Short Break Stories

Ashcraig Former Pupils Club Summer Club

A story by Ashcraig Former Pupils Club

We held a very successful summer club in Glasgow over 10 days in July 2014 which benefitted carers of members of Ashcraig Former Pupils’ Club, an organisation which provides a safe social environment for young adults with physical/visual disabilities. Members took part in a variety of activities such as sport, drama and art projects.

What Ashcraig Former Pupils Club Summer Club did

Our summer camp was held in Croftcroighn School Glasgow over 10 days in July (10am to 3pm) for members of our organisation, all of whom have a physical disability/visual impairment. This would allow carers of our members to have some free time and make plans. The camp was run on a day-to-day basis by highly qualified staff who have a lot of experience working with people with disabilities and do so regularly for our club.

We worked with a number of recognised organisations in order to provide a varied programme of activities.

We liaised with sports coaches Urban Fox to deliver opportunities for our members who took part in activities such as football, hockey and curling. We were also able to access a hydrotherapy pool which members found relaxing and gave them freedom in water they don't experience elsewhere.

We held a well-received course in Drama run by Creative Electric where members worked with professional actors and volunteers, putting together some very entertaining short performances. Sessions like these helped some members with their confidence and learning how to work as part of a team.

Club members had asked for a dance instructor who provided some fun sessions allowing all members who took part, whether wheelchair-bound or not, to have fun, learn new skills and keep fit.

We brought in an organisation called Project Ability to deliver an Art Project working with a variety of materials including Papier Mache etc. The finished results were fabulous.

Members also had the opportunity just to catch up with one another and make new friends.

Carers were able to plan their own activities while their cared-for family members were being looked after. Some spent quality time with their other children, some met up with friends for shopping etc. Some caught up with jobs around the house. Comments were made that just being able to make their own plans day-by-day knowing that their cared-for person was in a safe environment was great. Most carers commented they felt less stressed.

Carer A is the parent of a 24 year old man who has a physical disability and is wheelchair bound. She appreciated the fact that her son was able to meet with friends during the summer holidays as most regular activities close down at this time.

She benefited from the luxury of a block of time which was confirmed in advance. This enabled her to plan activities without worrying that they would need to be cancelled due to lack of support. She spent some time painting and decorating which had been needed for a while. She also managed to get out walking and enjoy the fresh air.

Carer B is the mother of a 22 year old man with a physical disability who spends most of his time in a wheelchair. She is also her husband's carer and she has a daughter. She used the time when her son was at the summer club to have some free time to herself. She went shopping and enjoyed browsing without having to negotiate a wheelchair in and out of shops. She caught up with friends. She was also able to take her daughter out and have valuable mother and daughter time. She read and also caught up with some DIY.
Carer C is the mother of a 24 year old girl with a physical disability. She has no outside support in looking after her daughter whose only opportunity for socialising is with our regular youth club which meets for 2 hours on a weekly basis. She welcomed our summer camp as it allowed her to go out on a daily basis as she wished, catch up on housework and for one day each week while her daughter was safely looked after she booked a pampering session at a beauty parlour. She was also able to catch up with relatives and friends at this time.

What Ashcraig Former Pupils Club has learned

The fund made it possible for this Summer Camp to go ahead.

We wanted to target as many carers of members of our club as possible through our Summer Camp in July 2014. unfortunately, due to the run-up to the Commonwealth Games, when some members who were volunteers had to attend training sessions, and the fact that a Scout Camp was held at the same time, the number of carers we had hoped to support was less than anticipated. Two members we had hoped would attend were unfortunately ill during the time the camp was held.

Some families felt the contribution we were asking them to pay per day was too high although we had given them a few months notice of costs. As a result some members did not attend for the full 10 days. Although the programme was well-received there were some requests from members for other activities such as basic cooking and more art work. Several members were very keen for the camp to run for longer than 2 weeks.
Top tips Ashcraig Former Pupils Club's top tips for an organisation that wants to run a similar project
Tip 1:
We will in future check local events in plenty of time to ensure the maximum numbers of members can attend therefore aiding us in supporting their carers.
Tip 2:
We have given families 10 months notice of our charges for next year's summer camp in July 2015 with the option of paying up over that time to ensure as many as possible can access this opportunity.
Tip 3:
Keep listening to what people want in order to evolve as an organisation. We are keen to support as many carers as we can through our summer club but in order to do this we need an exciting programme of events for our members. We have set up an 'Events Committee' to help with planning for our next camp in order to ensure we are delivering what members and carers want.