Include.org

Thank you to Waythrough and The Barn Theatre for having us at your Film Screening event last week! We really enjoyed watching all of the films and it was a pleasure to sing on stage in such a lovely venue. Well done to the film makers for creating such thought-provoking and powerful features. #oxted #redhill #reigate #surrey #theatre #filmscreening #charity #collaboration #stage #singandsignchoir #makaton #inclusion #fun #events [Image Description: The Include Choir sings on stage with blue reflective stage lighting, divided in the middle by a screen.]

🔎 We are searching for a Lived Experience Support Officer! ❤️ Inclusion is at our heart and we recently restructured our Board, meaning that we now have 8 Trustees with lived experience of disability, communication need or neurodiversity- who require support to ensure they can fulfil their roles. 👬 In addition to the Trustees, we have several volunteers with lived experience of communication or learning needs who require additional support with initial admin, and a regular point of contact to check in with while they volunteer with us. 🌟 The Lived Experience Officer will provide this support for 15 hours per week on a flexible basis. 💻 For more information about the job role and how to apply, please visit https://lnkd.in/e4W6K3zq . If the role isn't for you, please share it anyway- your friends might be interested! 😀 We look forward to hearing from you! #surreyjobs #nonprofit #charitysector #eastsurrey #livedexperience #coproduction #vacancy #jobopening #flexiblework #epsom #redhill #reigate #surrey #charityjobs #wearehiring #support #disabilities #charity #parttime [Image Description: CEO Alix and a supported volunteer smile in conversation. Text underneath reads: "We are hiring! Lived Experience Support Officer (15 hours per week)".]

Thank you so much to CharityJob for their very generous donation, which has allowed us to increase co-production and move to a model where more than 75% of our trustees are people with disabilities! Beth, our Include Supported Trustee, Choir Member and Champion says: “Being a Trustee is nice. To be given a chance to join in at the higher up level and help is quite rewarding – it helps me to help others and helps my self-esteem. It keeps me busy as well – it keeps my mind off things I might be worried about.” To read more about how Charity Job have helped us and other charities like us, you can find the blog on their website: https://lnkd.in/eVTmFrQS #donations #fundraising #charity #livedexperience #coproduction #thankyou [Image Description: The quote from Beth sits within a purple outline. An icon represents 80% of people with a disability, and a speech bubble says: "80% of Include Trustees with a disability".]

We had a lot of fun on World Singing Day! Here is a sneak peek of what we were doing in Redhill and Epsom... you can find the full versions on our YouTube channel @IncludeTube. Thank you to Bourne Hall in Epsom and Redhill Memorial Park for hosting us, to our staff, members and volunteers who came to sing, the people who donated... and to Florrie's for the yummy hot chocolate! #charity #choir #inclusion #inclusivecommunication #makaton #worldsingingday #wsd2024 [Video description: A video of 60 seconds made up of a series of short clips showing Include Choir members in Epsom and Redhill singing and Makaton signing for World Singing Day.]

We want to take a moment to say 🌟 a huge thank you 🌟 to the amazing funders at the Garfield Weston Foundation! Your generosity means that we can continue our work towards people with communication difficulties being empowered and included in the community, creating moments of joy, understanding and connection for us all. Thank you for making a difference. #grateful #thankyou #charity #makingadifference #inclusion #communicationiseverything #speechandlanguagetherapy #music #choir #wellbeingwalks #coproduction [Image Description: A collage of 8 images. Clockwise from top left, service users of Include are: 1- Smiling with a heart cushion. 2- Warming up during a choir rehearsal. 3- Smiling outside during a Stroll & Sign. 4- Singing and signing outside. 5- Performing at a concert. 6- Holding a toy plane and smiling. 7- Wearing a birthday hat and smiling. 8- Using a ribbon during a performance. In the middle of the collage, the Makaton sign for 'Thank You' sits above the logo for Include.]

☔ It was a fleeting visit through the rain to the Accessify UK event yesterday, but I'm really glad I made it to hear excellent presentations from Jenni Schofield, Hina Ashraf, Katy Hubbard from Surrey Coalition of Disabled People and of course our friends, Matt, Lizzi and Helen Guest from the Pro Active Community. 🙏🏻 Thank you to Abi Chapman for a positive and thought provoking event - and a great reminder that inclusion only happens when we truly see and listen to individual needs and where the power lies. #inclusion #accessibility #equity #intersectionality #together

Congratulations to our speech and language therapist Charly on the publication of her PhD paper. Please have a read and share widely with your networks!

We are excited to announce two upcoming events THIS weekend! To celebrate World Singing Day, our choirs will be singing in Redhill and Epsom- and anyone is welcome to come and watch or join in. Our Redhill Choir will be singing at 12 noon in Redhill Memorial Park, 65 London Road, RH1 1SZ. Our Epsom Choir will be singing at 2.30pm in Bourne Hall, Spring St, Ewell, Epsom KT17 1UF. World Singing Day is the global sing-along for everyone. Each year on the 3rd Saturday in October, people all over the world gather in groups of all sizes in schools, pubs, parks, plazas and homes to sing! People of all ages, backgrounds and singing abilities can join in and sing. That includes you! Find out more here: https://bit.ly/3Y81qvm [Image Description: A choir member holds an inflatable world and is smiling. Icons representing World Singing Day and Saturday October 19th are placed on the image.]

Happy World Mental Health Day! Taking care of your mental wellbeing is a very important part of life, but it's not always easy to know how to. Our Champions coproduction group have put together their top tips for top mental wellbeing- you can access this Free Easy Read resource here: https://bit.ly/3XYicgE #worldmentalhealthday #mentalwellbeing #coproduction #livedexperience #toptips #advice #charity #inclusion #easyread [Image Description: Text at the top reads 'Free Easy Read Series. Topic: Mental Wellbeing. A screenshot of the Easy Read sits in the center of a square frame, with the Include logo in the bottom right. Around the screenshot are four images: somebody breathing, somebody meditating, an art emoji and a music emoji.]

We are still smiling from our time in the Belfry on Saturday! It was lovely to see the shopping centre come alive with so much artistic talent, and we feel so proud and humbled to have been a part of it all. Thank you to DAiSY Arts for displaying our group canvas, to the Arts Takeover team and the Belfry Shopping Centre for having us, our volunteers who helped out, to the Mayor and Mayoress for their spectacular signing and air guitar skills- and to the supportive crowd who came to watch us sing and donated- we are pleased to say we raised over £100! #surrey #redhill #charity #choir #art #supportthearts #supportlocal #makatonchoir #speechandlanguagetherapy #inclusionmatters #community #music #fun [Image description: Four images. Clockwise from the left: A photo of a group canvas made in layers using collage- a mixture of printed photos, hand drawn pictures and quotes. A photo of the Include Choir singing at the Belfry Shopping Centre. An Include Choir member with the Mayor and Mayoress. An Include Choir member smiles while holding an inflatable world object of reference.]