The latest from Emmaus Sheffield 

It was love at first bite as Kipper the kitten has everyone smitten!

Kipper the kitten is the latest addition to our ever growing Community and at 8 weeks old, what she lacks in age she makes up for in attitude.  But she's in good hands as Steve (pictured above) is taking good care of her while she settles in to her new surroundings.  Steve commented, "She was born on a farm so she's not that used to being handled but we had three cats when I was a kid growing up and they were just like part of the family."  Community Manager, Lawrence Buckley said, "With Chad the dog now living at the Emmaus Community in Oxford I felt the time was right to have another pet for the Community. We shouldn't underestimate the positive and for some, therapeutic effect that pets can bring, and anything that makes our Community more like home has got to be good for everyone."

If you want to see how Kipper is getting on then please return to our website regularly for updates on our newest Companion.

An update on the courtyard...

Below: The decking and new pond, June 2009

The latest addition to the courtyard is a newly constructed pond in the decking area.  With the brickwork done by Steve Stott our Community Support Worker, our Companions doing their NVQ in Amenities Horticulture fitted the liner, pump, filter and all the necessary pipework.  And it has certainly proved to be a popular and attractive feature for both Companions and staff alike.  Steve, a Companion at Emmaus Sheffield for four months commented, "It's my job to look after the fish and make sure they're fed.  I like the extra responsibility, it gives me a great deal of satisfaction."  With 4 Koi Carp, 6 Goldfish and 3 Shibumpkins, the pond is another living element in the Community and Administrator Helen Fox says, "it's a nice touch.  When you think that just 18 months ago we used to park our old furniture delivery van in that spot.  Now we can sit out on the decking and have our lunch and a cup of coffee in a relaxing environment. We also have our Community house meetings out there on a Monday morning, weather permitting!"

Companions On the Run!

Companions at Emmaus Sheffield are planning to raise funds for their Community by joining thousands of other runners taking part in The Big Fun Run on Saturday 12th September at Graves Park in Sheffield.

Why not join us and take part in this 5km run to help us raise funds to develop our next phase of renovating our Community at Sipelia Works.

Just click the link below to be taken to their website.

www.bigfunrun.com

Above: Companions John and Saq with Community Manager Lawrence Buckley put up the Big Fun Run banner over the main entrance canopy at Sipelia Works.

A Companion with a sporting pedigree

Tui (pictured below) is a Companion and former soldier now living in the Sheffield Community.  Tui is a keen rugby player and played for the Fijian national side in the Under 18 World Cup Finals in Japan in 2000 and also played for the British Army at Under 23 level in both Union and League.  After leaving the army he found himself homeless and ended up living in the Colchester night shelter, before joining the Emmaus Sheffield Community. 

Welcome tor Steve

Welcome to Steve Stott, our new Community Support Worker.  Steve joined us recently and it wasn't long before we took advantage of his expertise as a bricklayer.  Steve is pictured below buiding two retaining walls as part of courtyard project. 

Below: John Nichols sweeping kiln dried sand into the block paving

The courtyard continues to come on in leaps and bounds with the turf being laid alongside the newly installed block paving. All of this work has been carried out by Companions and staff as part of an NVQ 2 in Amenities Horticulture.

6th March 2009

Below: Adrian, Steve and John levelling off the top soil ready for the turf. 

Above: 27th February 2009 and Companions are preparing the garden for the laying of turf

Below: John and Steve levelling off the top soil ready for the turf being laid.

Below: 28th January 2009 and the edging blocks are laid, now the task of laying the rest of the blocks inbetween has begun and the tedious job of cutting in all the angled blocks.

Below: 23rd January 2009 and John looks suprisingly happy soaking up the good vibes from using the vibrating plate...  Then again it might have been because it was Friday.

Below:A close up of the blockwork looking towards Unit 9 which we hope to convert into a Community training room.

Congratulations to John McPartland who passed his driving test recently from all Companions, staff, trustees and volunteers.  

Also a big thanks to those at Emmaus UK who agreed to fund his lessons and to everyone, and especially Michelle, who supported him along the way.

Courtyard Project gets underway with a donation from St Luke's church

Above: Time Team eat your heart out! Companion Steve makes a break through... the concrete in the courtyard.

Companions at Emmaus in Sheffield have begun work on the creation of a garden for the Emmaus Sheffield Community thanks to a kind donation of £1,911 from the congregation of St Luke's church at Lodge Moor in Sheffield.

Above: Cracking up! Andy gets to grips with the electric pick

The courtyard area is the only outdoor recreation space available to Companions in what was formerly a cutlery factory.  The plan is to dig up the concrete and create a mixture of block paved areas with grass and borders with a variety of plants and shrubs.  Steve, a Companion at Emmaus since November commented, "It'll be great to soften up some of the hard edges of this courtyard with some plants and trees and create some colour. We're also planning to create a pond in the decking area where we can have some Koi Carp and John Mac can take a swim!.'

Above: It was so cold the day this picture was taken that John Mac's hands actually turned blue as he planted up some of the new window boxes.

The landscaping of the courtyard is also helping Companions gain new skills and accreditation through Bishop Burton Agricultural College as they work through their NVQ level 2 in Amenities Horticulture.

Community Manager Lawrence Buckley commented, '"We are very grateful to the people of St Luke's.  This has been a project we've been wanting to get started on this project for some time now but we simply haven't had the funds to do it. It kills two birds with one stone in that it helps us with getting the guys through their NVQs and at the same time creates a much needed outdoor space that Companions and also staff and volunteers can use."

Although much of the landscaping materials have been bought, the project will still need the following if you can help out:

• Some good quality top soil
• A pack of rustic style drag faced bricks
• Various plants and shrubs 
• Some fresh water fish, anything will do!
• Seeds
• Turf
• Bird feeders
  
• Solar lamps or outdoor lighting
• Bark chippings

Terry Waite Auctions Emmaus Clock

Terry Waite turned auctioneer recently at the Emmuas Federation's annual assembly at Swanick in Derbyshire.  At the traditional end of assembly auction.  The clock in question, made locally in Sheffield by the workshops at the St Wilfreds Centre, reached a very generous £105! Emmaus Gloucestershire were the victors and happy recipients of the clock after a vigorously fought bidding war.  The auction as a whole raised a total of £500 for the Emmaus Solidarity Fund.

Emmaus Sheffield Companions win silver in 5-a-side tournament

Companions from the Sheffield Community came a close second to the Glasgow team in the Emmaus Inter-Community five a side competition at the annual assembly at the Hayes Centre in Swanick, Derbyshire.

Emmaus UK's federation office team came a respectable third overall and Bristol, who had some personnel problems on the day took the wooden spoon. Bless...

Although each game was a competitive affair, the spirit in which it was played was a great example of all that's good in the Emmaus movement. 

A great time was had by all who played and the unanimous feeling was that it was a great way to kick off the Annual Assembly.  We certainly hope that next year will herald a larger competition with more Communities fielding teams.

Player of the Tournament: Beverly Bayliss (Emmaus UK)

Top Goalscorer: Rogerio Goncalves (Emmaus Sheffield) with 18 goals

Final league positions for 2008:

                         P       W       D       L       Pts

Glasgow          3        3        0       0       9

Sheffield         3        2         0       1       6

Emmaus UK   3        1         0       2       3

Bristol             3        0         0       3       0