Thursday 10th August 2017 - Commissioned - building foundation - emails

Posted 2:05pm

It really is a case of digging in and preparing at the moment.

We had a small staff meeting yesterday where we spent a lot of time going over the next commissioned program we have with SHP - yes, delighted to say that we are actually going to get paid for a program - our first time.

It feels like an incredible accomplishment. A concept and idea I came up with quite a few years ago, has developed into a viable program that is exciting and unique, and now someone actually feels it is good enough to pay us to produce it.  I am very proud.  But it is is just a foot in the door. The next program needs to have grown from the pilot - and we will pull our all the stops.  Sitting together with my colleagues, it was exciting seeing it come together.

The only slight downside for us is that instead of nine weeks they have commissioned one of five weeks.  Naturally, we will produce a good product and deliver it to our best capabilities. But one of the reasons we liked nine weeks was because we are changing mind-set and routine, and the body needs time to adjust properly. Also, we build up a terrific interaction, connection and trust over that time - which was commented on favourably by our service users.  It is the only thing that makes me slightly nervous - but with a positive growth mindset I should see it as a challenge. If I learn from my own advice on our program.

I have also been emailing out to other prospective partners and funders.  In fact I am going to review a list of funders over the next couple of weeks and try and get at least another five to ten applications out by the start of September.  The biggest will be the Big Lottery Fund, but there are a lot of smaller charities we can approach,  We are also going to try and get our GoFundMe page noticed.

Tuesday 8th August 2017 - GoFundMe

Posted 2:05pm

Very excited to have updated our GoFundMe page with two videos and several photographs, as well as better wording.  We have probably gone as far as we can possibly go without someone somewhere, or an organisation, helping us financially.

I also met with Rosie today - who was one of our Ajani successes from our pilot program with SHP. We decided to have a look at the outdoor gym area in Paradise Park, Islington - and both thought it would be an excellent fitness session place. In fact I will be suggesting to Dean we use it as soon as possible.

Rosie very kindly agreed to film a quick video about Ajani.; We needed something for our feedback and video is a great avenue to use.  I hope you enjoy listening.

Sunday 6th August 2017 - current website ready and published

Posted 11:10pm

It's been great to finally publish all the necessary changes on our website. It is now live on the net.  I worked a lot myself on the Izzwalkz and Gallery pages - following terrific work by out-going Kacper on other pages.  I really liked the "donation" and "the team" additions - and the extra sections on the Ajani page are focused and instructive.

There are still changes to make - and things to add. We want to get a clear FAQs page - plus a fitness page too. A website is always an ongoing process, and it is exciting to see it change and adapt.  I like the layouts as they are different from a lot of sites - but then again we are proud to be doing a project that, although with similar targets and foundations as other organisations, has developed into a new unique concept.  I want us to stand out. I want to be talked about.

Tomorrow I am going to concentrate solely on the GoFundMe page - I want to add pics and videos, as we desperately need to get some funds in soon.

Saturday 5th August 2017 - Website news

Posted 11:00am

We have been putting in many hours on the website over the last few days. It really needed updating, as it had not been touched for a few months, due to our fantastic website guru having examinations and holidays.

By the end of the weekend though it will be published with a lot of new features, and updating wording surrounding our projects.

I really like the layouts and news. We are pushing ourselves all over the place, and having a solid focused website that gave clear information, with suitable pictures, was vital. We have totally overhauled our main page, "about us"" page, and the pages covering "Ajani" and "Izzwalkz". Before, it was just blocks of text - now there are pictures, proper blocks, and a lot more information.

We are still tidying up the last few bits, so it wont be available to the general public until the end of the weekend.  I surprised myself with the amount of changes I was able to do myself. I really like making something the way I see it for the business. Kacper has made some terrific additions, and his layout is impressive. We do not see eye to eye on every change, but then again it is my project and I know how I would like it to be.

Friday 4th August 2017 - stop smoking event - walk - website

Posted 1:00pm

We ran our "stop smoking" event yesterday - using SHP base at London Irish Centre.  Although we got posters and flyers prepared over three weeks ago, and despite many people saying they were going to attend, it was disappointing to find that absolutely no-one attended.

It was not the end of the world though. Fisayo Omoniyi, from the Solutions4Health stop smoking service, stayed and chatted with myself, and Sarah, who is the mental health champion at Single Homeless Project.  And it was very interesting.

According to their website:

Expert advisors and evidence based treatment: Using a combination of behavioural support and pharmacotherapy products, our proven model has been highly successful in helping smokers quit. Our protocols conform to NICE standards. All Advisors are NCSCT accredited, with expert practitioners in Pregnancy and Mental Health

We had a breath test - and a couple of staff who smoked also tried it - and the difference of particles in the body were very evident (I am a non-smoker - in fact I have never smoked).

He was a terrific contact, and on future Ajani programs I intend on contacting him and bringing him in to speak to people who show a preference to stop smoking.

Website:

We have been updating our website for a while now - and it has got to a stage where it is crucial to have it published and available as we are talking to more and more influential people about HMHB, Ajani and Izzwalkz. I feel we are reaching out well, but having an active and exciting website is part of that. Kacper has been working hard, and still without funding - which is not easy. I will be working on it all afternoon too.

Friday 4th August 2017 - a foot in the door??

Posted 12:50pm

I am sitting at a table in an establishment near to Highbury and Islington roundabout, sunshine streaming in, and reflecting on a good week for HMHB.

We had our meeting with SHP on Wednesday, which went how we hoped, and the feedback was a real boost to all of us. The pilot was great fun to do, and we felt we had done well, but it was all down to outcomes and feedback from SHP. Once again, we were tremendously grateful to just be given the opportunity to work a program after years of development.

I had prepared a PowerPoint presentation, and that was accompanied by a small report.  We wanted to express our feelings on the project, how we felt we should make changes, and also propose how we can do further programs.  All of these were met with positive vibes.

We had seen terrific improvement in confidence and energy from our "core 3" users. We always knew it would be a challenge working with people coming through and out of recovery.  But we promised an interactive and proactive program, and we delivered that in abundance - especially all the extras we managed to include.

We are learning though. There are things we need to improve and things to change. We will be altering the length of the program day from three hours to two hours (although we can always extend that by a few minutes if required). Instead of targeting one subject a week, we will do smaller sessions on out four main topics every week - mindset/routine, health, fitness, nutrition. We will get better communication between users and key workers. Provide better information before and after the courses. But overall, considering it was our first time, it probably could not have gone much better.

We sent through a costing spreadsheet in regards to doing another program with SHP - and they said the costs were reasonable. None of us are getting rich, but it would be nice to be able to not worry about paying bills, and having a bit of a life again - so we can just concentrate on delivering the best possible program we can.

I am delighted that this is possibly the start of a long relationship with SHP. This also now gives us a great base to be talking to lots of other agencies - including DWP, CGL, Housing Associations, BITC, Councils, etc. to produce further programs with them. Hopefully SHP would give us a good reference too.

All we wanted was a chance to get our foot in the door.  We have done that now - and it is up to us to ensure that we push on from here.

Tuesday 1 August 2017 - fitness videos

Posted 1:10pm

It's a fine afternoon - and I am currently sitting in the coffee area at KPMG preparing for a meeting with Scott, but I wanted to put an entry about our filming this morning.

We were kindly given the main studio at St Pancras Leisure Centre for free, all morning.  Luke filmed using his phone (the video camera we bought has not got a good sound system). Dean ran us through over 20 different exercises - and we all had fun.

We managed to get each video to be around about two minutes in length, as we intend on putting on a title header graphic, as well as a disclaimer graphic at the end.

For each exercise we performed a medium version, and then an easier version for people who might struggle.  We intend on doing a "harder version of each exercise" video later.

We also tried to tell people exactly which muscles they were using, as well as common mistakes people make.  I like the banter between Dean and myself, as well as the fact I struggle with some exercises.  I have actually lost some weight from the last filming date, but still have a couple of stone to go.

All the videos will eventually end up on Youtube.  Being new we are still finding our way, and possibly will film them all over again some time in the future as we grow in confidence and awareness of what we are actually doing.  But, as I said earlier, it is great fun.