Reconnect Through Music ๐ŸŽถ

What an amazing session yesterday โ€“ we had over 30 songs sung by our talented members! ๐ŸŽค๐Ÿ’ซ
๐ŸŒŸ Matilda wowed us with “Kiss Me” by Olly Murs
๐ŸŒŸ Ffion and Amy gave us a blast from the past with “Don’t You Want Me” by Human League
๐ŸŒŸ Rebecca sang beautifully with “Flower” by Miley Cyrus ๐Ÿ’–
๐ŸŒŸ Anthony gave us a few tunes โ€“ our favourite was “Love Me Tender” by Elvis ๐Ÿ’•
๐ŸŒŸ Hywel touched our hearts with “How Great Thou Art” ๐Ÿ™Œ
โ€ฆAnd so many more incredible performances! ๐Ÿฅณ
We also tucked into a lovely buffet โ€“ thank you to all our amazing volunteers and a big shoutout to Peter for setting up! ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ’
It was also lovely to welcome a new member into the group โ€“ we canโ€™t wait to see you again!

Fun and Games!

Our members have been having loads of fun playing darts, snooker, and ping pong, thanks to a very generous donation! There have been plenty of smiles, laughter, and a few friendly competitions โ€“ our members love taking part, especially when they’re winning! ๐Ÿ˜„๐Ÿ’ช๐Ÿ†
A huge THANK YOU to the very kind person who donated the kit โ€“ it means so much and has already brought so much joy. ๐Ÿ’›๐Ÿ™Œ

Disabled Peopleโ€™s Rights 10-Year Plan!

Last week we met with Tracey Drew from All Wales People First and our friends from Swansea Self Advocacy Groups ๐Ÿ’ฌ๐Ÿง‘โ€๐Ÿคโ€๐Ÿง‘
We talked about the big 10-year plan to make life fairer for disabled people in Wales ๐Ÿ’ช๐ŸŒ
โœ… We shared our thoughts on whatโ€™s good
โž• We said what could be better
๐Ÿ’ก We gave ideas to help improve the plan
The plan includes: ๐Ÿ  Independent living
๐Ÿง‘โ€๐Ÿซ More training & jobs
๐Ÿฅ Better healthcare
๐ŸšŒ Easier transport
๐Ÿ“„ Info in Easy Read
๐ŸŽค And making sure our voices are heard!
We were proud to speak up and be included! ๐Ÿ™Œ๐Ÿงก

Summer Vibes Party

We hope you all had a WONDERFUL day at our Summer Fiesta! ๐ŸŽ‰๐ŸŒž
The sun was shining โ˜€๏ธ, the disco was buzzing ๐ŸŽถ๐Ÿ•บ, and the games were packed with fun โ€“ from limbo, basketball ๐Ÿ€, to hula hoops! ๐Ÿ”ฅ Everyone got involved, and even Peter the caretaker dressed up for the occasion! ๐ŸŽญ๐Ÿ‘
The decorations looked amazing ๐ŸŒบ๐ŸŒˆ, the food and ice cream were delicious ๐Ÿ”๐ŸŒญ๐Ÿฆ, and the dancing was fantastic ๐Ÿ’ƒ๐Ÿ•บ โ€“ you all brought the vibes!
๐Ÿ’› Massive THANK YOU to our incredible volunteers who helped make today such a special one. Youโ€™re the best!

Reconnect Through Music ๐ŸŽค๐ŸŽธ

What a brilliant session we had last week with an amazing crowd of 30 music lovers! ๐Ÿ’ƒ๐Ÿ•บ
We had 28 fantastic songs performed by our talented members ๐ŸŽต๐ŸŽค โ€”
๐ŸŒŸ Jade wowed us with Holiday by Madonna
๐ŸŒŸ Nat sang Love Me Do by The Beatles and Daniel by Elton John
๐ŸŒŸ Jamie, our newest member, impressed everyone with 7 Years by Lukas Graham
๐ŸŒŸ Libby sang Ordinary by Alex Warren so beautifully
๐ŸŒŸ Ffion did a fab job running the session and even blasted out a few bangers herself! ๐ŸŽถ

Big thanks to:
โœ… Sharon for doing the register and raffle
โœ… Helen, Zoe & Cheryl for cooking up delicious pizza ๐Ÿ•
โœ… Peter the caretaker for helping set up the hall ๐Ÿ‘
What a fun afternoon full of music, laughter, and good vibes! ๐ŸŽค๐ŸŽถโค๏ธ

Adfest 2025 – What an Epic Adventure!

We had an amazing time at the All Wales People First conference in North Wales! ๐Ÿ”๏ธโœจ
The hotel was lush ๐Ÿ›๏ธ, the food was delicious ๐Ÿฝ๏ธ, and the company was just perfect ๐Ÿ’ฌ๐Ÿ’–. A massive congratulations to everyone who won a Mirror Award ๐Ÿชž๐Ÿ† โ€” so well deserved for your outstanding work and contributions across Wales ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘.
The workshops were so much fun! ๐ŸŽจ๐ŸŽค
๐ŸŽต We learned to sing using Makaton and other signs โ€“ and totally nailed it!
๐Ÿ’ƒ๐Ÿฝ๐Ÿ•บ The House of Deviants brought the energy with a lunchtime drag performance that had us all smiling and dancing!
We loved browsing the information stalls ๐Ÿ›๏ธ๐Ÿ“šโ€” packed with great resources and freebies to take home ๐ŸŽ.
And the silent disco? Absolutely EPIC! ๐Ÿ”‡๐ŸŽง
The dance moves were on fire ๐Ÿ”ฅ and the laughter was non-stop ๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿ’ƒ.
Huge thanks to all the organisers who made it such a fab two days ๐Ÿ™Œ๐Ÿ’. Weโ€™re already counting down to the next one!

Sponsored Walk at Pen Y Fan Pond

A HUGE thank you to everyone who turned up to support Caerphilly People First for our sponsored walk at Pen Y Fan Pond yesterday!

The sun was shining, the spirits were high, and the laps wereโ€ฆ well, many! Some of us did one, some smashed two, others powered through three, and a few even managed four laps!

Every step counted, and every penny raised means so much to us. We’ll let you know the total sponsorship money as soon as it’s all collected. Well done team โ€“ you absolutely smashed it!

Reconnect Through Music

Thanks to our brilliant members for another great music session today! We broke our personal record for most songs sung at a session with 33 songs! Our gifted members sang songs by a range of artists including Jason Donovan, Liv Harland, Tina Arena, Eric Clapton, Jackie Wilson, Patsy Cline, the Bangles, Adele, Shania Twain, and many more!

We love seeing people coming together through the magic of music, with the added benefit of a buffet lunch and the chance to catch up with old friends and make new friends. Here are some compliments we received today:

I love these sessions – the group are nice people to be with.
Amazing – I really enjoy myself.

Thanks to Cheryl and Helen for working hard in the kitchen to make everyone’s pizza, and to Sharon for helping out with the paperwork in the hall. Most of all, thanks to our members for bringing the joy, the singing, and the dancing!

There won’t be a music session on Wednesday 25th, because Caerphilly First staff and members will be in North Wales for the All Wales People First conference, so we’ll see you all on Wednesday 9th July for our next session, so keep practicing those vocal skills and dance moves!

Meeting about Benefits Reform

Yesterday afternoon, Ffion, Nat, Gethin, and Amy joined an online meeting with other People First groups across Wales. The meeting was run by All Wales People First and was about Benefits Reform.

We talked about:
Changes to benefits money from the government
The Access to Work scheme that helps disabled people in jobs
Getting good jobs and being treated fairly
Health and safety at work

What is Access to Work? Access to Work helps pay for things like:
Travel to work
Job coaches or support workers
Special equipment or changes at work

We also talked about:
Making benefits easier and fairer
Getting faster help from Access to Work
Helping people move from volunteering to paid jobs

And organisations like the Equality and Human Rights Commission which:
Makes sure disabled people are treated fairly
Protects peopleโ€™s rights
Helps stop discrimination

The government should:
Give money to these organisations
Listen to disabled peopleโ€™s voices
Follow equality laws

We also spoke about Health and Safety at work:
Some people need changes to help them stay safe
Staff should get health and safety training
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) checks if workplaces are safe

Next steps:
Kelly will fill out the consultation form from All Wales People First. This means our groupโ€™s voice will be heard and shared!