News and Events March 2025 Newsletter Hello and thank you for taking time to read our newsletter. Find out what we have been up to in the last 3 months. PRESS! Podcast appearance Our Charity Coordinator, Emma Rich speaks out about her experience with a brain injury on the podcast 'On The Tip Of My Tongue'. Click here to listen Parliament appearance Say Aphasia have been mentioned again in a parliament meeting during a plea for more speech and language therapy. Radio appearance A few people from our Bournemouth group spoke on a local radio show! A big thanks to Hope Radio in Bournemouth. Click here to listen, start from 20 minutes in. FUNDRAISING Christmas lights Here's a throwback to Christmas, when our Burgess Hill Peer Leader, Howard, raised £320 by decorating his front lawn with Christmas lights! Brighton Half Marathon Another brilliant year for the Brighton Half Marathon. The sun was out, and everyone was in good spirits. Plus our runners have raised a whopping £9,094. You can still donate by clicking here. Arun Allstars Walking Football Arun Allstars in Yapton is great for walking football. Their ethos is Football, Friends, Fun. Our Say Aphasia Chichester members John and Bev go to the walking football regularly. Arun Allstars kindly donated £555. Pub Quiz at the Exmouth Arms One of the Exeter members, Michelle and her husband Geoff, are a regulars at a local pub, the Exmouth Arms. Michelle is fairly new to the group and loves coming along with a massive smile! She always has a good go at our craft activities. The land lady of the pub, Laura, asked Michelle which charity has helped her after her stroke and they mentioned us! They raised £410. Art exhibition Paul Parks, a member who attends the group in Gloucester, curated an art exhibition and raised £318 for Say Aphasia. Want to purchase a framed piece of artwork? Click here to get in contact. TOP FUNDRAISERS Hanka Mayhew - Brighton Half Marathon - £2,468 Ian Mitchell - Brighton Half Marathon - £1,910 Nadine Crook- Brighton Half Marathon - £1,028 TOP DONORS After Pete's (Darlington Peer Leader) presentations, we received £200 from the organisations he presented to. Bishop Auckland Council £200 Age Sentinel Trust: £100 Enid, a member from the Abergavenny group £100 NETWORKING & PRESENTATIONS HANKA We now have an aphasia ambassador to travel around Europe to raise awareness of Say Aphasia! The first event was at European Life After Stroke Forum in Prague on 10th and 11th March. Hanka is the ambassador for Say Aphasia. She visits the countries where Association Internationale Aphasia (AIA) are holding conferences and meetings. Association Internationale Aphasia (AIA) are a non-profit international organisation for persons with an acquired communication and language disorder caused by brain damage and their families and caregivers. This was the FIRST European Life After Stroke Forum event which AIA was invited to. Hanka gave a talk about the psychological changes in people with communication difficulties after stroke. She told her own story and gave tips; how fellow Aphasia survivors can improve their speech and wellbeing. It was the very first talk she has given since her stroke. Half the audience cried when she gave her talk. Afterwards many people wanted to talk to Hanka and gave her a hug. PETE Our peer leader in Darlington has been offering several presentations to local corporations, such as Newcastle Building Society, U3A, Mondelez International (Cadbury's). He received positive feedback: "The session today was really excellent and it definitely struck a chord with the audience. Several members came up to me after the talk and said how amazed they were to hear that aphasia is a bigger total than Parkinson's in the UK and how impressed they were by your presentation. Many thanks for an excellent job". "Loved how he made the presentation his own with humour but also clearly communicated why the charity is so important to him and so many others. Brilliant session!" EMMA Our Charity Coordinator has been working hard making connections with relevant organisations to help increase awareness of our support groups and increase referrals. These organisations include; Headway, Stroke Association, NHS acute stroke units, neuro rehab units, speech and language therapists. SUPPORT GROUP UPDATES Its been rather arty at our groups over the last couple of months! As you may already know, art is very therapeutic for people with aphasia, and offers the opportunity for our members to bond without having to have long conversations. We are always looking for funding to pay for art materials. If you would like to help us, you can donate by clicking here. Burgess Hill Bournemouth Skipton Stroud Worcester Say hello to our new group! HOW YOU CAN HELP Shop online and raise money for Say Aphasia Give as you Live Online is the free and easy way to raise money for Say Aphasia when you shop online with 6,000+ stores. From holidays and travel, to clothing and gifts, you can raise hundreds of pounds from your everyday shopping, all at no extra cost to you. Click here, and sign up for an account and start shopping to make a difference for Say Aphasia! How it works: Retailers donate money to Say Aphasia after you shop with them. You will need to go to the Give As You Live website before accessing the retailer you want to shop at. Watch this video to learn how it works. Are you about to buy something online? Always go to giveasyoulive.com first! Tip - Save the website as your home page, or in your website favourites list! Manage Cookie Preferences