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Generous Inner Wheel Fundraisers in Kirkintilloch raise £900 for Carers Link

Presentation of inner wheel cheque

Presentation of inner wheel cheque

Picture shows President Margaret Pears and members of the Inner Wheel, Kathleen MacPherson, Morag Barron, Annette Adams, Dorothy Stewart and Veronica Regan, Fundraiser from Carers Link.

 The Inner Wheel Club of Kirkintilloch has once again proven their commitment to making a positive impact in their community by raising an impressive £900 for Carers Link. This invaluable contribution will directly benefit the young carers in Kirkintilloch supported by Carers Link, who often shoulder immense responsibilities and sacrifices from a young age.

Margaret Pears, President of the Inner Wheel Club of Kirkintilloch said, ‘After hearing an inspirational talk from one of the Carers Link Young Carers, the Carers Link Young Carer Support Worker, and their Fundraiser, our members felt that Young Carers in our community are often overlooked and we would therefore like to support them through Carers Link.  We are delighted that, due to the generosity of members and friends, we were able to make this donation.’

Thanks to this generosity, Carers Link will be able to offer summer holiday activities, providing these young carers with a well-deserved break from their demanding responsibilities. These activities will not only offer a fun and memorable time for the young carers but also serve as a crucial opportunity for them to connect with others who share similar experiences.

The funds will also go towards supporting residential breaks for the young carers, allowing them to take some time away from their carer duties to relax and rejuvenate. These breaks can be transformative, offering a chance to escape from the daily challenges and pressures they face.

Jennifer Roe, Chief Executive of Carers Link said, “The contribution from the Inner Wheel Club of Kirkintilloch will hugely benefit the lives of our young carers and demonstrates the power of collective kindness and compassion to uplift and empower those facing challenging circumstances.”

If you are interested in helping to support unpaid carers in East Dunbartonshire, please contact Veronica at Carers Link on 07827 062645, veronica@carerslink.org.uk or donate directly online.

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Carers Link team brave a wet and windy Kiltwalk

Kiltwalkers celebrate completing the walk

Walkers at a wet and windy Glasgow Kiltwalk managed to raise nearly £3000 on Sunday 30 April for Carers Link to enable them to continue to provide crucial services for unpaid carers throughout East Dunbartonshire.

Eleven walkers, carers and supporters from Carers Link took part last Sunday and between them clocked up over 125 miles.

Also, managing to walk over both the start and finish line was Chloe Donlevy who has 2 rare conditions resulting in multiple disabilities.  Chloe’s Mum, Clare, said, “Chloe has dystonia which affects the muscles all over her body but mainly in her lower legs and feet which means fully independent walking is not

Kiltwalk participants including Amy and Sir Tom Hunter

something Chloe has quite mastered yet.  She can only do a little supported walking at a time so her little legs worked extremely hard!  She had the best day and insisted on holding Sir Tom’s hand for the photo.”

Also pictured is Chloe’s big sister Aimee who is a young carer and provides constant support and love for her little sister so this was Chloe’s turn to give something back to Aimee.

Kiltwalk CEO, Paul Cooney, said, “We are so proud of the Glasgow Kiltwalk heroes for raising vital funds for 865 charities this year at Glasgow Kiltwalk and of course Carers Link East Dunbartonshire is one of those great charities!

Big congratulations to superstar Chloe and her family for completing their Kiltwalk challenge on April 30 and for raising awareness of Carers Link who play such an important part in the lives of many carers in East Dunbartonshire”.

Val is the Carers Grant Coordinator at Carers link.  She and her friend Colette made a mighty effort with the Mighty Stride – walking a whopping 22.7 miles. Val said “It is the first time that I have ever walked this distance but the thought of doing it for Carers Val and Colette at the finish with their medalsLink spurred us on, completing it in 8 hours.  Despite the weather, spirits were good amongst the walkers – everyone encouraged each other.”

 

 

If you are interested in helping to support unpaid carers in East Dunbartonshire, please contact Veronica at Carers Link on 07827 062645, veronica@carerslink.org.uk or donate directly online.

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Office Banter – new staff part 2

In this episode Katy chats to two new(ish) members of Carers Link’s staff – Claire and Veronica.

Claire works on our wellbeing project and talks about why you should get in touch, and what she can do to help.

Veronica is our new fundraising administrator and discusses how she hopes to increase donations to Carers Link. One way is to sign up to do this year’s Glasgow Kiltwalk, which you can do at https://www.thekiltwalk.co.uk/events/glasgow. Choose your length and then when you register type Carers Link as your chosen charity.

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Employability

The Lowdown Episode 53

In this episode Katy talks to Scott, Carers Link’s Employability Coordinator, about how our new service can help carers. They chat about the skills that you develop as a carer and how they are relevant to the workplace, as well as coping with working alongside caring.

There is also information about how Carers Link can help you in your job hunt, and the steps that you will go through as Scott supports you through the process of applying. This includes identifying your skills and potential jobs, helping you write your CV and complete applications, the interview process and beyond.

They also talk about the Carer Positive scheme, and the benefits to employers that employing a carer can have, and how working can benefit carers’ wellbeing – physical, mental and financial

PlayPlay

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Cost of Living Crisis

In this episode Katy talks to Iain Macdonald from East Dunbartonshire Citizens Advice Bureau about the cost of living crisis. They discuss tips to minimise energy costs and expenditure as well as explaining the help that is available and how carers can get help to access it.

Since the episode was recorded the government announced the energy price guarantee in addition to the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme, and you can read more about that at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-bills-support/energy-bills-support-factsheet-8-september-2022

East Dunbartonshire Citizens Advice Bureau website is https://www.cas.org.uk/bureaux/east-dunbartonshire-citizens-advice-bureau, and you can call them on 0141 775 3220 or email bureau@eastdunbartoncab.casonline.org.uk

Other websites which may be useful include:

https://www.homeenergyscotland.org/

https://www.turn2us.org.uk/Your-Situation/Cost-of-Living

https://www.turn2us.org.uk/Benefit-guides/Energy-schemes/Extra-help-for-2022

https://www.turn2us.org.uk/Your-Situation/Energy-and-Water-Bills

Money Saving Expert – https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/heat-the-human-not-the-home-save-energy/

Broadband social tariffs – https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-telecoms-and-internet/advice-for-consumers/costs-and-billing/social-tariffs

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Wellbeing

This week we welcomed Shannen Calderwood, our new Wellbeing Worker who came along to talk about her new role, why wellbeing is important, and how she can help carers whose wellbeing needs a boost.

RESOURCES:

You can find out about upcoming Carer Cafes on our latest events calendar

The walk we mentioned is on 1st September 2022, and can be booked through our website

Listen to the sleep podcast

You can contact Shannen by emailing Shannen@carerslink.org.uk or calling 0800 975 2131 or 07903 889 858

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Sleeping better

This week is all about sleep! We were excited to welcome back Vivienne Tennent, a Health Practitioner with the Health Improvement Team. She spoke to us about the importance of sleep, tips and tricks if those Zs are eluding you, and gave us some great resources for further help. We hope you enjoy the episode and we wish you all a good night’s rest! And be sure to check out the resources below.

Sleep Resources:

How to get to sleep – NHS

National Sleep Foundation

The Sleep Council

MIND | The Mental Health Charity

For Children

Sleep Scotland

For Older Children

Sleep problems

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I’m a Guardian, now what?

In the final episode of our short series on Guardianship Katy talks to Fiona, a parent carer who has recently got guardianship for her son, and Martin fills in any final details about the practicalities of being a guardian.

We had a number of questions sent in which we didn’t have time to answer in the podcast, so have included them here.

Is there any option/method where guardianship can be shared between a group like a circle of friends/ community circle? For example, if I were to lose capacity or to die.

Yes – you can appoint more than one guardian, and you can remove or add guardians at any time, although it is most easily done when you renew your guardianship.

I saw a post on some Facebook page and it suggested that if you had financial guardianship and report back with your financial receipts etc etc that you don’t need to fill in annual reports for SDS?

Sadly this is not the case, the council rules are different form those around guardianship, and the forms you complete are different.

Why do people suggest you need financial powers in order to access SDS as an adult in some Local authorities?

Local authorities each have their own rules. For help with SDS in East Dunbartonshire you can contact Take Control.

Why do we need to basically pay £700 to be responsible for our own child?

If we chose not to take responsibility for our child, the duty of care that would be placed into our local authority would cost much more than £700 so in the long term, we are saving EDC (and all others ) loads of hassle and loads of cash. Why are we paying VAT on this service when we don’t pay vat on goods for disabled people?

These are very valid questions, but not ones that we can answer – it is a Scottish Government decision. They have recognised the issues and have proposed some changes to the law which will be considered by ministers in September 2022. You can see these at https://consult.gov.scot/mental-health-law-secretariat/scottish-mental-health-law-review/

Parent Carers Legal Support

Caesar & Howie solicitors

Office of the Public Guardian in Scotland

Take Control

Carers Link can offer you an appointment for information and advice at our Legal Clinic. This is free of charge and gives you the chance to have a one-to-one meeting over the phone with a solicitor from Blackadders Solicitors, to ask questions on legal matters.

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