Carers Week ( Mon 10 - Sun 16 June) is a national event to recognise and celebrate the UK’s six million plus unpaid family and friend carers. The week aims to raise awareness of caring, highlighting the challenges family and friend carers face, and acknowledge the huge contribution carers make. It’s also a time to help people who don’t think of themselves as carers, to identify as carers and then access much-needed support.

To mark the week we wanted to share the activities on offer at the Maltings available throughout the year and highlight the opportunities we provide to give carers the support and self-care they require to do their incredible and vital work.

Carers Coffee Break

Our monthly Carers Coffee Break, in partnership with Action for Carers Surrey, runs on the first Friday of every month and helps to combat isolation and build a community of local carers. Having run for a number of years now, it sees an average of 13 - 15 people each month and activities have included bulb planting, making clay pendants and upcycling sheet music into Christmas decorations.

Beyond that however, the opportunities to socialise with people taking on similar care needs is crucial as both a place of information and therapy. One participant shared that at the group they “feel they can say or ask anything”.

For Carers Week, Action for Carers Surrey are hosting a packed programme of events and wellbeing workshops in-person and online. See the full programme of activities here.

Singing for the Mind

Singing for the Mind, a partnership with Right at Home, is a regular singing group for people with dementia and their carers which has gone from strength to strength. It is widely known that singing old songs familiar to people with dementia can have a staggering impact at resurfacing lost memories. A volunteer shared that the group recently welcomed back a client “who'd been very poorly over the winter… we knew the singing had worked its magic when she treated the group to one of her old trademark jigs.” We have been incredibly lucky to have such a dedicated team of volunteers for the group who, alongside the invaluable carers, provide a consistent and welcoming face.

In addition to the music, a volunteer reflected that it’s “really stimulating for the attendees” to have a “combination of cognitive and physical exercises”, and that “seeing the same faces each week is hugely helpful to creating routine, structure and familiarity”.

The annual Musical Memories concert held in the Cellar Bar each October is a real highlight of the year for the group and is a great opportunity to thank all of the carers.

Surrey Young Carers
Surrey Young Carers (SYC) provide respite to young carers and their families, bringing them together to learn new skills and feel empowered to thrive in school and at home. Farnham Maltings and SYC partner throughout the year to run events for carers, including a celebration day at Christmas and Young Carers Action Day in March. During these events, young carers are given a free ticket to a Maltings' show, a delicious and socialble lunch and opportunities to participate in craft workshops with their families.

Farnham Maltings are proud to offer complimentary carers tickets to all events in our programme. To learn more about how to book carers' tickets and to see provisions for disabled audiences, please visit our access page or call the Box Office on 01252 745444.