BARC Volunteers Event

Deputy Lord Mayor’s Blog 16
I was very pleased on Saturday last to be invited to the event held by the Birmingham Arthritis Resource Centre (BARC) at the Medical School at the University of Birmingham. BARC is an educational project based on a partnership between the University and the City Council.
Now in its eleventh year, BARC helps people with arthritis to have improved quality of life and greater long-term independence.

It provides a sympathetic and confidential listening service run by a team of trained volunteers and has a large information resource of leaflets and CDs
Covering the different types of arthritis, their treatment, aids and ways of managing the illness which in all its forms affects nine million adults in the UK, three million of whom have significant disability.

Arthritis is not just about older people, over 12,000 children and teenagers also suffer from the condition.
BARC is located on the 5th floor of the Birmingham Central Library and is open Monday to Friday 10-00 till 4-00. You can just drop in or phone 0121-464-2708 or email barccentre@bham.ac.uk or visit the BARC website at http://www.barc.org.uk/

Charity Success

Deputy Lord Mayor's Blog 15
I recently had the pleasure of meeting again the members of the Charity Committee with whom the Deputy Lady mayoress and I worked during the year in which I was Lord mayor of Birmingham. They are a stalwart group working selflessly and without reward or recognition for good causes. We recalled some of the lighter moments such as the cameo appearance of Viv and I in the Gilbert and Sullithon at the Town Hall (Viv went on to do other parts), the Mega Quiz and the coaching I needed to ring a bell properly and the enjoyment as well as the fundraising that we had at the traditional fayres we held at Birmingham's historic markets.
But the main purpose of the evening was to present cheques to our main charitable causes for the year. We raised £34,000 for Pancreatic Cancer research in Birmingham, £21,000 for St Basils, our premier homeless charity for young people, £21,000 for WAITS who help women, especially in minority communities to play more prominent roles in society, £21,000 to help young people into careers in engineering and as a late addition to the appeal £3,000 for BARC (Birmingham Arthritis Resource Centre). You'll see that the overall total is £100,000 and there is still a little more to come in. This is a considerable achievement in these difficult times and we would both like to express our sincere thanks to all the volunteers who supported the fundraising events.