Starting Fresh for 2012

Are you aged 16 -19?

(Or 16 – 25 if you’re a care leaver or are registered disabled.)

Not currently working, or in education or training?

Do you have a creative streak that you’ve always wanted to develop?

Under the ‘Starting Fresh‘ scheme, you could have access to Orb’s great range of artistic, musical and IT facilities and, at the same time, get support to find a job or get onto a college course.

What’s your talent?

Musical?   Orb offers access to a purpose built recording and rehearsal studio, plus DJ mixing facilities.  With the friendly support of Studio Manager Josh, you can build your skills and your confidence.

Artistic? Techie? As well as a dedicated art space, Orb’s IT suite, professional sound and lighting equipment, plus digital film and video cameras give you the chance to explore wider ranges of expression. Orb’s well-established connections with local cultural events such as Feva, offer the chance to showcase your work within the community at large.

Working towards the future.

But this scheme isn’t just about having fun, or even about developing an individual’s talents.  Starting Fresh at Orb is part of a regional and national scheme which provides a background of professional support and encouragement to help young people use their skills to  find a way into employment or onto a college course.

Starting Fresh at Orb is open to 16 -19 year olds who are currently not in employment, education or training.  For those with a learning disability, the age range is extended to 25.  The aim of the project is to answer a very real community need, not only within the Harrogate District, but across North Yorkshire.  Towards the end of 2011 there were over a million young people in England on the NEET register – Not in Employment Education or Training – and 157,000 in Yorkshire and Humberside alone and these numbers are rising rapidly as the recession moves on.  At the same time, traditional sources of support into work or training, such as Connexions, are themselves suffering the restrictions of spending cuts.

Studies of the long-term effect of youth unemployment show that half of the problems of low pay and unemployment in later life (along with all of the resulting  social problems) can be traced back to lack of employment in late teens and early twenties.  By ignoring the problem we are creating a dangerous time bomb.

Starting Fresh at Orb offers young people an original and highly motivating range of skills which can help to shape their future and  re-engage them with their community.

To learn more, speak to Leon.

Orb at the Palace!

There was more welcome recognition for the work that Orb does in Knaresborough when Mark was invited to Buckingham palace last month.

The invitation came courtesy of   Attend.

Attend is a national charity which believes that volunteering has a powerful role to play in our health and social care and which works hard to find ways to make that role relevant and impactful. Naturally, having such a central mission in common, Orb is a member of the organisation, and Mark was invited to represent its Yorkshire and Humberside region at a reception  hosted by the Duke of York, patron of Attend.

He and Julian, an Orb volunteer, travelled down to take part in an ‘intimate reception’, designed to recognise the work of people involved in the direct delivery of services to the community.

‘Visiting such an iconic place was a fascinating experience,’ says Mark.

‘The reception was held in a room adjoining that famous balcony -  sadly, no-one asked me to go out and wave to the crowds.  People I speak to are always interested in the ‘inside’ detail – like the fact that the Palace has its own special blend of tea.  And you’d be surprised how many people wanted to know what the loos were like.  Unfortunately, that’s one part of the Palace that I didn’t get to see.’

‘But of course, the real significance of the visit lay in the national recognition given to the work that our great volunteers do here in Knaresborough, helping vulnerable people to become more engaged with the community through developing their creative skills.

If you would like to volunteer with Orb, why not speak to Mark or Leon and find out how you can have fun helping people?

New funding for Orb secures studio Manager post for another year.

At a time when vital funding for local charities is so much under threat, it’s heart-warming to have news of a very welcome award from a national organisation

LLoyds Tsb Foundation for England and Wales has played a big part in Orb’s success from the very beginning.  The foundation is one of the UK’s leading independent grant-making trusts.  They support smaller local charities who help disadvantaged adults to play a fuller role in their communities, and they provided part of the money that initially got Orb up and running.

The foundation focuses on the individual needs of local communities and also provides ’second stage funding’ to support organisations which are looking to innovate, to expand or improve their services. As part of this commitment they have come up trumps for Orb once again, awarding two years of funding which will help us to develop new ways to support service users.  One immediate bonus arising from this is that we can now offer a continued period of employment to Josh Box, our studio manager.

Josh joined us as a graduate from Leeds University who wanted to use his musical expertise to help others.  Originally a volunteer, his valuable work led to an offer of employment and he now plays a vital role at Orb working with vulnerable adults, teaching and helping them to make and record music.

“I’m delighted to know I can continue my work here,” says Josh.  ‘I find it so rewarding working with our clients, seeing them growing and developing as they gain confidence in their creativity.”

Josh is working towards an MA in Community Music, so his work at Orb reflects his passion for music, not only in its own right, but also in its social impact.

“I’ve seen people come to us feeling quite isolated, without any active role in their community.  Working with music, progressing both in skills and self-confidence they’re not only enriching their own lives but also gaining a sense of inclusion in society, often to the point where they feel able to return to work.”

Music is increasingly recognised as a very positive way of helping people with mental health issues.  Research recently published in the British Journal of Psychiatry has urged the NHS to offer music therapy alongside conventional treatment to people who find it difficult to express complex thoughts and feelings.

With this  funding, the Lloyds TSB Foundation for England and Wales is helping Orb to further extend its commitment to encouraging wellbeing through creativity.

Romka: another creative piece of the Orb

Romka's mural

“… maybe people will think my mural is a bit self-centred, I don’t know … but not really, it’s about how I discovered Orb.”

We’re in Orb’s music rehearsal room admiring a wall-length painted mural of Romka peeling back the paint to reveal exposed brickwork and the Orb mirrorball logo. It’s the product of her three month stay at Orb as an artist in residence and her first, and very impressive, attempt at Banksy-inspired street art.

Romka is a third year student at the Academy of Art in Łódź, Poland who found out about Orb via web searches for art classes in Yorkshire. She was looking for a creative environment to get some experience in visual art education. When she contacted Leon and found out about our creative mental health support it seemed a perfect fit; with a psychologist in her family and her affinity for helping people.

Over the summer, Romka taught art classes every Wednesday in our art studio, first as apprentice with Sharon, then later as teacher herself:

“I wasn’t sure if people would come. But people came to my first class because they didn’t want me to be on my own!”

Romka’s warm reception probably has a lot to do with her approach to teaching:

“I give people a topic, some ideas and demonstration, if they don’t like this they can do what they want. Most important is people feel relaxed and good about themselves. The art at the end is not so important. I encourage them to be open and to express themselves.”

And it’s an approach that’s gained her “friends more than pupils”. Like Rob said about our recording studio: a friendly, supportive and open-minded outlook goes a long way when you want to bring out the best in our community of members with mental health support needs.

Romka leaves in September, but her positive experiences like the art classes and taking photos at FEVA (which were printed in the Knaresborough Post) are enough to bring her back:

“I feel like part of a big family. Like Mark said: ‘Once you start to become a piece of the Orb, you never really stop.’”

Another vote of confidence for Orb

The weather outside may be variable, but here at Orb a summer of love seems to be continuing.

You may remember that twelve months ago we were named as a ‘Mayoral Charity’ by Bill Hoult as he began his year as Mayor of Harrogate. He described Orb at the time as ‘an exciting and innovative project’.

At a ceremony last month in the Mayoral Parlour Bill presented Mark with a cheque for £2,500, raised by him primarily through a Christmas Wine and Cheese event at the Majestic Hotel and a reception at
Harrogate Theatre.

We’d like to take this opportunity to thank Bill for this generous award and for other support he has given us in the past. This kind of recognition is a tremendous boost to the work we are able to do helping vulnerable adults to become more involved in the cultural life of Knaresborough and promoting positive mental health in the wider community.

While we’re celebrating good news, don’t forget that local recognition is continuing with Andrew Willoughby’s very welcome choice of Orb as his Mayoral Charity throughout his coming year as Mayor of Knaresborough.

“Orb is a very worthwhile part of Knaresborough that not many people know about yet” he says. “It’s a new source of support for vulnerable people in our community, and we want to see it grow.”

Andrew demonstrated his support for Orb once again last week when he visited orblive@feva2011 three times, enjoying the drumming and sampling the food, using ingredients sourced from  the Orb garden.

Our thanks once more for these generous contributions will help to update and improve the services which we provide.

Volunteering: trading skills for experience

It’s been a while since we checked in at our recording studio, not that it’s been quiet in there (it rarely is) and our team’s ever-expanding with new talent and volunteers. And one such addition to the roster is Rob, a student reading music technology at Leeds Met University. He’s one of a group of students who helpfully give up their time and skills to support vulnerable members of the Orb community.

Rob’s a local boy from Knaresborough and found out about us on the vinspired web site. He’s studied sound for film, editing samples and recording bands but wanted to broaden his horizons:

“I’m using skills I’ve learnt at uni to help people do what they like to to. I’ve taught guitar to people and show them how to use the [recording] software. This isn’t stuff I’d normally use so it’s a new challenge and a chance to refresh my ideas.”

He’s already worked with Stevie, Pete, Gregory and (another) Steve and made new friends along the way. Rob also recalls his proudest moment yet; teaching Gregory how to record music then handing him a finished CD with his guitar-playing on.

“I like offering a familiar face. Some people are quite shy and a bit anxious, but once you understand what they want to do you can help them. Like, some people just come in and want to talk about music, or others show you what they’ve written. You have to adapt to each individual. If they’re not confident you have to be confident for them, which helps me as much as it helps them.”

And that’s something we hear a lot from our volunteers. In exchange for their time and skills we give them experience and new opportunities to learn that benefit both our members and our volunteers. Just like trading.

“It’s a chance to teach instead of being taught. I question why I do what I do, not just ‘getting on with it’ like I do at uni.”

When Rob completes his university education and steps into a future career he’ll take his experiences at Orb with him but his aspirations remain philanthropic:

“I don’t think of it [volunteering] as a way to get a job, more of a way to use what I’ve been learning. I want to work wherever my skills will be most useful for other people.”

It simply raises your heart

“It simply raises your heart.” Mick Robinson, our Orb gardener is talking about the thrill of seeing the Orb garden leaping into life after his year of hard work.  Our garden was made possible by the generous support of Mind through their Ecominds project.

“The first few months were a real struggle – it was just an abandoned mud patch, and all those weeks of snow last winter nearly put the kybosh on it. But just look at how far we’ve come! There’s so much in the garden already to put a little joy into anyone’s life. It’s just lovely to come into. Those poppies over there – they were a happy accident. They just blew in like weeds, now they’ve settled down and made that space their own. We also had some Aquilegia that self-seeded – they were glorious. I’ve collected the seed to save for next year.”

Green, green, green

“Keeping things eco-friendly is a central part of our philosophy. We recycle everything – including things that weren’t always ours to begin with. Our neighbour, the Knaresborough Bowling Club, had some wooden boarding that they didn’t need any more. It’s now doing a great job supporting our raised vegetable beds. Would anyone like an extra lettuce? They’re growing like mad.

It bit me in the bum!

“Of course, sometimes re-cycling can bite you in the bum. We found some heavy duty polythene that looked perfect for the pond we had just dug – until it split at the last minute. Now we need to find some proper butyl lining – which costs money. Still, it gives us the chance to re-think our ideas, and dig a little deeper – which will help us create a home for a wider range of wildlife.”

Talking of wildlife . . .

“Talking of wildlife, that’s just one more thing that makes this job such a joy.  We’ve surrounded our fences with a mixture of natural British hedgerow plants – birch, beech, hawthorn, wild rose – which encourages a mixture of natural British wildlife. A young female blackbird has been following me about since the spring, growing bolder every day. Bees are clustering round our borage plants. We’ve seen so many butterflies – Common (or not so common these days) British Blue, Painted Ladies, Red Admirals . . . swifts and swallows are regular visitors.  Only yesterday we watched a Red Kite circling over our patch for more than 15 minutes.  It didn’t flap its wings once – just coasted.  It was such a peaceful thing to see, right here in the middle of Knaresborough, just a few yards from Tesco’s.”

And it’s good for you – scientifically proven
Mick’s been doing a fantastic job. But he could do with some help. And he’s also hit on a real truth about working with growing stuff – it really soothes your soul! There’s increasing evidence of the positive impact of gardening on everybody’s mental health.

Why not come and lend Mick a hand, and test the benefits for yourself as you help others?

A pat on the back from the Knaresborough community

We’re proud to announce we’ve been recognised by two of our local supporters. First up is Knaresborough Lions Club (part of Lions Club International voluntary organisation) who gifted us a kind donation. Here’s Mark with Lion’s Club president Alan Gilbert:

Enjoying some glorious weather in our EcoMinds garden:

Secondly, we’re pleased to say we’ve been chosen as a mayoral charity for another year by Knaresborough’s new mayor Andrew Willoughby. We were one of mayor Bill Hoult’s chosen charities last year.

Thanks to our supporters for recognising the hard work everyone puts in here at Orb. Recognition and donations help us to continue supporting vulnerable members of our community.

Introducing Mr Orb Head

There’s been some odd happenings here at Orb HQ recently. Nothing to be worried about. But it seems we’ve had a friendly visitor after we’ve all gone home.

Only last week we arrived one morning to find a set of dusty footprints leading from the basement trap door into our computer suite. And one of the computers was logged into Twitter with a few web pages still open.

And the twitter username? Mr Orb Head.

An old friend

We think Mr Orb Head’s emerged from his winter hibernation, probably reawakened by Denise’s drumming or the sound of music playing in our recording studio. And by the look of his Internet history, he’s been very busy.

He seems interested in all things mental health and enjoys digging around on the web for news on the subject. He’s also been on YouTube looking for video and music with a mental health theme and finding out about mental health events all over the world. Then he shares what he finds with new friends he’s made along the way.

We last saw Mr Orb Head when we moved into our new premises. That’s when he posed for one of the few photos we have of him. After that he disappeared again. He’s a shy and private character but friendship and a creative environment bring out the best in him, like our members.

Say hello

You can follow Mr Orb Head on Twitter where he seems to hang out most. But his tweets will also appear on our Facebook fan page.

In the meantime keep your eyes peeled for more signs left behind by our nightly visitor.

This blog article was written by Chris Kenworthy: copywriter and photographer

Orb Ecominds garden update #2

Despite a tough winter of bitterly cold temperatures and frozen pipes our Ecominds garden is sprouting bravely through the frost. Thanks to Orb volunteers and funders we’ve now got:

• Two raised beds for growing vegetables
• A line of gabions to grow hanging fruits like strawberries
• Foundations for a patio at the back for our members to relax
• Gates and fencing to protect the garden

A few new faces

First there’s Micky and Stuart. Both volunteers and skilled carpenters, they’re building a secure fence to protect our Ecominds garden from intruders. Unfortunately we’ve had a bit of bother from mindless vandalism but hopefully that’ll stop once their handiwork is complete. Micky and Stuart are out of work at the moment, but they’re using their free time to volunteer and keep their skills sharp. Both chippies think our Ecominds garden is a chance to give something back to their community.

You’ll also spot Diane in the photos, another volunteer helping Mick prepare our raised beds ready for planting vegetables in the spring. When she’s not doing a bit of therapeutic digging in the garden she also comes to our free computer classes.

Get involved with the Orb garden project

You don’t even have to be a gardener. We need volunteers to help to create another safe, social and productive environment for our members to be creative and a place our local community can enjoy. You should contact us, leave a comment below or post a message on our Facebook wall to get involved.

This blog article was written by Chris Kenworthy: copywriter and photographer

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• Recent Posts

  • Starting Fresh for 2012
  • Orb at the Palace!
  • New funding for Orb secures studio Manager post for another year.
  • Romka: another creative piece of the Orb
  • Another vote of confidence for Orb

• Say hello

  
  
  

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• About us

  Orb Community Arts is a registered charity based in Knaresborough. We promote a positive attitude to mental health, are committed to social inclusion and work within the community of Harrogate and North Yorkshire. We offer our own music studio, art space, computer suite and give professional sound and lighting support for local community events.

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