LifeAutumn 2013 Dear Friends of Oakleaf,

Welcome to the Autumn 2013 edition of Oakleaf Life!

I’d first like to introduce myself as the new Events and Marketing Executive at Oakleaf Enterprise! I’ve been with Oakleaf for only 2 months now, and have enjoyed learning about this wonderful charity and all it does to support mental health in the community.

We’ve had a busy summer with some great fundraising events and activities that are featured in the edition.

Our biggest event this Autumn is the Great South Run. We’ve got a strong team who are running 10 miles in support of Oakleaf and are very excited to have this platform to promote Oakleaf and the services we provide, not to mention we’ve caught the running bug ourselves and have secured a spot in the London Marathon and are taking part in the Great South Run again next year! Runners be warned - we’re coming after you and we will catch you!

We are looking forward to a great year end with all the activities we have planned and inviting you to upcoming events, and of course continuing to share news and success with all of our amazing clients, volunteers, staff and supporters.

Best wishes,

Deepti Parmar, Events & Marketing Executive

5 Numeracy & Literacy5 Confidence Course5 Social Activities5 Great South Run5 Stevens & Bolton5 Golf Day 5 Winter Gardening 5 Events Diary

Numeracy & LiteracyThis month we are excited to announce the return of our Numeracy and Literacy course! The course will

be held every Friday afternoon at Oakleaf for two hours, and will run for ten weeks and is designed to help

people who have not achieved a pass in their Maths or English GCSE.

A Note from our CEO

We have had a great summer with new programmes

starting and some very interesting collaborative partnerships

developing. We successfully won a small contract from DWP

to work with young adults with “complex needs” which has

entailed offering them intensive pre work support. We also

started supporting SAdAS (Surrey based drug and alcohol

charity), to deliver outreach services in Waverley & Surrey Heath;

both of which are progressing very well.

Over the past few months I have been working very closely

with Guildford Borough Council, The YMCA and Surrey Lifelong

Learning Partnership. We have been developing a proposal to

undertake some of the Boroughs horticultural work across all of

their residential retirement homes, and I am delighted to say we

will begin a 2 year trial contract starting 1st December. This will

bring a wealth of new and interesting work which will hopefully

create a number of employment opportunities for our clients.

This enables us to keep our independence but at the same

time work in partnership to deliver our aims to a much wider

audience, which can only be for the positive.

Thanks, Clive Stone

OUR CLIENT TRAINING & ACTIVITIES

The fruits of the Glasshouse Growing Group

Confidence Course

Our confidence course is delivered by

Loran Northey, a freelance wellbeing

coach who has been helping our clients

for nearly five years. The course lasts for

ten weeks, and comprises a small group

workshop which meets for two hours on

a Monday afternoon at Oakleaf. The

course is designed to help our clients

identify what ‘confidence’ is, why some

people have it and others don’t, and how

to feel more confident in various day-to-

day situations which may ordinarily leave

them feeling anxious or worried. We have

successfully run this course for a number

of years now, and clients have thoroughly

enjoyed the greater sense of self-belief

which it has brought to them.

Guitar Lessons

Our Guitar Lessons have been a great

hit, and now we are also excited to

announce that they are open to public!

Come down to Oakleaf for a good jam

session every Tuesday at 1:45pm! All you

need is a guitar!

For more information please contact

Client Services at 01483 303649 /

info@oakleaf-enterprise.org

It also encourages those who wish to improve their

confidence with spelling, grammar, punctuation,

letter writing, budgeting, managing bills and money.

The course is delivered by Tanya Scrivener from

Guildford College, who leads a number of outreach

projects to help disadvantaged groups increase their

numeracy skills across the Guildford area.

Social Inclusion Activities

BBQ & Cake Sale Success

The sun shone and there was a great crowd at the BBQ and Cake Sale held on 12th September 2013. Clients,

volunteers, Board Members,Staff and supporters made their way down to enjoy a great lunch followed by

scrumptious goodies all donated by staff and clients! And let us tell you, there are some amazing bakers our

there! The event was a great success and we were able to raise useful funds from the cake sale! We’ll be

looking forward to another event like next year (maybe two if we get a stellar summer again)!

PLEASE SUPPORT US!You can support our work in a variety of ways:

5 By making a donation

5 By donating time, services or products

5 By becoming a corporate or community partner

5 By organising or taking part in fundraising events/activities

5 By supporting our activities or events

Clients, Volunteers & Staff enjoying the Oakleaf BBQ & Cake Sale!

Upcoming Client Activities:

• Confidence Course Starts - 7th Oct at 1:30pm

• Happiness & Wellness Event - 10th Oct from 10:30am-3:30pm

• Numeracy Sessions Start - 11th Oct at 1:30pm

• Bowling at Guildford Spectrum - 12th Oct at 11:00am

• Restaurant Night - 17th Oct at 5:45pm

• Literacy Sessions Start - 18th Oct at 1:30pm

• Big Breakfast - 23rd Oct at 10:00am

Many of you may have heard about

the “Mental Health Patient” costumes

that were advertised by ASDA, Tesco

and Amazon. Mind Charity and Time to

Talk started a campaign asking people

suffering with mental health issues to

tweet in their “Mental Patient” costumes

to fight against the stigma associated

to mental health issues. Oakleaf was

behind this campaign, and we sent in

our photos too! Mental health issues

affect 1 in 4 people over the course of

their lives, irrespective of age, gender or

social class, so who’s to judge?

Stop the stigma!

Sweet 16Oakleaf turned sweet 16 on 19th

September! We are grateful to all of

our wonderful clients, volunteers, staff,

and supporters to helping us make it to

another year!

Volunteers Needed! We are always after volunteers to help us

out with running our Coffee Shop, helping

in our IT, Horticulture and Upholstery

departments and teaching new skills!

Contact us if you are interested in sharing

a language or skill with Oakleaf!

OUR CLIENT TRAINING & ACTIVITIES

Volunteer LunchesEach week, volunteers and clients have been taking part in

preparing hot lunches as part of our Coffee Shop. The aims of

this activity are to provide clients with quick and easy meal

ideas. By using recipes sent in by staff or volunteers, we aim

to help clients plan for meals by making the most of their

ingredients and showing that they don’t have to cost a fortune!

It’s been a great success, and we are looking forward to

creating our very own recipe book which will be available to

purchase. Keep an eye out for our stall at the Farmers’ Market

in Guildford!

Oakleaf Choir Are you interested in joining the Oakleaf

Choir? Come along to meet new people,

learn new songs and feel uplifted!

Contact Mike Curtis or Client Services for

more information at:

01483 303649/info@oakleaf-enterprise.org

Staff, Client or Volunteer - can you tell?

Great meals prepared at Oakleaf!

“Mental Patient”

BUPA Great South RunOUR DONORS, SUPPORTERS & VOLUNTEERS

RAISE MONEY FOR OAKLEAF JUST BY SHOPPING! Give as you Live works with thousands of stores that have signed up to donate a commission on every online purchase. Install a simple app, choose Oakleaf as your charity and shop away! Visit www.giveasyoulive.com to donate to Oakleaf while you shop!

Members of Team Oakleaf training for the big day!

Could you consider leaving a gift in your will to Oakleaf? Gifts in Wills (or legacies) form the foundation of charities in the UK. Many large charities rely on legacies;

without them they would not exist or would have to cut crucial services. Legacy income is currently worth

nearly £2 billion a year to UK charities. However, despite the fact that 74% of the UK population support

charities during their lifetime, only 7% currently leave a gift to charity when writing a Will.

Interestingly, the Cabinet Office’s Behavioural Insights Team conducted a trial earlier this year (in partnership

with Remember a Charity and The Co-operative Legal Services), looking at legacy giving in the UK. The

team looked at over 1,000 new Wills over six months and noted that when solicitors simply mentioned to

people that leaving a gift to charity was an option, the percentage of people who did so rose to 10%. It

rose again, to 15%, when people were also asked if there were any charities that they were passionate

about. Many more Britons would leave a gift to charities of their choice if reminded to consider this

opportunity by their solicitor.

If you feel that Oakleaf has had a positive impact on you, your family or our local community (and once

you have made provision in your Will for your family and friends), it would be deeply appreciated if you

could consider supporting the continuation of our work in this way when you next visit your solicitor to write

or update your Will.

The Great South Run is just around the corner! Our first time

taking part and we have an amazing team supporting Oakleaf

Enterprise and mental health awareness! The 10 mile run is

taking place in Portsmouth on 27th October, 2013. Come along

and cheer on the team!

Missed out on running with us? Not to worry - we’ve signed up

for the Great South Run again next year! For info or to support

us, contact Deepti at :

01483 303649/deeptiparmar@oakleaf-enterprise.org

World Mental Health Day 2013 To mark World Mental Health Day 2013, Oakleaf is pleased to share the

Happiness and Wellness Event! The event will aim to promote the health of

our minds by teaming with local mental health and community organisations

across North-East Hampshire, Surrey Heath and Farnham.

Information will be available on how we can all choose to have

improved mental health through healthy living, choosing the right help

and support when we need it, and taking part in community activities. For information on activities and locations, contact 07900 507450

Youth and Philanthropy InitiativeEach year thousands of secondary school students

participate in YPI, the signature program of the Toskan

Casale Foundation. YPI has engaged hundreds of schools

worldwide, across Canada, United States, England, Scotland,

and Northern Ireland.

Earlier in Spring, Oakleaf was lucky to have students Keira

Speaight and Lucy Ware from Carshalton High School For

Girls choose us as their nominated charity for the YPI project.

The girls took on the initiative and organised a bake sale and

sponsored walk in which they raised £180!

Our heartfelt thank you goes out to the school, tutors and

students for supporting Oakleaf and our aims!

OUR DONORS, SUPPORTERS & VOLUNTEERS

Oakleaf’s Golf Day took place on 6th September at Merrist

Wood Golf Course. Forty-eight golfers took part in rasing over

£5,500 - all of which will allow us to continue supporting those

suffering with mental health issues in the community.

Teams enjoyed the 18-hole championship course, along with a

putting competition, followed by a lovely 3-course dinner, live

auction and entertainment.

We would like to thank everyone who participated in the event

and helped make it a great success!

Office SpaceWe currently have 1 two-person office

available for hire, with occasional use of

our training/board room permitted. For

more information, please contact our

CEO, Clive Stone at: 01483 303649/

clivestone@oakleaf-enterprise.org.

Golf Day at Merrist Wood

Stevens & Bolton supporting Oakleaf’s Golf Day

Teams at our Golf Day Event at Merrist Wood

London MarathonWe are excited to announce that we

have secured a spot at the 2014 Lon-

don Marathon! A wonderful opportunity

to platform Oakleaf and our role in the

mental health community.

For more information, contact Deepti

Parmar at: 01438 303649/

deeptiparmar@oakleaf-enterprise.org

Stevens & Bolton - Oakleaf PartnershipWe are excited to announce that Stevens & Bolton LLP solicitors in Guildford have adopted Oakleaf Enterprise

as their sponsored charity until April 2015!

Stevens & Bolton have already raised £1850 from their own annual

golf day in June and joined us at our golf day at Merrist Wood in

September. Along with that, some of their top runners will be part

of the Oakleaf Great South Run team, and will later this month

hold an in-house promises auction night, with all the proceeds

going to support Oakleaf.

We are lucky to have a great organisation supporting us and

creating awareness for better mental health in the community!

OUR CUSTOMER SERVICES

eBay SalesDo you have any high quality items

you no longer need, such as furniture,

designer clothing or electronics? If so,

please consider donating these items to

us so we can continue to raise funds.

If you’re looking to buy any good

quality items, check our eBay page by

searching for seller ‘oakleafenterprise’ in

the advanced search.

As well as this, we would like to welcome

any donations of CDs, DVDs, mobile

phones and printer cartridges as we are

able to recycle them to raise funds.

You can either drop them off at our

centre or contact us to organise a

collection!

Keep your Garden Blooming in the Winter! Winter is fast approaching and before we know it the cold

weather will settle in. Our Horticulture department gives us tips

to help you make sure your garden is winter ready!

• Don’t leave containers/pots in garden , roots will die if they

get to wet and frost may also cause pots to crack

• Don’t leave fushsias, geraniums and begonias outside, if

possible put in green house or cover

• Don’t leave lawn covered with leaves, this can cause

diseases and turn the lawn yellow

• Don’t cut lawns in winter, let it sleep

• Don’t walk on lawns when wet and icy, this can also

damage grass

• Don’t leave leaves and debris on top of ponds, this is fatal

for fish as they cannot get enough oxygen

• Don’t prune cherry and plum trees, as it may increase the

possibility of silver leaf infection

• Don’t leave taps/pipes uncovered as this is a leading cause

of leaks

• Don’t leave dahlias outside, store in boxes

• Don’t dig around shrubs, as it will dispute roots

• Don’t leave snow on any branches of trees, possibly

breaking them

Upholstery for the Season As the holiday season is upon us, keep in mind that having

something re-upholstered or getting those matching cushions for

a sofa can make a great addition to your home, or the perfect

gift for friends and family!

By using our services, not only will you be delighted with the work

done, but you will feel good knowing that you have provided

work experience to our clients and valuable funds to enable us to

continue training and supporting them!

For more information contact Steve at: 01483 303649/

stevecansell@oakleaf-enterprise.org

Farmers’ MarketCome see us at the Guildford Farmers’

Market, the first Tuesday of every month.

We’ve got some great buys - cushions

and plants from our Upholstery and

Horticulture departments. And lots of

goodies for stocking fillers!

Find us located by the WHSmith!

Our Forthcoming Events:

5 World Mental Health Day 2013 Thursday 10th October, 10:30am - 3:30pmMark the day by attending the Happiness and Wellness Event and join local mental health and community organisations working in partnership across North-East Hampshire, Surrey Heath and Farnham. Free entry.

Contact linklight.contact@yahoo.co.uk or 07900 507 450 for more information.

5 Bowling at the Guildford Spectrum Saturday 12th October, 11am For our clients - come and join us for a fun day out! £9.50/ each. Contact Client Services for more info - 01483 303649

5 Great South Run Saturday 27th October, 10am, Portsmouth Join us and cheer on our runners at this 10m run around the most iconic sites in Portsmouth!

5 Farmers’ Market First Tuesday of each month, 10am-3:30pm Guildford High StreetCome and check out our handmade items and plants grown by our clients. Free entry.

5 National Eczema Society Christmas Fair Saturday 16th November, 10am-3pm, Guildhall, High Street, Guildford (under the clock) Come and see what lovely things we’ve been making, great! Free entry.

For more information, please check our website, phone 01483 303649, or email info@oakleaf-enterprise.org

Registered Charity Number: 1064524

Company Limited by Guarantee Number: 3388671

Help Us & Yourself!Do you want to save money on your

household bills? Then switch to Utility

Warehouse and get one simple monthly

bill, at a cheaper price. For every

customer who joins Utility Warehouse,

Oakleaf gets 5% of your household bill

each month. Who said donations had to

come from your own pocket?! Call 0800

131 3000 today for more information,

quoting ‘K34376’, or visit:

www.costfreegiving.org

MEETING AND KEEPING IN TOUCH WITH OAKLEAF

Facebook & TwitterGet your Oakleaf news first from these

sources and you’ll gain a real insight into

what goes on here without even moving!

Search for @_oakleaf on Twitter and visit: www.facebook.com/oakleafenterprise

Happy Clients!

“Thank you Oakleaf for being there for

me always, no matter how big or small my

problems were :)”

Past Client

“I’ve found Oakleaf to be a really good

platform for socialising, when it is not

always possible to find when dealing with

mental health issues”

Current Client

“I am very grateful for having been

given a place at Oakleaf and think it is a

fantastic opportunity for people to gain

skills that may help them meet others and

perhaps gain paid employment”

Current Client