On the 18th of March 2020 we held our first ever Mobilise Virtual Cuppa for Carers. 1 year and 222 Cuppas later we are still going strong (and have no intention of stopping).
Along the way the format has developed with different themes, days and times. Our most popular Cuppa has been "Funtastic Fridays" a relaxed fun session with a daft challenge and a quick fun quiz.
Together we've had the opportunity to "Start the Week Right" with gratitude practise and setting a positive intention for the week ahead. We've shared our top tips, worked hard on our own wellbeing and created space for thoughtful reflection and rich conversation. We also collectively solved our individual challenges and encouraged each other in our "Fix it Fridays"
Listening to and learning from carers
The Cuppas have been an essential part of the Mobilise Community. This is where we learn what life is really like for us as carers and what's important. In our Cuppas we learn from each other and that learning is shared with our whole community through the content that we share in our weekly emails.
Our cuppas have also formed the basis for academic research into caring during lockdown by the University of Sheffield and the University of Liverpool. Find out more and read the full research report here.
A couple of weeks ago we took the opportunity to take a deeper look at our Cuppas before we plan what comes next. We held a Mini Conference on Cuppas, 12 carers from our community joined in to share what they thought and their ideas for making things even better. Most importantly though we wanted to capture the essence of what makes a Mobilise Cuppa different.
What springs to mind when you think of a Mobilise Cuppa?
Caputured in the word cloud below are the one word answers that we gave to that question
What's different about a Mobilise Virtual Cuppa for Carers?
Here's what carers who have attended said:
"People make space for other people, there is respect for each other"
"We are reminded of who we are outside of our caring roles"
"There's always a specific focus or theme and a helpful structure"
"I don't leave feeling I'm carrying everyone's burdens even though we do take time to offload"
"Even though I don't attend a lot of cuppas it is reassuring to know that option is always there"
What's next for our Cuppas?
There are 3 important things that we realised from our Mini Conference on Cuppas
Keep and treasure the essential essence of what makes a good Mobilise Cuppa
Evolve gradually with our changing needs as carers
Be inclusive - welcome even more carers to our Cuppas
Find out more
Everything you need to know about joining a Mobilise Cuppa is here on our Cuppa Page
Visit the Cuppa Timetable Page to find out what's on each week, simply click the link to join in when you are ready
Join one of our occasional welcome cuppas as an easy introduction