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So, I recently moved to a new area (a largish village) and there aren't any community activities going on. I thought that setting up an activity where the local community could get together would be really good; I thought that a good way to do this would be to set up a quiz night for the elderly to eliminate social isolation or maybe just for everyone to be able to take part in.
I thought that it should include age related questions so that if there were a large variation in ages then no one would have the advantage and it would be fair.
However, I'm not sure if this is a good event to run and would like some advice on how successful it would be or who I could aim it at. Any suggestions would be really appreciated! Thanks
What's needed to make it a reality
Suggestions as to whether it would be successful
Funding
Questions
Speak to someone who has already done this
Anything really :)
Comments
Welcome to Junction49. It's great to see you've added up your idea on the site.
This is such a lovely idea and definitely something a bit different to bring generations together. I like the idea about having a range of questions to ask to appeal to all age groups. You could do things like a music round with music from across the ages and a picture round where you could include some old film stars which the younger generation probably won't recognise. To make sure all the teams are fair, you'll have to make sure that it's a mix of generations.
In terms of getting it set up there's a couple of different ways that you could do it:
- contact a care or residential home for the elderly and see if you could organise it for their residents. You could recruit friends/young people from the local community to come and join in.
- find a venue e.g. a community space and open it up to the whole community by telling everyone about it. You could advertise through local schools/colleges, residential homes. You could also find out if there is a local Age UK to target older people and you could advertise in community centres too.
To find a venue, you might want to think about somewhere which is quite central in your village, easy to get to and accessible e.g. wheelchair/pushchair friendly. This might be a community centre or school hall. Find out who you need to speak to and get in touch explaining your idea. Organising it in your own school hall might work quite well because you will already know the layout and the people. They might also be able to give you the space for free too.
Funding the event shouldn't be a problem. There are a couple of different people you could apply to who I think would be happy to fund this event:
- O2 Think Big http://www.o2thinkbig.co.uk/
Awards of up to £2500 for your project, given in stages, for projects to improve the community. This is open to 13-25 year olds. In the first round you can apply for £300 and then after you've completed that part of the project you might get invited to apply for £2500.
Before they give you the money you attend a training day too where you can meet other young people setting up projects.
- Live UnLtd http://www.liveunltd.com/
Live UnLtd will give up to £5,000 of funding and all the support needed to turn a great idea into a reality. Open to 11-21 yr olds.
If you need any help at all in applying for funding, or you would like someone to have a look over what you've written before you send it off then I'd be happy to :-). If you apply for £300 from o2 this should be enough to cover the cost of refreshments and advertising etc...
You might also be interested in checking about this nationwide campaign to end loneliness in older age: http://www.campaigntoendloneliness.org.uk/
There are also some other people on Junction49 are setting up projects with a similar theme but different methods across the country through a vInspired project called Team v. You can get in touch with them by commenting on their ideas. You can find all the different ones through this link:
http://www.junction49.co.uk/search/?cx=005294704966693513809%3Aado_o-vwps8&cof=FORID%3A9&ie=UTF-8&q=team+v&sa=Search&siteurl=www.junction49.co.uk%2Fidea%2F2915%2Fself_harm_distraction_box%2F&ref=www.junction49.co.uk%2Fideas%2F
I know I've provided you with a lot of information, so the first place to start is probably to work out how you're going to do the quiz and then start searching for a venue. In the meantime you can then apply for some funding.
If you have any questions at all at any time just get in touch. You can keep us updated too with your progress by writing diary entries every step of the way :-)
I look forward to hearing more as it develops.
Sarah
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GOOD LUCK!
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http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/bulletin/third_sector_daily_bulletin/article/1117145/charities-invited-free-launch-involved-london/?DCMP=EMC-CONThirdSectorDaily
Also, one of the Team v people I mentioned ran a quiz for older people last week and she's written a blog about it here. She'd probably be a really good person to chat to about your idea and you should be able to get in contact here: http://www.junction49.co.uk/idea/2903/combating_old_age_loneliness_with_team_v/ or via Twitter @Teamvcheltenham
Sarah Report Abuse
That's really good to hear that you've got someone from Team v giving you advice. Which one is it?
Keep us updated with how all the planning goes :-)
Sarah Report Abuse
In terms of reaching people - Maybe the NHS has a resource for Oxfordshire clubs and groups for old people (Glos did it was called GUiDE) Also try your local 3UA and Age Concern as a start point. And local village parish meetings / news letters. Also if you do approach care homes keep on and on and on visiting them ask to speak to both the manager and activities manager. If you only do it once or twice they may not remember you! Also give them plenty of warning.
Oooh just seen you've already got incontact with one of my fellow Team v people. Great! I hope the event went well! So yeah just thought I'd send this post anyway so you have another viewpoint. :)
Any questions Tweet me @TeamVcheltenham or check out my youtube videos.
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