales Challenge.

Played in teams of 4, the Charity Golf Day will consist of:

• 10:00am – Tea / Coffee & Bacon sandwich
• 11:00am – 18 holes, shotgun start
• Hole-in-one challenge
• Longest drive challenge
• Closest to the pin challenge
• 2 course meal in the Vale Resort
• Chance to win prizes through a Gofal raffle
• Great networking opportunities

Entry Prices:

• £65.00 – single entry
• £260.00 – team entry – four players

Numbers are limited and spaces fill up fast so book your place as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

Book your place now by completing the Golf Day Booking Form

For further information please contact Gofal’s Fundraising Manager on 01656 647722, or complete the online enquiry form.

On the 16^th June 2012, United Welsh and Capita will
join forces to take on the Welsh Three Peaks Team
Challenge on behalf of Gofal.

16 walkers from United Welsh and 8 from Capita have come together to take on the challenge of scaling the three highest peaks of Wales. Starting their challenge at the foot of Snowdon at 5:00am, they will move on to Cadair Idris before descending Pen-y-Fan in South Wales by 9:00pm the same day.

The walkers have been training diligently for the challenge, recently completing the South Wales Three Peaks Challenge, and have set themselves challenging fundraising targets.

Based in South Wales, United Welsh build and manage quality homes that people can afford to buy or rent. Delivering a service that makes a real difference to people’s lives. Customers place a great deal of trust in United Welsh to provide them and their families with quality homes where they feel safe and secure.

Capita’s software services is the leading supplier of software solutions to the public sector and social housing marketplace and works in close partnership with their customers to create a stronger housing future for tenants, citizens and communities throughout the UK. Supplying over 220 of the UK’s social housing providers and demonstrating unified sector knowledge, skills and solutions, Capita is proud to be the strongest software supplier to the social housing marketplace.

The efforts of all those involved in raising money for Gofal and raising the awareness of our charitable work are greatly appreciated. We would like to take this opportunity to wish them the best of luck in what promises to be a challenging, but thoroughly enjoyable and rewarding day.

If you would like to support United Welsh and Capita in their challenge, a donation can be made through their just giving fundraising page.

If you are interested in entering a team to take part in the Welsh Three Peaks Challenge on behalf of Gofal, please visit our Welsh Three Peaks Team Challenge webpage.

If you’re looking for a new challenge this year, why not
take on one of Gofal’s fundraising events and make a real difference to the lives of people experiencing mental ill health?

We are currently recruiting teams of 4 or more people to take on our Welsh 3 Peaks Team Challenge, and we are also looking for runners to take part in the Cardiff Half Marathon.

By completing one of these challenges, you will be making a difference to the one in four people in Wales that experience mental ill health. All the funds that you raise will go towards supporting the wide range of services that Gofal provides to 2000 people each year.

Visit our Fundraising section for more information.

Cardiff Half Marathon

On Sunday 14^th October 2012 the annual Lloyds TSB Cardiff Half Marathon takes place; with over 15,000 people taking part in Wales’ biggest road-race.

Competing in the Cardiff Half Marathon on behalf of Gofal is a fantastic way to raise money for the charity, raising awareness of the services we provide and leads to a great sense of achievement and wellbeing at having completed one of the most popular and most challenging half marathon’s in the UK.

Registration Process

1. Online entry for the Cardiff Half Marathon is now open. Visit www.cardiffhalfmarathon.co.uk to register yourself for the race;
2. Once you have secured your place, complete and return the attached Gofal Cardiff Half Marathon Registration Form to let us know you are running for us.
3. A Cardiff Half Marathon runner pack, including race information, Gofal running top and sponsorship forms will be forwarded to you upon receipt of the completed registration form.

We don’t ask you to raise a minimum sponsorship amount, we simply ask that you raise as much as you can for a fantastic cause.

For further information please complete the online enquiry form or contact our Fundraising Manager on 01656 647722.