HMR Circle receives international recognition

Neha Singh a Social Entrepreneur from Nebraska, USA meeting HMR Circle Director Mark Wynn

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International recognition for HMR Circle

In April 2016 Studio L, a research group based at the University of Osaka in Japan, flew to England to learn about the HMR Circle model and our ground-breaking work in reducing social isolation amongst Older People.

Since then more overseas interest has come our way from both east and west, Circle director Mark Wynn meet Neha Singh a Social Entrepreneur from Nebraska, USA who flew to England to learn more about the HMR Circle model and how she could look to organise a similar group in Nebraska.

HMR Circle has had further correspondence with The Seoul Institute which is one of the think-tanks under the Seoul Metropolitan Government, South Korea.

Jin-Young, Moon, a researcher at the Department of Urban Society Research in The Seoul Institute, has been in touch to discuss several topics including: How HMR Circle works so well? How it is able to engage with Older People and how we maintain the quality of our service?

Circle director Mark Wynn said: “The whole team here at Heywood, Middleton & Rochdale Circle is really proud that our work is getting such International recognition.

“There can't be many (if any) other organisations based in the borough who have had such recognition and acclaim, and this is even more remarkable given we receive no core funding for our activities and have to generate every single penny ourselves just to keep going.”

We are proud to announce the launch of Be Social

Be Social is a partnership between Trafford Housing Trust and Heywood, Middleton & Rochdale Circle.

Be Social will be delivering a new service based on the 'HMR Circle' model, putting on fantastic events and activities for Older People in the Trafford Borough.

The Launch took place at the fabulous VAO Waterside restaurant in Sale, with all the superb refreshments being provided by Juan Alverez, the owner and his team at VAO.

Mark Wynn, Director of HMR Circle said: "This is an incredibly proud moment for everyone involved with HMR Circle and we are grateful to Trafford Housing Trust for placing their faith in us to help deliver a stellar service for older people in the Trafford Borough.

Hilary Barrett of Trafford Housing Trust added: "We have set up Be Social to enable people over 50 to live independently and enjoy life. So far the response has been fantastic and we encourage anyone who might be thinking about it to join in or share the scheme with friends or family who might be interested."

Simply Zen-sational

Every month we organise dozens of different social event for our members. But few events have gone down as well as our recent visit to local firm Zen Internet.

The tour of Zen, organised with owner Richard Tang and his team, provided a fabulous day for Circle Members, who learned about how the internet works, cyber security, social media and a whole host of tips and tricks to get the most of being online.

Zen then provided a superb lunch for their Circle visitors and a tour of Zen's impressive facility at Sandbrook Park.

The day ended with 1-2-1 tuition from Zen staff, helping Circle Members with issues around mobile phones, using a tablet computer and several other online issues.

Zen provided all this as a free service to our Members who came on the event.

HMR Circle Fundraiser-Silent Auction

Join us for this fun fundraising event in aid of your favourite social organisation - HMR Circle.

Circle receives no core funding so we're 100% reliant on income we generate ourselves, so things like this Silent Auction are vital to our continued success and survival.

The Silent Auction takes place on Thursday the 25 May starting at 1.30pm, St Andrew's Church, Entwistle Road, Rochdale, OL16 2HZ.

Lots of great items will be available to the highest bidder in our silent auction.

Don't worry if you don't know how a silent auction works - it's very simple and will be explained on the day.

It's a great opportunity to catch up with Circle friends, as well as grabbing yourself a bargain - whilst at the same time raising money for a great cause.

We still need donations of new, or like-new items or unwanted gifts for this event (not jumble). The best thing to do is call us to discuss what you have, and we can take it from there.

Tea, coffee and biscuits will be available on the day.

We look forward to seeing you there.

This is a free event, although you'll need cash to bag yourself a bargain, and is open to Non-Circle Members as well.

Please help us to continue our great work and to be a real local success story.