AGE UK OXFORDSHIRE 

Towards unrestricted core costs as a Cost of Living Uplift

Project overview Paint the Town for the Jubilee Project builds on existing partnerships and a commitment to supporting older people to engage in creative activities as leaders, as well as ....more

Project overview Paint the Town for the Jubilee Project builds on existing partnerships and a commitment to supporting older people to engage in creative activities as leaders, as well as participants. Working with our Age Friendly Creative Ambassadors (AFCA) lived experience group and a professional visual artist, we will co-design a simple creative activity for older people, and the wider community, to do in response to the Queen’s Jubilee, as part of a weekend of celebration. Everyday Creativity Following on from the success of the “Rainbows in our Windows” concept informally carried out by the public during the pandemic, we aim to build on this type of community creativity by delivering a similar project for the Jubilee. Working in partnership with the Mill Arts Centre in Banbury, we will support local people to produce their own work in the lead up to the Jubilee weekend, then celebrate the work achieved at the on 4th June 2022 with cake- and more creativity at a Creative Celebration event at the Mill Arts Centre. Co-Creation We will work in partnership with our AFCA lived experience group and artists from the Mill Arts Centre’s extensive network of creative practitioners to devise a Creative Challenge pack that can be delivered by post and via existing networks. We don’t want to prejudge the exact nature of the creative challenge as this will be determined by working in partnership with our AFCA group and artists, but we envisage something to reflect the memories people have of the past 70 years be they recent or historic and connected to Royal Celebrations. We recognise that some people may wish to reflect memories that fall outside of Royal Celebration’s, and this will be equally valued. Artistic Delivery In the lead up to the Platinum Jubilee weekend we will hold a series of creative workshops led by professional creative practitioners, to generate interest and build skills. The workshops will be delivered on multiple platforms to ensure those who are online and offline can take part, in whatever way they feel most comfortable. Each workshop is free for all to attend and led by a range of creative practitioners with a track record of working with community groups. Individuals will be supported to explore different artistic mediums and approaches to creativity each of the in-person workshops will be delivered in accessible community venues in areas where arts participation is lower than average. Place-Based Delivery The project activity is primarily designed for Banbury residents, but communities across Oxfordshire would be invited to take part and we will use our extensive networks to support this. Age UK Oxfordshire is one of the founder members of the Age Friendly Banbury project which seeks to make Banbury a great place to grow older in and is part of the World Health Organisation Age Friendly Cities initiative. In 2019 AUKO’s Creative Team worked in close partnership with the Age Friendly Banbury project and the Mill Arts Centre to deliver a month long programme of Age Friendly Creative activities for a Banbury Age of Creativity Festival programme. The project will build on these partnerships and contribute to our vision of enabling more older people to enjoy living in Age Friendly Communities, with equity of access and agency in creative and cultural provision. Our delivery will ensure people who are often the most marginalised in the cultural sector can take part by supporting individuals to put pictures up in their own homes if they can’t leave their accommodation, encouraging connections with neighbours and passers-by with artwork in the windows. A “trail” will help the public to enjoy the artworks in situ in their local area and provide another way of supporting communities to reconnect through creativity. Community Engagement This is an intergenerational project, but we will particularly encourage older people and families to participate, to bring young and old together in local communities to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee, to cement existing community relationships and forge new ones. To achieve this, we have a range of excellent contacts in Banbury, and the wider county, including Community groups, Care Homes, Banbury Museum, Arts Officers and Cherwell District Council Communities Team. We have a strong track record of reaching isolated older people, which includes: the Creative Challenge Pack offer in partnership with 64 Million Artists, the Virtual Culture Club project in partnership with the Mill Arts Centre and The Art by Post project with the Southbank Centre in London. Reaching Audiences Using the Age of Creativity Festival platform and the wider AUKO and OAFCN networks to support recruitment to the workshops and wider project, we will have access to hundreds of older people who might benefit, as well as support organisations, Social Prescribers and local groups to help us promote the project. Legacy We anticipate that the project will create a very positive long-term legacy for individuals and the local community. More marginalised older people will feel confident to access creative opportunities, there will be increased awareness of our AFCA programme, artists will gain skills in age friendly practice and the Mill Arts Centre will increase its engagement with older audiences. We will also commission a photographer to co-create a photographic record of the art works on display in windows around Banbury and the celebration event will provide us with high quality resources to create an Archive Legacy for the project. We will seek to find a home for the archive legacy at the local Museum and Archive Centre once community teams and local groups have had the chance to see the work, with the support of our networks. Impact Harnessing some of the creative power and community spirit that was generated during the pandemic to deliver an artistic project will bring local communities together for the Platinum Jubilee celebrations and beyond. National celebrations are a special moment in our collective history; the Queens Platinum Jubilee gives us a chance to look back at what has been achieved over the last 70 years and look forward to what’s possible in the future.

Towards project costs of the Creative Later Life 2025 programme, ensuring older people have agency and equity of access to culture

Phone Friends' telephone befriending service for local older people in Oxfordshire.

Grant to Age UK Oxfordshire

Towards core costs of a part-time support worker to support more people accessing the Open Art Surgery for people with mental illness and some struggling with suicidal thoughts.

Towards core costs of a part-time support worker to support more people accessing the Open Art Surgery for people with mental illness and some struggling with suicidal thoughts.

"The fund aims to:1) To reduce closures of essential charities that provide essential services to vulnerable groups during the COVID-19 crisis by ensuring they have the financial resources to ....more

"The fund aims to:1) To reduce closures of essential charities that provide essential services to vulnerable groups during the COVID-19 crisis by ensuring they have the financial resources to operate, thereby reducing the burden on public services.2) To ensure essential services are provided to vulnerable people, both in the short and long term through increased community support through the work of charitable organisations."

towards unrestricted core costs as a COVID-19 Fast Response grant

Advice & Support - keeping older people exercising while in isolation.

Project supporting bereaved people to take up volunteering opportunities

Homeshare Oxford carefully matches older residents who need practical help or companionship to continue to live independently, with younger people in need of affordable accommodation. In return for ....more

Homeshare Oxford carefully matches older residents who need practical help or companionship to continue to live independently, with younger people in need of affordable accommodation. In return for the accommodation the Sharer gives the Householder up to 10 hours time each week and provides a reassuring presence. Despite many older people’s preference to remain in their own homes, many lack the support needed to do this. Isolation and loneliness are high risks. Locally, a chronic shortage of affordable homes is a significant factor in the recruitment crisis affecting health, education and public sector organisations. Homeshare Oxford offers a solution to these parallel social issues and is seeking funding to develop and expand our work and have greater impact.

The organisation works with older people in Oxfordshire, delivering a range of services for older people. The project aims to set up a service to take referrals through their own Community ....more

The organisation works with older people in Oxfordshire, delivering a range of services for older people. The project aims to set up a service to take referrals through their own Community Information Network, which takes referrals from a range of local statutory and voluntary organisations. The project also aims to develop age-friendly communities which encourages communities to consider and look out for their elderly neighbours.

Towards the consolidation of work enabling more older people to take part in creative and cultural activities.

Information and Advice Service

Towards an arts partnership worker to put the arts at the centre of services for older people, creating partnerships locally and across the UK.

To embed cultural participation within Age UK across England.

Towards an arts partnership worker to put the arts at the centre of services for older people, creating partnerships locally and across the UK.

HomeShare Programme

Advance people's physical and mental health, wellbeing and safety

Towards a project to research, develop and test the market for personalised services for older people, and disseminate the learning.