Don’t sit at home saying it won’t make a difference… because it does!

Published by Kerrie Beck for Longhurst Group in Housing and also in Communities

John Leniston from Loughborough was just one of Friendship Care and Housing’s (Friendship) customers prepared to stand up in front of a crowd to say how getting involved can really work. He spoke at Friendship’s fourth Annual Customer Conference.  Other involved customers also happily spoke up too saying  ‘to make a better place to live, is to work at it, lets all work with housing’ and ‘have your say, you might be surprised!’

More than 400 customers flooded through the doors on Thursday 29^th September at The New Bingley Hall inBirmingham. The day delivered on its promise, to provide a fun filled day and to find out more about Friendship.

Everyone got in the mood from the offset when good sports from the staff teams formed a ‘for one day only’ dance troupe. The F ‘n’ B Rock Chicks performing lively dance routines to a medley of songs earning rapturous applause from the audience.

The day was jam-packed with interactive workshops led by Friendship’s teams, which included a TV soaps quiz, an anti social behaviour drama workshop and ‘Who Wants to be a Sqillionaire’ with the chance for customers to win up to a £100 in vouchers.

There were over fifty information and advice stalls with lots of freebies and prizes on offer. The Well-Being Zone went down well too with customers experiencing Mendhi hand painting, mini massages, manicures and nail painting.

Brand new to this years conference was the ‘Street Party’, which included giant snakes and ladders, beat the goalie, The Cube and Friendship’s gardening contractor Vale provided hanging baskets and garden pot making.

Event organiser, Victoria Young, Customer Involvement Manager at Friendship said:

“I’m absolutely thrilled that each year more and more customers decide to join us at our conference and that they can now see that getting involved really does work and benefits them.”