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News from Cheltenham Connect
Cheltenham Connect is a new community initiative that aims to strengthen and empower the residential and trading areas of South Cheltenham i.e. Naunton Park, Leckhampton,
The Bath Road (south), Tivoli, The Suffolks and The Park. It is currently run by a small group of dedicated residents (all of whom have other daytime jobs!). If successful we hope that it could be replicated in other areas of Cheltenham.
See our website

exmouth

We normally meet very informally every Wednesday evening at The Exmouth Arms
7pm to 9pm.

Come and join us!
Who are we?
Wendy - Chair
Clare - Secretary
Angeline - Treasurer
Karen - Buy Local
Becky - Go Green
Belinda- Skillspace
Wendy - Community

plus all the other members of the CC Steering Groups and Networks


Visit the Group Pages

CC BUY LOCAL
CC GO GREEN
CC SKILLSPACE
CC COMMUNITY


Email us

CC Buy Local (Karen)
CC Go Green (Becky)
CC Skillspace (Belinda)
CC Community (Wendy)



Meeting Dates

Skillspace Group

Business & Freelancers Networking Evening

March 9th, 2010 from 7:30pm to 9:30pm - The Beehive, Montpellier Villas

email Belinda


Green Group
'Question Time'
Bethesda Church
Doors open 7pm
7.30PM 25th March
Free Entrance
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Come and find out how our local political candidates will respond to the twin issues of climate change and declining oil supply.

A date for your diary!

Community, Craft and Music Festival

3rd and 4th July

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We are holding a two day festival to celebrate our history project, the renovation of the Norwood Triangle and the bicentenary of the tramroad. If you are a local organisation or a craftsperson that would like a table or stall please let us know
Can you help us with storage?
storage
Over the last nine months we have been accumulating lots of picture boards and promotional materials, together with things that we have been given by sponsors. We are now seeking somewhere to put them all!

Please let us know if you have a local dry storage space that we could use.

Cheltenham Connect is the proud recipient of a £4000 Cheltenham Borough Council Community Pride Grant

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Become a Sponsor of Cheltenham Connect
We are actively looking for people to help us grow. If you can help in any way let us know

FEBRUARY 2010

Our new website has gone down very well and we hope to soon add more photos from last year to the gallery page. We are now busy developing the history project, a summer community festival and all the activities that you can read about below. Don't forget that you can always look at past newsletters via our newsletter archive.

We have had lots of things going on in February and (thanks to Glosjobs) have now added a facility where you can see all the different Cheltenham Connect group events through one link. If you want to attend anything just email the co-ordinator of the group concerned.

One of the most interesting events that we now have planned is a Green 'Question Time' event with all the local political candidates. This is an opportunity for you to find out exactly how each one intends to support a Low Carbon Future for our community and we hope that you will be able to join us (see the Green Group details below).

Cheltenham Connect Activities

CC Buy Local

Local Trading History Project

For the first phase of the project we have now decided to concentrate on developing the website. Cityscape Maps have offered to be a sponsor by allowing us to use a copy of the map that they have been developing for the local trading associations. The plan is to show an online map of the whole area and to then break it down into the Bath Road, Tivoli and The Suffolks with links to each property then giving its history and a link to the current website. Traders will still be able to order their own history boards or framed texts, but these will be at an additional cost.

We hand delivered letters to all the traders updating them on the project together with the new window stickers that we have now had printed.

We hope to celebrate the creation of the website, and the official opening of the of newly renovated Norwood Triangle, with a 2 day local Community, Craft and Music Festival on the 3rd and 4th of July. Some of our local craftspeople have offered to join a working group to help us develop our ideas. If you would like to help, or to have a table or stall on the day, please let Karen know.

This group is now in discussions with the Skillspace Group about how to develop the idea of a Local Business Directory.

Karen also represented Cheltenham Connect at the University Fair Trade Week where a panel discussed the issues around buying local and buying fair trade.

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CC Go Green

Suffolk Street has now become our first Street Pilot with members of the Green Group offering help and advice about how to reduce people's energy consumption.

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The group held a well-attended showing of the film 'In Transition' at Bethesda Church and member Richard Walter became the first person to hold an Open House Event for people to see the range of energy efficiency systems that he has already installed.

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Green Group member Sophie Bryan is now overseeing the development of a 10:10 Schools Assembly and is liaising with all the primary schools in the area. We hope to find all sorts of innovative ways that children and parents can get involved.

The Green Group 'Question Time' Panel (for all the local political candidates) will be held at Bethesda Church at 7pm on the 25th of March. Entrance is free and this will be an opportunity for local residents to hear exactly how each of the candidates intends to respond to the twin challenges of climate change and declining oil supply.

Read the March '10:10 List of Things to Think About'

CC Skillspace

The SkillSpace group now has a very active business group that meet monthly. In February Jonathan Pollinger, of Intranet Future, talked about "10 Top Free Tools for Business" and Pia Cato from The Vanilla Pod Bakery shared her own story. You can see details of some of the past networking talks here

The next networking evening is being held today at 7.30pm at The Beehive. We are having a talk from Anne Hawkins called "Too Successful to Survive?" together with a brainstorming session lead by Alison Crane "Threats and Opportunities for businesses as oil prices rise". You are welcome to attend if you live or work in the Cheltenham Connect area.

Last week we had our first Cheltenham Connect Skillspace workshop, where 8 members attended a morning with Jonathan on "Blogs and Websites for Small Businesses". There is a follow-up workshop from 9am - 12.30am Monday 26th April on the subject "Grow your business with social media." Please contact Belinda for more details.

Moka Tuesday is our popular coffee and laptop morning on the fourth Tuesday of the month, where we meet to work and chat at Moka, Suffolk Parade. Please come along on March 23rd at 10am.

We also have a Curry & Quiz Night booked for 30th April 7.30pm at The Brown Jug, Bath Road. £7 per person to include curry. Please email belinda@cheltenhamconnect.co.uk for an entry form. You can either enter a team of 4 or enter individually to join a team. This is a "Fun Fundraiser" for Cheltenham Connect and it would be great to see you there with a table of friends. As we are organising a raffle for the quiz night, please let Belinda know if you would like to donate a prize.

This group has now also started working with the Buy Local Group to develop the idea of a Local Business Directory.

CC Community

We are looking for someone to help co-ordinate the activities of this group (as Wendy really does not have enough time!). Please email us if you can help.

The 'Street Champions' idea is still under development with Neighbourhood Watch and we hope that the existing representatives will want to help.

Our first Fabric & Remnant Exchange was very successful and future events are now being planned.

DO YOU HAVE ANY SPARE STORAGE SPACE?
We are still looking for somewhere to store all things that we  have now been given and collected (such as our picture boards, collection boxes, Christmas decorations etc)  Please let us know if you have a spare storeroom or garage that we could use.
Fundraising

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As a voluntary group we are always looking for new ways to help us grow. As we meet in each others homes (and very often in pubs!) our running costs are very small, but we have lots of things that we would like to do and each project needs to be funded.

Please let us know if you would like to help or have any great fund-raising ideas.
Our Sponsors
We are immensely grateful for everyone's help. Please let us know if we have missed you off the list.


The Local Church Partnership for helping with the 10:10 Initiative

St James' C of E Primary School, Naunton Park Primary School, Leckhampton Primary School and Richard Pate Primary School for helping us with the 10:10 Initiative.

Robin and Sue at Mobenn Marquees for helping us with the marquee for the Christmas Fair

Ryan at RS Audio for his help with the music for the Christmas Fair and our Christmas party.

Richard Walter for D.J.'ing at our Christmas party and teaching us to Salsa!

Greenway Nurseries for providing the Christmas trees for the Craft Fair

The Handmade Biscuit Company for supplying luscious lemon slices at the auction of promises and thankyou biscuits for sponsors of the Christmas Fair.

Cheltenham Ukulele Band for offering their time at all our major events

The Dixies for playing such cool jazz at our launch and the Christmas Party

The Incredibelles for singing at the launch and the Christmas Fair

The La La Lunchtime Chorus for singing at the Christmas Fair

Pip and Jim's (St Philips and St James' Church) Choir for singing at the Christmas Fair

Thrill Collins for playing at the Christmas Fair

The Music Manfor entertaining the children at the Christmas Fair

Tivoli Tradingfor providing the signage for the Craft Fair

Taylors Fancy Dress for providing the elf costumes for the Craft Fair

Cooks Kitsch-In for providing Christmas lights for the Craft Fair

Morans for providing Christmas decorations for the Craft Fair

Chris at Dodwells for regularly providing us with stationery at cost price

The Exmouth Arms for the use of their meeting room and providing our launch venue

The Beehive for offering their upper room for our monthly CC Skillspace business network meetings

Graham Boston (from Gloucestershire Connections) for designing the logo

Belinda at GlosOffers.co.uk for our noticeboard on The Bath Road

Clare at Cheltenham Directories for providing a page of editorial about Cheltenham Connect each month.

The Sign Studio for the banner that we used at The Suffolks Fair

Karen at Colourmatters for helping us with the printing costs of our first T shirts

Matt at The Brown Jug for helping with our launch preparations and storing the tombola prizes

Mike and Louise Preston at Independent Eye Carefor providing two beautiful Bugattis for our launch

adVANce+MAN (01242 517 886) for supplying a man with a van to pick up the exhibition stands for the launch

ILEC for the loan of their van for the launch

.St Philips and St James' Church - for the loan of tables for the launch event and the Big Picnic Lunch.

Bethesda Church - for the loan of tables for the launch event and offering their venue for our Green Group events.

Jan Vaisey and Ian Harvey for singing at our launch

St James' Primary School PTA for lending us their pergolas for the launch and the Big Picnic Lunch.

The University of Gloucestershire for loaning us their exhibition panels and providing the Park Campus for The Big Picnic Lunch

Simone Williams (freelance artworker) simone@hockeyhouse.co.uk - for designing The Big Picnic Lunch poster

Angeline Fuller from Entire Credit - for giving us a large cash box!

Mobenn Marquees for helping us plan the Christmas Craft Fair and offering to provide a marquee at cost.

Cheltenham Bowling Club for the use of their clubroom as a meeting venue. 

Duncan at Paperbox for providing the Trader Invitations and the sample history board.

St James' Primary School for the use of their hall for the Auction of Promises.

In2digital & Mailing Ltd for printing the Auction of Promises catalogue 

Cotswold Linen Care for the tablecloths for the Auction of Promises.



Please feel free to send a copy of this newsletter to anyone that you think might be interested in Cheltenham Connect.

If you are an editor please help us to let people know about Cheltenham Connect by asking for articles/editorial.

It really is all about people power.
 
The Cheltenham Connect Team
By supporting Cheltenham Connect you are helping to protect and preserve your local community

www.cheltenhamconnect.co.uk