Community Lincs’ TED Programme and East Lindsey District Council working in partnership Community Lincs and East Lindsey District Council are thrilled to announce Jane Berni as the Age-friendly Principal Officer. Jane will play a key role in progressing East Lindsey’s ambition to achieve Age-friendly Community status as recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) Global Network for Age-friendly Cities and Communities. This collaborative programme between Community Lincs’ TED Ageing Better in East Lindsey programme and East Lindsey District Council is the first of its kind on the East Coast; it is also the first district in the UK to work towards the WHO Age-friendly accreditation. As the Age-friendly Principal Officer, Jane will play a key part  in the development and success of the programme; she will be working directly with strategic partners to support the development and implementation of a district wide action plan. “We are delighted to welcome Jane as Age-friendly Principal Officer, she has a wealth of experience in both the statutory and voluntary sectors across the East Lindsey area, which will underpin her work to deliver the Age-friendly programme across the district.”, said Gail Jackson, CEO of Community Lincs and TED Strategic Lead. “ Our TED programme has been active across the district over the last four years and the achievement of Age-friendly Community status will be a wonderful part of TEDs legacy in the area.” The Portfolio Holder, Councillor Graham Marsh, for Partnerships at East Lindsey District Council said: “East Lindsey District Council are pleased to be part of this exciting programme of work to make East Lindsey an Age Friendly District and we are delighted to welcome Jane to the team and into what is already a positive partnership with Community Lincs as she starts her work on taking us forward with our Age Friendly journey. ‘Age Friendly East Lindsey’ is a natural way forward for us all to ensure our older people can enjoy a quality life and have a positive outlook on their place in our community”. This partnership is directly informed by the work of the TED Ageing Better programme throughout East Lindsey, which ELDC has been a key member and champion of.  Age-friendly environments foster healthy and active ageing. They enable older people to: age safely in a place that is right for them; be free from poverty; continue to develop personally; and to contribute to their communities while retaining autonomy, health and dignity. (From Left: Jane Berni, Lisa Jones and Roisin Mullee)

You are welcome to read the Summer Edition of the TED times. In this special quarterly edition we will be highlighting the new commissioned services who will be delivering TED projects around East Lindsey. We hope you will find a group or event you would like to attend.

One Year on for the Horncastle Friendship Group Last week The Over 50s Youth Club in Horncastle celebrated their one year anniversary with a party for all their members and volunteers to recognise the hard work that has gone into their friendship group. The celebration saw the Horncastle Ukulele Group perform music for the party, along with a visit from the Mayor of Horncastle and his wife. The T.E.D. Project (Talk, Eat, Drink in East Lindsey) who are funded by The National Lottery Community Fund, originally helped the friendship group establish in 2018. Since then The Over 50s Youth Club has gone from strength-to-strength and oversees their own events. They have also successfully gained the use of the Horncastle Youth Centre free of charge every Wednesday and have hosted a stall at the Horncastle Christmas Market in 2018. The aims of the friendship groups are to reduce social isolation and loneliness in over 50s across East Lindsey. Roisin Mullee (T.E.D. Friendship Officer) who provides support to the friendship groups commented “they’re a hardworking, dedicated group who really highlight the benefits friendship groups can have on the community”. For the celebration one of the volunteers baked an amazing cake, along with the rest of the volunteers clubbing together to put a buffet together for the users. One group member, Kathy Israel commented “I just come for the chat, it doesn’t matter if there is activities or not, the mixing is good”. The Over 50s Youth Group have regular activities at their sessions including Indoor Bowls and Boccia by Magna Vitae, along with crafts and board games organised by the volunteers. Regular attender Roy Simmons told us “I love it; it’s great if I didn’t come here I’d just have a doze in the afternoon. I wouldn’t miss it for anything”. As a group being run solely by volunteers the group are very keen to fundraise to help organise events and trip for the users. Some of their up-coming trips include a day in Sheffield and a trip to a Fish and Chip Restaurant in Cleethorpes. Talking to the friendship group users, Brenda Newstead remarked that the group is “very handy, just passes the time when you’re on your own”. Lynda Baker (Volunteer) shared “today would not have happened without the hard work of our volunteers who make this so special that makes it worth all the hard work that goes into it.” She went on to describe yesterday’s celebrations as “special, magic and a lovely atmosphere, the way the room has been arranged has really helped. Everyone is talking, you know you’ve done well when everyone is talking to each other, and there’s a buzz”. For more information about the group or if you wish to attend visit https://tedineastlindsey.co.uk/friendship-groups/ or call 01529 301966.

Community Lincs’ T.E.D. Programme and East Lindsey District Council Announce Partnership

The T.E.D. project runs as a Test and Learn model to help direct the learning and understandings that organisations have about the impacts of isolation and loneliness on those over 50 living in rural communities. As part of this case studies are a valuable tool which help the T.E.D. programme to demonstrate the impact of the services we provide, whilst giving a valuable insight into the lives of our volunteers and beneficiaries; framing their experiences, life journey and any teachings they would like to share. To find out more visit our learning page

The T.E.D. Ageing Better in East Lindsey programme is thrilled to be welcoming The National Lottery Community Fund representative, Ruth Bamford, on a whistle stop tour of East Lindsey and to take part in some T.E.D. activities. Ruth will be joining the T.E.D. team on Tuesday 5th March. Activities include an I.T. drop in session with Lincs Digital at Chapel St Leanord, where people over 50 are supported to get active online, followed by a networking lunch with T.E.D. volunteers and the Programme Management Group. Ruth will also be awarding three new Age-friendly Businesses, Chapel Garden Centre in Chapel St Leanords and Chuckling Cheese and Wilko’s in Hildred’s Shopping Centre, Skegness. Hildred’s are great supporters of T.E.D. and recently hosted a banter bench for customers to sit and have a chat with centre volunteers and T.E.D. volunteers. Amy Thomas, T.E.D. Programme Manager said, “We’re really looking forward to showing The National Lottery Community Fund around East Lindsey, an area committed to the Ageing Better agenda, and being able to showcase some of the great work being done in the district as part of T.E.D.” Assistant Director (People) Michelle Howard of East Lindsey District Council said; “We are pleased to be working in partnership with the T.E.D. programme and are pleased that The National Lottery Community Fund colleagues are able to visit and see for themselves, the difference that T.E.D. is making in East Lindsey. We would like to congratulate the businesses receiving Age-friendly Business Awards”.

T.E.D.’s latest season edition newsletter is here with the Spring paper. To view or download the PDF please click here.  

The Age-friendly Business Award scheme rewards local businesses going above and beyond for older customers and who foster a positive view of ageing. The award is open to businesses and services in East Lindsey operational for at least 6 months and who meet set criteria in the following categories: Accessibility Customer Comfort Marketing and Communications Staff Training and Attitude Local businesses are important to older people, which is why we are working with businesses to raise awareness and encourage use of Age-friendly Businesses. Likewise older people make up a significant proportion of the population and are an important part of our economy – 26% of East Lindsey residents being over age 65. Age-friendly Business status also speaks volumes when attracting customers visiting the area. A report by the Greater Lincolnshire LEP revealed that the highest proportion of visitors were age 55 – 64 years. The award process includes an assessment conducted via discussion with the business manager/owner and a mystery shop to validate the assessment findings. Businesses achieving Age-friendly status receive an award and window sticker to help customer’s identify them as Age-friendly and advertising on the T.E.D. website with direct links to the businesses own website. T.E.D. – Ageing Better in East Lindsey is part of Ageing Better, a programme set up by The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK. Ageing Better aims to develop creative ways for people aged over 50 to be actively involved in their local communities, helping to combat social isolation and loneliness. It is one of five major programmes set up by The National Lottery Community Fund to test and learn from new approaches to designing services which aim to make people’s lives healthier and happier. www.tedineastlindsey.co.uk. The T.E.D. programme is managed by Community Lincs a charity, based in Sleaford, which works throughout Lincolnshire to make a positive difference to the lives of individuals and communities in the region www.communitylincs.com “This is a great opportunity to demonstraste businesses that consider older people in their business approaches. The T.E.D. Age-friendly Business award is proof that these businesses are thinking about older people in their business approach” T.E.D. Programme Manager.