The Run England Activator for Birmingham, Lauren Scott, says “Running is a great activity because it is easily accessible and low cost, and the health and well being rewards are huge.”

“In these recession-hit times many people can’t afford the cost of gym memberships and running is a great way to get fit, get some fresh air, meet people and see some bits of the city that you might not previously have explored. Birmingham is great place for running with plenty of parks and traffic-free canal paths to enjoy.”

Run England, which is the recreational running programme from England Athletics, supports runners through its online running community and through the 700+ registered Run England groups led by qualified leaders taking place across the country. It’s FREE to join Run England and, if you are new to running or just thinking about getting started, joining Run England will give you the information and motivation to get going, find out more at  www.runengland.org

Why not volunteer to be a run Leader? Birmingham is one of 12 areas in the country where England Athletics have invested in a Run England Activator and Birmingham Activator, Lauren Scott is keen to hear from individuals and organisations interested in becoming leaders and starting groups. “In 12 months time I would love to see a Run England group taking place in every ward in the city, so that every resident of Birmingham can access a group within minutes of their home or workplace,” said Scott.
“You don’t have to be a brilliant runner to be a good leader and sometimes the best leaders are people who understand the challenges that the ordinary person finds when they take up running for the first time. You don’t need speed to lead!”
Run England are looking for leaders to start groups across the city and will be running their next one day training course at the Alexander Stadium on Saturday 18th February. On completing the one day course applicants will receive a UK Athletics Leadership in Running Fitness licence which insures them to lead groups. The course would suit anyone with a passion for running that they want to share with others whether in their home area, at work, college, local park, leisure centre etc; active individuals looking to do some rewarding voluntary work; or individuals who might want to start groups as part of their personal training business or sport or leisure organisation.

If you would like more information please contact Lauren Scott e: lscott@englandathletics.org or t: 07730 208915

Great News – thanks to all the support of local people and their voting power,  the funding from the  ‘Proceeds of Crime Act’  was awarded to Fox Hollies Forum.  Its great news for young people in Acocks Green.  Its nice to know that when we act together we can make a difference.

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Fox Hollies Forum and the local Police have put in a joint bid to secure £12,000 of funding from the ‘Proceeds of Crime Act’ to transform the well-established Fox Hollies Forum community centre; a great resource that benefits the whole area.  To help secure this funding for our area, all you need to do is to click on the link below and vote for ‘The Gospel’.   The closing date is the 15th January.  It only takes a few seconds and at the moment they are in second place so really need votes.    The video below explains the process.

The Gospel – Fox Hollies Forum Youth Centre
The Fox Hollies Forum was created to provide a sanctuary for the local area.  Located in an area that has suffered higher than average levels of crime and anti-social behaviour the Forum was set up by local residents to support a range of community based activities across a wide age spectrum.

In addition to their current schemes the Forum want to create a community safety hub, a youth centre for local young people to attend. To achieve their goal the forum desperately needs a revamp and new equipment to attract young people through their doors. This project will be assisted by the West Midlands Police Prince’s Trust Group.

To vote for this worthy project in our area go to the website and scroll down to Yardley Constituency and click – The Gospel

http://www.west-midlands.police.uk/np/birminghameast/vote/#yardley

where:  Baptist Community Hall, Yardley Road.
(close to Police Station)

when: 7.30pm

What:  Public Meeting, everyone in the local area is welcome.  Refreshments served.

Longboat on Grand Union, from Westley Vale, Acocks Green

Amongst those present at the meeting will be:

Leslie Williams from Birmingham City Council Waste Management – to discuss changes the recent bin and recycling collection changes and any concerns.
Acocks Green Police present to make note of any issues or concerns

There will be a chance to talk to these representatives  informally whilst having refreshments. There will also be an opportunity for people to ask questions and raise any concerns or issues.

Come along and find out more about what’s going on in our area.

If your aged between 13-17 and wish to join, email: 489@aircadets.org or call 0121 706 4720 for more information.

Cottesbrooke Junior School Carol Singing in Acocks Green

Positioning themselves outside Wilkinson’s store, the Year 3 children sang their little hearts out to the traditional tunes of ‘Rudolph’ and ‘Jingle Bells’. They even managed to get their audience warmed up with some ‘Rockin around the Christmas Tree’!

“A huge thank you to all the parents and members of the public who took a little time out of their busy schedules to listen to the children. We hope you enjoyed it. We certainly know the children did as they sang all the way back to school!” said Mrs Jones, Headteacher at Cottesbrooke.

This was a well attended concert of approximately 75 members local music lovers, who enjoyed a programme enthusiastically performed by the musicians comprising of Violins: Byron Parish and Libby Golding, Violas: Amy Fawcett and Miriam Guillaume, Cellos: Jackie Tyley and Helen Edgar. The programme comprised of ‘Variations on a theme by Tchaikovsky’ from
Arensky. A Quartet The Joke by Haydn. and a Rimsky Korsakov Sextet.

The CBSO Players perform at Acocks Green Library

We are fortunate to have had the opportunity to experience similar standards of performance in our area over recent years and Mike Byrne reported that the ‘Swansong’ Concerts will continue in the New Year, but with a slight reduction in the number of performances. He further thanked all the folk who have given their good support over this time, which has allowed these concerts to be organised.

Also the Arts and Media events will continue  in the New Year at the library on January 11th at 2pm with a presentation from Susan Hunston, on the subject of our real thoughts called Reading between the Lines.  For more information call in at the library for  tickets.

If you are over 55 and want to learn how to use your computer, or would like to improve on your computer skills, in a relaxed and friendly setting then ReCOM’s classes could be for you.

A ReCom Silver Surfers Course

ReCOM will be running ‘Silver Surfer’ computer classes for beginners in Acocks Green from January 2012. To register or for more information phone 0121 663 0335 or email admin@recom.org.uk.

It was a very encouraging and enjoyable experience, being the culmination of the all their hard work and challenges, which followed their 12 week course and resulted in the presentation of certificates for achievement.

These courses are part of an on-going programme of the Prince’s Trust who are in partnership with West Midlands Police and Solihull College and also supported by many local businesses and agencies. Some of our local concerns who supported this initiative, were Sainsburys, Westley Hotel, Waitrose, Earlswood Nurseries, Jeffries Hardware, Cannon Hill Park Tea rooms presented a boat, Robert Wilkinson’s Funfairs donated 10 ton of sand, P.J. Rhodes, ASDA, Swan Trio, Severn Road School, Fox Hollies Children’s Centre, Acocks Green Baptist Church, Super News, Topshop, Jewsons Builders Merchants, Acocks Green Lions, Corus Hotels, Holiday Inns, La Tasca restaurant, Martell Timber Ltd, Gamestation, Soft Brick, Halfords Ltd and Willie Thorne.

The Prince’s Trust was formed in 1976, to help and support young people in achieving their potential and lead into training for education and job opportunities.

All the team were given skills, work training and experiences. They were able to develop relationships whilst working in teams and take up challenges at their time at an outdoors pursuit centre in Wales.

The team raised £2500, to support a number of projects in the community, Bag Packing at Sainsburys, Car Washes, Guess the number of sweets in a jar and arranged to raise bail monies for the release of’ Willie Thorne’ the snooker player, who entered in this fun event with enthusiasm. Some of the projects were building a beach play area for the Fox Hollies Children centre, meal out experiences, visits to a cinema and coffee mornings, for elderly residents.

Some of the team members reported that they had experienced earlier difficulties in their lives, but enthused that the course and experiences gave them opportunities to plan ahead and to improve their confidences. This was most evident from each of their personal presentations.

What was highlighted was the many challenges that we face in our communities, not least those that face many of our young people.

If you are in the age range 16 to 25, not in education, employment or training and reside in the Birmingham East Area and you may be interested to join the course in January 9th 2012, please do contact team leaders: PC Stuart Toogood or PCSO Fae Palmer on 07767749684.

This was a worthwhile achievement which challenged us to share and promote this good practice.

Sport 4 Life would very much appreciate you taking 5 minutes to complete the questionnaire at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HSH62QB about your thoughts on youth-related anti-social behaviour on the estate. By completing it you will help give us the best chance of accessing funding for the benefit of the Stockfield community.

If you would like hard copies of the survey please let the Forum know and we will arrange for some to be sent out. Responses need to be received by the 25th November.