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This year’s AGM
This year’s AGM was held virtually and we were extremely lucky that in the open part of the meeting several people showcased the work that they have been doing over the last year.
We are very grateful to Vanda Carter, Alex Lewney, Lesley Flatley, Rhondda May and Dr Nandita Divekar for their contribution. They all gave us some amazing examples of ways to they had overcome the challenges posed by the pandemic. Their commitment to Dignity, innovative thinking and positivity were inspiring. Some 64 champions joined us for the event and everyone of them took away inspiration and admiration for the work that individuals have been doing during these trying times. View the notes of the meeting and the presentations.
This was such a successful event that we are planning to hold more meetings in the New Year, we think it would be a great way to focus attention on Dignity Action Day. February 1st will again enable us to spend the month celebrating what we all do, and this may be particularly appropriate as we move out of COVID restrictions. Keep your eyes open for announcements in forthcoming newsletters.
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Dignity Postcards
The AGM also saw the launch of our Dignity Postcards. These have been developed to both enable organisations to set out their commitment to the ten dignity Do’s, but also to gather feedback on how well they are doing.
The postcards are being provided free, [up to 100 per service setting], but we would be grateful if organisations could make a donation to cover the cost of postage and packing, as postal costs continue to increase we may need to charge in future.
CQC have already said that they can see how the postcards provide real evidence of organisations seeking to assess their performance in relation to working in a dignified and respectful manner. One organisation has already used the cards as part of their quality assurance programme - view their results.
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Working with others
One of our Trustees Clare Copleston was honoured to be involved in a United Nations virtual meeting in October and she was able to bring the Dignity message to her involvement. Read her reflections on the event.
Our Chair Jan Burns MBE has continued to be involved nationally in taking the Dignity message out to Government and regulatory bodies. Through her involvement with the Quality Matters Board she has been able to share the Dignity Postcode Promotion with Key strategic stakeholders. Although meetings this year haven’t involved the amount of travel of previous years it still takes up a lot of her time ensuring that we are represented in a range of ways on a number of forums.
The Council has continued to work in partnership with a number of organisations in partnership to deliver the Dignity message.
- Spectrum Consortium have been extremely generous in their sponsorship making donations to the cost of running the Campaign and for the reprint of our Dignity Postcards. This means that we can continue to offer these free to organisations.
- Our relationship with Cygnet is also developing and they have already begun the process of signing all their 9,000 plus staff as Dignity Champions. We look forward to continuing to work closely with them in the forthcoming year.
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Dancing for Dignity round up
Despite the impact of COVID many of our champions came together virtually to raise funds and have fun. The range of events was amazing and lots of imagination went into making them both enjoyable and fun. Events included
- individuals joining us at 1p.m. on the 1st October to dance to their favourite tune, not everyone was able to post their performance and one of our champions was paid not to!!
- Individuals who used the day to launch a month long series of events, one of our champions in Dudley regularly posted his moves on the Facebook page.
- Groups in Care settings came together for a cup of tea and a dance
- One group had dancers in the garden that people could watch through windows
- Providers putting on virtual events for families and individuals to come together to enjoy a dance.
It was clearly a great success even though there had been concerns that restrictions and social distancing would make life difficult. There are still some events going on and champions continue to raise funds for the Campaign. For example at the beginning of this month Jan Burns our Chair attended an event at Grace Care Group.
We’d like to thank all those who participated and raised funds for the Campaign. Some people have added photographs on the memory page.
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The latest news & information
We have also been posting regular news updates on resources that are available to help champions and their organisations work successful to ensure that Dignity remains high on the agenda. The news page of the website is updated roughly every three weeks so its worth checking out as there is bound to be something new that you will find of interest.
The news page is increasingly also incorporating additional information from writers and researchers. It is fantastic that a number of people are now contacting us to alert us to articles or research projects that may be of interest to our readers.
Three recent examples have been information on
- How to help your loved one cope with uncertainty - particularly appropriate for the current situation
- Tips for staying hydrated this winter
- Money & Mental Health - Practical Financial Skills to Manage Money
But there are others so please take the time to have a look at what’s on offer.
It is also worth taking a look at the events page as we regularly post information from training and other providers of events.
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Join the discussion
The Facebook page and the Discussion Forum on the website insert links also continue to promote discussion on a range of topics. We are incredibly grateful to Champions who not only respond to queries with advice and information but generously share their resources as well. Thanks to everyone who has contributed this year.
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Recruiting Champions
At the end of 2020 we celebrate the fact that we have 145,000 champions, and we look forward to the point where we will be able celebrate reaching 200,000. This target has been set for September 2021, so let’s get recruiting, if every organisation we are in touch with signs up just one person to become a champion we will easily reach and exceed the target.
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Share your information
And finally, if you have anything you’d like to share in our newsletter please get in touch, it can be a poem, a piece of innovative thinking, or just the way you have made the day special for someone. You can send you contributions to info@dignityincare.co.uk
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