A Square Peg in a Pandemic-shaped hole Posted in: Blog, Covid-19 Reflections of a Small Charity CEO after an unprecedented year ‘Oh crumbs’ (or words to that effect), ‘this Covid-19 situation really is serious’ was roughly the thought crossing my mind as I arranged an emergency meeting of Trustees on Sunday 15th March 2020. What were we going to do?  We’d already put some measures in… Continue Reading
Student volunteers: key to an inclusive future Posted in: #studentvolunteeringweek, Volunteering It’s Student Volunteering Week! About a third of all of Include’s volunteers are student volunteers, so we’d like to take this opportunity to send a massive THANK YOU their way! They help us every day to spread the message of Inclusive Communication. Three of our volunteers have kindly take time to share their experience of… Continue Reading
Helen’s Story Posted in: Covid-19, Inclusive Communication Here’s Helen’s story... “People kept recommending the choir to me because they know I love singing and signing. Eventually, I thought I’m going to give this a try. From the minute I arrived everyone was so friendly; I knew it was something I wanted to stay involved with. I absolutely loved it and I was… Continue Reading
Josh’s Story Posted in: Covid-19, Inclusive Communication Meet Josh... The Include Choir has taught Josh singing and Makaton signing. He says; “The Include Choir makes me feel special because I’m very involved. I help a lot at meetings and rehearsals and keep the choir to time”! He is also a member of the steering group. Josh often takes part in the choir’s… Continue Reading
Sofia’s Story Posted in: Blog, Covid-19, Inclusive Communication Meet Sofia... Sofia is a volunteer for the Include Choir, and helps with a bit of everything! She says “My favourite song is I’m a Believer because I love signing it, and it’s one that makes everyone really happy and gets us dancing!” “Before lockdown, I supported members during choir rehearsals and meetings, helped record… Continue Reading
Hannah’s Story Posted in: Covid-19, Inclusive Communication Meet Hannah... Hannah learnt Makaton in early childhood but she’d forgotten most of it, until she started singing and signing with Include. Hannah and her life-long friend, Ellie joined when Include started in 2016, and have always been a fabulous feature of the choir, right at the center, singing and signing with great passion and… Continue Reading
MaryClare’s Story Posted in: Covid-19, Inclusive Communication Meet MaryClare… “Singing with The Include Choir is a joyful feeling” says choir member MaryClare, who sings and signs with the choir. Her favourite song is the Bicycle Song , because it has a great tune and words which encourage people to enjoy cycling and being outdoors. I ride my bike every day and often… Continue Reading
David’s Story Posted in: Blog, Covid-19, Inclusive Communication David sings and plays percussion with The Include Choir. His favourite song is Somewhere Over the Rainbow. He loves the enthusiasm of the choir and says; “It makes me feel good - the people are what makes The Include Choir special”. His Include story… Since joining The Include Choir David has learnt to play the… Continue Reading
Sarah and Jay’s Story Posted in: Covid-19, Inclusive Communication Meet Sarah and Jay Sarah started as a singer and became a volunteer. Sarah loves the song Help by The Beetles. And Jay’s favourite is Don’t worry by Bob Marley. Jay plays percussion and sings. Sarah said; “I also love our choir’s Kind Communication song as it tells people what we are all about. For… Continue Reading
Meet Danni – super support worker, valued volunteer Posted in: Hi, I'm a volunteer for The Include Choir, Social Communication Hi! My name is Danni, and I’m a volunteer for The Include Choir. The first time I came to the Include Choir, however, wasn’t as a volunteer but as a support worker.  I’d been allocated to support a lady one afternoon, and this included taking her to a new activity. I didn’t know much about… Continue Reading