Kia ora koutou katoa to all our members,   

Well, here we are – it’s almost the end of November, almost time for the holidays and almost time for Christmas.  

We hope the lead up to the festive season isn’t too hectic for you and you’ve got a moment to take a break to read the latest edition of The Review magazine, and catch up on the Society’s news below.  

The Review magazine 

Here it is – the latest edition of The Review magazine is OUT NOW!  

In this edition we celebrate the sporting success of a few of our members (we have so many members doing amazing things it was hard to select just a few to write about), and we look back on our annual awareness and fundraising campaign, Be Green & Be Seen.  

We also take a look at communication, respiratory health, SDR, and how you can get involved in research. 

Click HERE to read the latest edition. 

Survey update 

Thanks to everyone who took part in our member survey around advocacy.  

We had a great number of responses – ranging from some really useful feedback, to people asking to speak to a Member Support and Programmes Coordinator, or wanting to take part in upcoming group sessions.  

Our Member Support and Programmes Coordinators have started reaching out to members, and we’ll be in touch with those who wanted to be part of a group session in due course. Please be patient as we work through the responses and get back to you.  

The information we receive throughout this process will help the Society understand issues that are important to you, and help us represent these issues to bring change to improve equity and access.  

Once again, thanks for taking part.  

The CP Society Board 2022-2023 

We’d like to thank everyone who took part in our AGM at the end of last month, either by voting for our board members, or attending the meeting.  

Murray Waring is our newest board member, and we’d like to take the opportunity to introduce him to you.

You can read Murray’s bio here, as well as the bios of our other board members.  

We’re delighted to have Murray join the board. Welcome!   

We’re also pleased to let you know that positions have been appointed for the 2022-2023 board: 

– Meg Smith will remain as Chair/President
– Emma Lovett will take on the roles of Vice President and Secretary
– Peter Wynne-Jones will remain as Treasurer. 

Thank you to all our board members, for volunteering and supporting the Society in this way.  

Christmas shutdown 

Christmas is right around the corner and we wanted to let you know our plans for the holidays.

– Limited staff working the week of Monday, December 19.
– For e-card top ups and general queries, please get in touch before 4pm, Thursday, December 22 so we have enough time to help you.
– Office closed from midday Friday, December 23 – 9am Monday, January 9. Our phones and emails will not be monitored during this time.
– Limited staff working the week of Monday, January 9.  

We would appreciate your patience while we have skeleton staff on deck.  

Connecting Over Coffee 

In March 2022 we kicked off Connecting Over Coffee – virtual coffee groups that meant we could still gather together despite any disruptions or health concerns due to Covid-19. 

The online sessions saw us learning about Manawanui’s Individualised Funding, the Personal Advocacy and Safeguarding Adults Trust (PASAT) and Enabling Good Lives. We had a great time having a go at yoga, music therapy, Functional Adaptive Movement, dance therapy and tai chi. 

However, this month’s session about CP research in New Zealand, was the last Connecting Over Coffee session. They will not be continuing in 2023.  

We’d like to take a moment to thank all our members who turned up and participated – it was great to see your smiling faces each month.  

And we’d like to thank everyone who hosted a session – we got to learn and try so many new things. 

Coffee Group during the holiday season 

All coffee groups will meet in December, but they will not run in January 2023.
Coffee groups will kick off for the New Year in February.   

Coffee groups are currently held in:   

– Royal Oak, Auckland
– Manukau, Auckland  
– Masterton 
– Parklands, Christchurch
– Addington, Christchurch  

Please note: Our North Shore, Auckland coffee group is no longer running.  

You can find all the details for coffee group here. 

Kurt’s Journey to Ironman 

CP Society members often do great things to raise funds and awareness for the Society, and in just a few weeks time, it will be the turn of Kurt Peterson.  

Kurt is competing in the Taupo Ironman on December 10, and on top of training hard for the event so that he can “break stereotypes about what people with Cerebral Palsy can’t do”, he has been raising funds for the Society on his Givealittle page.  

You can read all about Kurt here, and follow him on his Journey to Ironman on Facebook and Instagram.  

You can support Kurt by donating to his Givealittle page.  

Thanks for supporting the Society Kurt – we’re really grateful for the awareness you are bringing to Cerebral Palsy and to the Society, and for the funds you are raising. Thank you.  

Thanks for taking the time to catch up on the latest news from the CP Society. We look forward to updating you again before the end of the year.  

Ngā mihi, 

Clare and the CP Society team