Today, we worked together to give our community garden in Bognor Library a very much needed refresh! 🐝🌱

We want to give a huge thank you to 'My Sisters' House', who kindly offered to help us transform our space! 💜

Being outside, getting active, and getting our hands dirty really improves our mental health. We braved the cold and thoroughly enjoyed teaming up and making a difference in this lovely space. 

Today marks the end of Winter Wellbeing Week. ❄️ We hope you've enjoyed seeing what we've been up to this week! 

Today, as part of Winter Wellbeing Week, we held wellbeing checks at the Country Centre for all staff, volunteers, and people we support to attend if they wish.

Arun Wellbeing provided us with advice, guidance and support to help us make small, realistic changes to improve our health and wellbeing.

Over at MAKE, in Portsmouth, we welcomed 'Beautiful Mind Coach' Hannah! She ran a workshop that helped us understand what 'wellbeing' means and built awareness around improving our wellness. We discussed the symptoms of anxiety and what we can do to understand our triggers. We discussed strategies to manage our wellbeing better. 

In the afternoon at MAKE, we enjoyed a workshop run by Ali from 'Healing Feelings'. Our theme for the workshop was 'happy.' We discussed what 'happy' feels like for each of us, both mentally and physically, and what we do in our lives that makes us happy. We then took 10 minutes to draw 'happiness' (with no pressure on making our pictures perfect)! After our time, we shared our drawings and spoke about what they meant to us. It was great to hear how other people portrayed happiness with their drawings!

Thank you to Arun Wellbeing, Hannah and Ali for sharing your support and guidance today. And thank you to Josh, for the video below!

​As part of Winter Wellbeing Week, we have an incredible series of events for our employees, volunteers, and the amazing people we support to get involved with!

Today, we met Scooter, the dog and his owner, Kirstie! Scooter supports people in our local community through surf therapy.

Our staff, volunteers and people we support listened to Kirstie talk about Scooters' unique story - from being rescued from the streets in Portugal to now being the only Surf Therapy dog in the UK! After asking many questions, we took turns to try the specially built surfboard and beach wheelchair. 

Huge thank you to Kirstie and Scooter for visiting today!

Winter can be challenging for our health. As part of Winter Wellbeing Week, we are putting on a few activities and workshops for our staff, volunteers and people we support. Throughout the week, watch our page to see what we are up to to help support and look after our winter wellbeing. 

This morning, we met Andy's Man Club at MAKE in Portsmouth. Andy's Man Club is a free, drop-in, peer-to-peer support group for men every Monday, where you leave your job at the door and come inside to talk freely about everything and anything. Come inside, have a brew and a chat, make friends and help others too.

Find Andy's Man Club every Monday, 7-9pm at MAKE, 1 Cornwall Rd, Fratton, Portsmouth PO1 5AA.

Over at the Country Centre, we met Jan Penn, and her assistance dog, Bobbie! We loved hearing all about how Bobbie supports Jan in her life.

​Jan spoke about how she started losing sight when she was very young and had just started her nursing training. It was very gradual, so she was able to finish her training and went on to run nursing homes with her husband. It took her a long time to accept she was losing her sight, and she found it hard to start using her cane. She's had three guide dogs, Bobbi being her third. Jan spoke about how she finds it easier to see lighter colours than dark. Bobbi is 'yellow' to her, and she finds it easier to see her than black/brown dogs.

Jan goes into many schools and community groups to share awareness around visual impairment and life with a guide dog.

Thank you Jan, Bobbie and Andy's Mans Club, for sharing your support and stories with us today.

In a celebration of Portsmouth's most remarkable men, Cameron has been awarded the prestigious 'Inspirational Man of the Year' title at Portsmouth's Official International Men's Day event. Organised by Dadzclub, the event aims to amplify positive male voices within the community, recognising individuals who inspire and uplift others.

Held at Treadgold in Portsea, the event welcomed nominations for inspiring self-identifying men. Cameron, the director of Portsmouth Creates and the chair of Aldingbournes NEW co-production group Dynamite, was nominated for his resilience and commitment. He has faced many challenges in his life, but he never gives in, and he never gives up.

MAKE, an enterprise of Aldingbourne Trust, has played an important role in Cameron's journey. The skills he has acquired there have empowered him to do many things, and he now chairs monthly Dynamite meetings and produces accessible documents. Cameron has become quite the champion for inclusion, and his contribution makes a massive difference to the community and the Trust.

Upon receiving the award, Cameron shared, "I was overwhelmed and honoured to get the award and really grateful for the nomination." He did drop the award in true Cameron style, but fortunately, it is being replaced!

Written by Lizzie Williams. For any media inquiries, please get in touch with [email protected] 

At Fontwell Racecourse on Friday, the 17th of November, Aldingbourne Country Centre was honoured with The Sussex by the Sea Tourism Award, courtesy of Arun Business Partnership and supported by Arun District Council.

Over the years, we have established quite a track record of triumphs in various categories at the ABP awards. Previous victories include Employee/Team of the Year, Business Marketing and Promotion, Training & Development, and Business in the Community, to name a few. But this latest celebration adds a new shield to our collection.

"Winning the Tourism Award in the same year that we achieved Visit England Quality Visitor Attraction status feels amazing, and the huge smiles on the faces of the people we support, our clients, who collected the award says it all. All colleagues, clients and volunteers have worked super hard to ensure all our visitors and valued members have a #greatdayout and hopefully feel the magic of making a difference by visiting, so this award is a recognition of that and our contribution to the Arun District Visitor Economy." shared Karen Tyrrell, Visitor & Enterprise Operations Manager at Aldingbourne Country Centre.

This award is a shared victory, thanks to our teams and the community's support. We're eager to keep making a difference through unforgettable experiences, so on your next 'Great Day Out' at the Country Centre, don't forget to take a look at our new Winners Shield and gleaming glass trophy.

Written by Lizzie Williams. For media inquiries, please get in touch with [email protected]

The 13th of November marked a milestone for Aldingbourne Country Centre as we proudly launched our Farm Development and Farm Educational Programme. The event, graced by the Mayor of Chichester, local businesses, farmers, and agricultural enthusiasts, was a celebration of our vision for the future.

In 2018, the Quarry Building at our Country Centre became the central hub of our site, hosting our shop, cafe, and conference facilities—all run as social enterprises. Now, with over 70,000 visitors this year, we're thrilled to announce the next phase: the development of our Open Farm.

Our plans include exciting new facilities like a Deer Park, Bird Aviary, Cherry Tree Farm, and a groundbreaking Educational Project. These additions will not only enhance our offerings but also create more opportunities for training and employment for adults with learning disabilities and autism.

We were honoured to have Robin Hobson as the keynote speaker, sharing insights into the importance of community involvement in projects like ours. John Pitts graciously welcomed guests and introduced other key figures, including Sue Livett, James, and Karen Tyrrell.

"It was brilliant to launch this new development for the Aldingbourne Country Centre. We are so grateful to everyone who came and showed such interest in supporting the project." said Abigail Rowe, Head of Fundraising at Aldingbourne Trust.

A cheque of £6,443 was presented to the Country Centre by Chets Modi on behalf of the NFU Mutual charitable trust towards education. We are immensely thankful for this donation towards our future plans.

Written by Lizzie Williams. For media inquiries, please get in touch at [email protected] 

The Friends of Aldingbourne Trust, a separate charity supporting the Aldingbourne Trust, is thrilled to announce it has been awarded a grant of £900 from The David Hunt Trust. This generous contribution is earmarked to sponsor Christmas meals for up to 30 people we support.

The awards ceremony, held at the Ham Manor Golf Club in Angmering on the 22nd of November, was a heartwarming celebration. The David Hunt Trust, founded in 2009 by businessman David Hunt, has been a consistent benefactor to local good causes and charities.

David Hunt, a former furniture business owner who relocated to East Preston over 20 years ago, has been utilising the proceeds from the sale of his business to contribute to numerous local causes. 

The Friends of Aldingbourne Trust, an independent charity established in 1995, stands steadfast in its commitment to supporting and championing the important work of the Trust. Their work promotes independence, inclusion, and the well-being of individuals with learning disabilities and autism. Find out more about Friends at www.aldingbournetrust.org/friends

Written by Lizzie Williams. For media inquiries, please get in touch at [email protected] 

On September 9th, 2023, Sarah Mitas, Manager at MAKE@Aldingbourne Enterprises, and Lara Kynvin organised the inaugural "Let's Get Talking About Suicide" in Victoria Park, Portsmouth. In a world where suicide remains a largely unspoken topic, together, they are determined to drive change. 

Navigating the sensitive and often taboo subject of suicide, they strengthened positive awareness, mental well-being, and community unity. There was live music, a physical zone featuring yoga, fitness, mindset maintenance, and dance, and a well-being zone offering meditation, comedy laughter sessions, music, and poetry. More than 45 local support services rallied at Victoria Park. Downtown Pompey was one of them who shared their appreciation for the day by saying, "Thank you for having us! Sprinkling Queer Joy across the city is such an important part of the work supporting LGBTQ+ (and all communities)!"

Dignitaries such as the Mayor, Mayoress, local councillors, and members of the public came by in their hundreds. Feedback and impact reports are already pouring in, with one organisation noting that four people approached them for help on the day. 'Andy's Mens Club' saw six additional attendees at their social meet-up as a result of Saturday's event. They are now receiving support instead of suffering in silence.

We are immensely thankful for the local media who got behind us through pre-event radio interviews and extensive press coverage before and after. 'Film 4 U' documented the journey from the event's inception earlier this year through execution and now as we plan what's next. While the editing process is ongoing, we can already tell you it's going to be an incredible watch.​

​Collaboration is underway with Portsmouth City Council, and there's unanimous agreement that this should become an annual tradition. As such, preparations are being made for next year's event scheduled for September 7th, 2024. For now, though, Sarah is planning monthly "Keep Talking" Workshops, open to the public and held at various locations, including MAKE. These will feature guest speakers from supporting organisations, signposting resources, and well-being and physical zone workshops. Quarterly meetings for "Let's Get Talking About Suicide" are also in the works, providing a platform for networking and planning the 2024 event to keep these vital conversations alive.

Written by Lizzie Williams

Before we know it, the kids are back at school, and we find ourselves wondering where the time has gone. Yet, looking back, we can't help but marvel at six packed weeks of Summer fun at the Country Centre. From the first splash of 'Wet & Wild', we ensured that every moment, regardless of the weather, was an adventure.

This year, we introduced several new events. 'Music Mayhem' got everyone grooving, 'Bubble Bonanza' filled the air, and 'Rainbow Run' brought buckets of foam whilst rainbow morphs ran riot! We also enjoyed hosting 'Little City South Downs', a mobile role-play experience where little ones get to 'be' grown-ups. From hairdressers to firefighters, builders to café owners. There are no limits!

But it's the Knucker Dragons who have been a central theme this year as we tell their story, starting with the arrival of Knucker Dragon eggs at Easter and dragon encounters in May. Now, it was time we invited our young visitors to become fearless knights and protect these magnificent creatures. Through various workshops, they immersed themselves in medieval adventures.

Megan, one of our Annual Members, shared her 'Great Day Out' with us, saying, "We visited the crafting marquee and loved that there were instructions on making everything a young Knight would need. Together, we created a shield and a sword and were ready to head to the Woodland Knight School. The young knights were initiated into school and got to try out archery, sword fighting, jousting and an assault course! Thank you for creating such wonderful memories for us all."

We want to extend our heartfelt thanks to you, our incredible visitors, dedicated vendors, and passionate staff members. Your enthusiasm and commitment brought magic to every moment. But the thrill doesn't end here! Halloween is just around the corner... stay tuned for more details coming soon.

​Written by Lizzie Williams

Hello and welcome to our May Newsletter where we share all the fantastic things we've been up to and plan to do in the future!

Our highlights:

• Watching Portsmouth Ladies vs Crawley Wasps at Fratton Park
• Visiting the marvellous Emsworth Arts Trail
• Photos of recent Gig Buddies meeting up
• Welcome to our new Gig Buddy matches​​

We are also looking to recruit more Volunteers, so if you would like to become part of the Gig Buddies community and share the many benefits of being a Volunteer, such as free tickets to events and improving your CV, please contact us if you or anyone you know would like to help adults in Portsmouth make new friends.

Written by Lizzie Williams