Henshaws are Community Heroes

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Katie Piggford

We are delighted to announce that Henshaws won the 2013 Community Hero award at the Stray FM Local Hero Awards Ceremony sponsored by Engage Mutual in Harrogate this month!

The annual awards ceremony was held on Friday 10^th May to recognise local heroes who have contributed to life in Harrogate and the Yorkshire Dales by going above and beyond and achieving something extraordinary.

Nicki Eyre, Henshaws Managing Director for Education and Training, and Wendy Harrison, Housing and Support Manager attended the event to collect our award.

Nicki said; “The awards ceremony was a really positive occasion to celebrate the achievements of a whole range of local organisations, charities and individuals. Henshaws provides a variety of services to support people to become more independent and to lead the life they choose, and for the work that we do to be recognised with a local award is just fantastic.”

As part of the project a film crew from SiRA Studio came up to College and the Arts & Crafts Centre to interview staff, students and service users and you can watch the film here:

http://www.strayfm.com/news/local-news/967667/local-hero-awards-the-winners/

We’d like to say a big thank you to Engage Mutual for selecting Henshaws for the award and thanks to the team at Stray FM and SiRA Studio for all their support.

Students meet paralympic athletes

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Katie Piggford

College students Luke and Nathan had a fantastic time when they attended the Paralympic GB Sports Fest event in Sheffield this month. The event gave the students a chance to try a range of different activities, as Phil Webster, our Sports and Fitness Tutor at College explains:

“Luke and Nathan took part in a variety of sports including fencing, wheelchair basketball, table tennis, Goal ball and athletics. There were experts on hand to provide coaching and they also had the chance to use lots of adapted fitness equipment. Afterwards we went to a meet the Paralympians session where our students could ask questions about training towards the next Olympic games.

“It’s brilliant that our students can access events like this through Henshaws. We offer a whole range of sports, fitness and leisure activities within college from the specialist bowling sport of boccia to hydrotherapy sessions with qualified therapists in our own pool. We’re always looking for opportunities for our students to build on their experiences in college by attending external events like Sports Fest and it was great to see how much they got out of the day.”

Find out more about the fantastic specialist facilities on our campus by visiting our College pages

College Media and IT Centre opens

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Katie Piggford

We were joined by supporters, students, Art Makers and staff at College last week to celebrate the launch of our new Media and IT Centre.

Distinguished soprano Denise Leigh, who sang at the opening ceremony for the London 2012 Paralympic Games, wowed everyone with an impromptu performance. The Kaiser Chiefs’ Simon Rix and Henshaws ambassadors Coronation Street’s Paula Lane, alongside her fiancé and fellow actor, Tom Shaw, also attended the event to show their support for Henshaws.

Paula said: “Denise is an inspiration to Henshaws students – we are so pleased that she was able to join us in supporting the launch of the new centre. Her performance was mesmerising and truly fitting for the day.”

The new facilities include a state of the art IT suite, two recording studios and a print centre; providing more opportunities for students to take part in vocational training.

Nicki Eyre, Managing Director for Education and Training said: “We are very pleased to open the new Media and IT Centre and incredibly grateful to all of our supporters. The new facilities will provide excellent educational and vocational opportunities for our students to help them as they plan for their future.

“In addition, we are opening up the IT suite, print centre and recording studios for community groups to hire, allowing more local people to benefit from this superb facility. Whether it’s through learning to record music and edit podcasts, producing professionally printed products or using the fully accessible IT suite, we hope the Centre will become a real hub for technology in the local community.”

The project has been made possible thanks to the generosity of Henshaws’ supporters, including trusts, businesses, individuals and students. The largest donation came from the Audrey and Stanley Burton Charitable Settlement, which was represented on the day by Jeremy Burton DL who announced the Centre officially open.

Jeremy Burton, a trustee of the Audrey and Stanley Burton Charitable Trust which has supported the construction of the Media and IT Centre, said: “The trust is delighted to have made this project possible in memory of the late Audrey Burton who was a great fan of everything Henshaws has achieved in Harrogate and Knaresborough. Having seen the exciting work going on in Media and IT at College, the Trust saw an opportunity for an immediate improvement by building the new centre.”

For more information about the Centre or to enquire about bookings, please contact our College reception team on 01423 886451.

Spring has sprung, with cream teas and open mics!

Posted on March 6, 2013 by Debbie

The Arts & Crafts Centre has something for everyone to enjoy this spring, and our Sunday opening includes a dog walkers cafe.

“We always create a lovely friendly relaxed atmosphere for families to spend time together and enjoy our varied menu.”Maria Dawbarn, Acting Manager.

“Our latest showcase features a collection of colourful nesting boxes, bug hotels and bird feeders which are all handmade on site by our Art Makers. There’s a free birdhouse trail for children, who can follow the clues hidden around the Centre. Look out too for our Easter Hunt and cake stall, coming soon.”

“We’re located close to riverside paths and Knaresborough town centre, offering the perfect stop off to warm yourself up over a hot drink and hearty homemade food in our cafe. Dogs on leads are welcome in the grounds and gardens here and on Sundays we are now pleased to offer a dog walkers café, where you can bring your furry friends into the Centre itself!”

A welcome new addition to our events calendar are our open mic sessions, where local musicians are invited to perform. Click here to see the latest events at the Arts & Crafts Centre.

Henshaws team train for Skipton Triathlon

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Debbie

On Sunday 14^th April 2013 six of our Community Housing service users, who all have visual impairments or other disabilities, will take part in the Skipton Triathlon.

The triathlon is a popular local event, attracting over 700 competitors in 2012. Each participant is invited to swim 400m in the Craven swimming pool, cycle 20km on hard surfacing around Skipton and finally run two laps of Aireville Park. Triathlon organiser Freebird Events have kindly agreed that Henshaws can enter individuals for each element, thereby completing the triathlon as a team.

With the support of new Henshaws volunteer Alastair, the team have risen to the challenge and begun a regular training programme.

Karen, 31, has a severe visual impairment and will be completing the running section of the event with a guide.

“I’ve never really done any running before but we’ve started regular training with Alastair at Henshaws College and it’s slowly getting easier. I’m a very determined person so for me this is an exciting challenge!”

As it’s a truly team event other local organisations are helping us out. Open Country, which aims to help people with disabilities to access the countryside, will be providing tandem training for Alastair and the team. Ashville College have kindly agreed to provide the team and support staff with free access to their pool and sports facilities. Ashville are also encouraging their students to volunteer to help the team.

This volunteer support is crucial to the success of the event as Volunteer Coordinator John Fox explains:

“We are looking to recruit volunteers who would like to support our team not only on the day of the event but also throughout their training programme. We are very grateful for Alastair’s on-going support and by expanding our volunteer team we would like to offer more of our service users the chance to participate in events like the triathlon in future.”

If you’d like to find out more, please contact John on 01423 799612 or email yorkshire.volunteers@henshaws.org.uk

Look out for updates on the team’s progress on our website, plus find out more and support the team at their very own Just Giving page https://www.justgiving.com/henshawstriathlon

** UPDATE***

For those who are interested in coming along to Skipton to cheer the team along, the swimmers start at 8.40am in the Craven Swimming Pool, Gargrave Road, Skipton BD23 1UD, tandems will be off about 9.00am and runners approx 10.00am.

Photo credit: Harrogate Advertiser Series