Uckfield Ageing Well Wellbeing Event Celebrates Successful Community Event

The Uckfield Ageing Well Forum is celebrating the success of its latest Wellbeing Event, which brought together local residents, community groups, charities, care providers and organisations from across the area for a day focused on staying well, connected and informed.

Held at the Uckfield Civic Centre, the event welcomed more than 65 people, based on those captured on the organisers’ attendance tally, with visitors able to meet a wide range of local organisations and discover services, activities and support available within their community.

The event was also attended by the Mayor of Uckfield, Cllr Karen Bedwell, who joined visitors and representatives from the many organisations taking part.

Throughout the event, there was a real buzz in the room, with visitors having the opportunity to speak directly to organisations, ask questions, gather information and make connections that may help them or someone they know.

Organisers have received positive feedback from attendees, with visitors commenting on the value of being able to find so much local information and support in one place.

Attendee quote:
“It has been wonderful to find out so much information about support and activities locally and am leaving feeling relieved and excited for the future”

The event also proved valuable for the organisations themselves, providing an opportunity to network, strengthen existing relationships and build new partnerships with other local services.

Stallholders reported positive conversations with members of the public, new connections with other organisations and opportunities for future referrals and collaborative working.

Stallholder quote:
“We were happy with the event, and made some great contacts.

We networked with some of the stalls, and will be arranging for at least 3 of them to come to Ridgewood Village Hall Nibble & Natter sessions to talk to the people attending.

We possibly got 2 new volunteers, and hopefully 3-4 people joining our lunch club sessions

Margaret Dode-Angel, Chair of the Uckfield Aging Well Forum, said:

“It was wonderful to see so many people coming through the doors and, most importantly, to see the conversations taking place throughout the room. There is such a wealth of support, activities and knowledge available locally, but people don't always know where to find it.

Events like this give people the chance to have a face-to-face conversation and discover something that could make a genuine difference to them or somebody they care for. It is a successful event for me if at least one person goes away with information useful to them or someone, they know.

It was equally encouraging to see organisations networking with each other and building relationships. The stronger those connections are between local services, the better we can support people within our community.”

Visitors were also treated to a line dancing demonstration from Uckfield u3a, highlighting the wide range of enjoyable and social activities available locally and adding to the lively atmosphere of the event.

Information and goody bags were available for visitors to take away. The bags were kindly supplied by Gary and Lydford’s Barchester and carefully prepared ahead of the event by volunteers from forum organisations Home Instead and Ridgewood Village Hall.

The Forum also thanked Home Instead and Home & Company for sponsoring the event banners, which were displayed around Uckfield in the lead-up to the event and helped raise awareness among local residents. The banners have been designed so they can be used again to support future Ageing Well events.

Thanks also went to Uckfield Town Council, including Will and Holly, for their support in organising the venue and providing refreshments and the all-important cake throughout the event.

Margaret added:

“A huge thank you has to go to every organisation that gave their time to attend, everyone who helped behind the scenes, our sponsors and supporters, and of course every member of the public who came along.

“We hope the conversations started at the event continue long after the day itself, whether that means somebody accessing a new service, joining an activity, receiving support, making a referral or organisations working together in new ways.”

The Uckfield Ageing Well Forum brings together local organisations and services interested in supporting people to age well, remain independent, stay socially connected, and enjoy a good quality of life within their community.

The next Uckfield Ageing Well Forum will take place on Thursday 5 November, from 10:00 am–11:30 am.