No images? Click here CLAPA's big, festive Jumpathon! Starting on Monday 30th November, you're invited to #JumpForCLAPA in our week-long Jumpathon! It's the perfect way to raise awareness of cleft and support our work while having fun and spreading festive joy. Everything we do, from running our feeding service to hosting our monthly online Coffee Clubs, is only possible with your support. Can you help us be there for every child, adult and family who needs us this holiday season and beyond? Taking Part All you'll need to do to join the Jumpathon is jump or pose in your favourite festive outfit, post a photo on social media explaining why you decided to #JumpForCLAPA, and donate £3 (or whatever you can afford) to help us continue our work in 2021. Remember, the Jumpathon starts on Monday 30th November, so save your photos for next week! Until then, dig out your favourite festive outfit and keep an eye on our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter feeds for the latest updates. Upcoming Events For the latest listings, check our website at clapa.com/events, or look out for updates on our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages. This Sunday 29th November at 4pm, our Children & Young People's Council members, Claudia, Will, Lucy and Izzy, will be heading on to Zoom to host a quiz night for other young people in the CLAPA community! On Monday 7th December at 7pm we'll be hosting our last Facebook Live CLAPA quiz with a Christmas special. Rashna, Nicky and Kate have put together lots of fun, festive and family-friendly questions, and hope you can join them! While we can't have our usual local Christmas parties this year, we can still have lots of fun! Join us on Wednesday 9th December for a Christmas Show led by Captain Fantastic, full of fun, festive games. We're also hosting a very special 'Elf Training' virtual Christmas party on Sunday 13th December. Join Santa's newest elf for a festive adventure! On Sunday 13th December at 4pm, our Children & Young People's Council will be hosting a 'Christmas Spectacular' for other young people who were born with a cleft. There'll be lots of chances to chat in a friendly and festive environment, as well as plenty of fun games. Join us on Monday 21st December at 6pm for a fun Christmas-themed scavenger hunt on Zoom led by one of our lovely CLAPA volunteers! This event is most suitable for children born with a cleft of primary school age and their family members. The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) wants to find out how the COVID-19 pandemic and the UK-wide lockdown (March-June 2020) has affected people’s access to speech and language therapy. If you or your child have accessed speech and language therapy, please complete the survey using the link below. Interested in research? Read on to find more opportunities to get involved at the end of this email! Your Stories Your stories can provide a great deal of comfort and reassurance to others who might be on a different stage of their cleft journey, and have huge power to show someone that they aren't alone. To explore all the stories shared by you - our community - head to our website. Poppy's Story 10-year-old Poppy, who was born with a cleft palate and Pierre Robin Sequence, has shared her story of placing 4th in the English School Nationals for running. She wanted to talk about her experiences to inspire others to follow their dreams and do what they love. During the race she was up against 88 other runners, and said, ‘This is a race that I have always dreamed of doing…I am so proud to come 4th.’ Her mum Jo told us, ‘She wants others who were born with a cleft to know that whatever they want to do in life, they can do it.’ Head to our website to read Poppy's wonderful story in full! Helen's Story Helen, who is now 89, has reflected back on her experiences as a parent of a child with a cleft palate. She vividly remembers her son's diagnosis after he was born in 1965, as well as her experiences of feeding and his palate repair surgery. For example, Helen told us that she managed to feed her son as she ‘worked out that we could squeeze a plastic bottle, as these had only just appeared as an alternative to hard, unyielding glass. Then we got a hot darning needle and made the hole in the teat a bit bigger than the biggest we could buy.’ Click below to read Helen's incredible story!⠀ Festive Fundraising Christmas is going to be a bit different for us all this year, but you can still get your sparkle on, have some festive fun and support families affected by cleft at the same time! From hosting your own virtual party to decorating your window or house, there are so many great ways to support CLAPA this festive season. With your help we’ll be able to keep delivering our vital services, such as our monthly Coffee Clubs for parents/carers to meet and share experiences, our one-to-one support service for parents/carers and adults, and our virtual events to bring young people affected by cleft together. Did you know that you can support us as you shop by signing up to Amazon Smile? To date, Amazon has donated £2,295.30 to CLAPA thanks to you. If you'll be shopping on Amazon for Christmas, you can make every penny count with Amazon Smile. Research Opportunities FOR PARENTS & CARERSDoes your child have SLT needs? A new study is looking into whether support provided for children's emotional wellbeing is inclusive of their SLT needs. Feedback is wanted for a Europe-wide survey looking at children under 10 with a condition like cleft lip and palate. FOR ADULTSTest an online writing intervention designed to help adults with appearance-altering conditions view themselves more positively. Complete a survey about the everyday experiences of adults born with a visible difference, with an optional follow-up phone or videocall interview. By sharing your photos and stories you’ve not only helped us to spread some daily positivity; you’ve also reassured so many others going through similar experiences, started supportive conversations, and brought a real sense of community to our social media pages. Please keep sharing so we can keep this series going! Catch up on Cleft Talk! Our monthly podcast returned this week with an episode on 'Success in the Workplace'. In case you missed it, or any previous episodes, you can catch up by heading to our website. Just click on the button below to listen. Keeping Your Data SafeWe’ll use the information you’ve provided when signing up to send you the most relevant content, and you can update this data (and your preferences) at any time. Read our Privacy Policy to find out more about how we collect, store, and use your information. You can also get in touch at any time at info@clapa.com or call 020 7833 4883 if you have any questions or concerns. |