I had a stand off with an Iguana the other day. No no… this isn’t the start of a joke (why did the Iguana cross the road .. etc etc)… Julian and I went to the Stratford Butterfly Farm as part of my birthday celebrations and mini-break. The thing was, this Iguana wouldn’t move away from the exit as we were trying to leave, Julian was trying to entice it away… funniest thing I have seen in a while and I wish I had taken a picture. All in all though the place was great and I had a great weekend with Julian and a wonderful birthday. It’s a great week to go to Stratford as it was Shakespeare’s birthday. I can highly recommend it.

Now the celebrations have passed for another year, which has flown by here are Fortunatus, we have big things happening here this week so all my efforts are going to be concentrating on the launch of the App ‘Engage’ and our Unity Lottery. Engage is exciting and we know this will work really well for some of our tenants who might not want to talk to someone but would rather use the app to report a problem they might be having. You can also use the app to look for cinema listing, local events … I’m really proud. Take a look, download it from the App store or Google Play.

http://www.fortunatushousing.co.uk/fundraising-and-events/engage-app/

I’m pleased to announce we also have two lottery winners here at Fortunatus this week thanks to the Unity Lottery (they said it won’t change them!). They only signed up a few weeks before so get signed up! £25,000 a week for 6 numbers and a nice cool £1000 for 5 numbers and so on! For every £1 you play, 50p comes to us. This money really helps our tenants. Take a look at the prize breakdown.   http://www.unitylottery.co.uk/how-does-it-work/

So, I’m off. Lots to do this week and not enough time. Still up to my eyes in crochet ducklings.

Catch you soon and I’ll let you know how the launch goes, and the ducklings!

Catherine x

So.. big changes since we last spoke……..

I’ve taken on a Communications Office to deliver our message to the world. We’ll be getting regular updates now on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ to name a few. The more people that hear about Fortunatus Housing the better, I’m determined to build this business and tell the world what we do. We’ve also got a great new newsletter and regular website updates.

Also, we have a new fundraising officer focusing on our Unity Lottery which will make a huge difference. For every £1 spent on the lottery, Fortunatus get 50p towards helping people we house. You can sign up via our website http://www.fortunatushousing.co.uk/fundraising-and-events/unity-lottery/ . £25,000 top prize, that would be nice!

This place is changing. New faces, new names, new conversations, it’s great. More members of the family!

We continue to strive to provide excellent living circumstances for all our tenants. We work with some great tenants, we really do. We are like one big family and it’s great to see people settled and living a more independent life with the help of our support team. The more awareness we can bring to the great work we do will really benefit the lives of vulnerable adults.

We are also in the process of organising a launch day for our new app ‘Engage’. Yes folks, we have an app! 2015, you are nobody if you don’t have this app and ours is killer! Tenants can use it to contact us, check local information and news. At the end of the day, everyone has a smart phone these days!

As for me, I’m not sure where I find the time for everything else. Would you believe that I have been asked to crochet twenty miniature ducks and twenty miniature frogs for my friends at the amateur dramatics society I’m in? As well as mermaid tail blankets, a christening shawl and woolly hats for the camping trip I’ll be going on with Julian. Julian’s hat will be a stag, I’ll be a bear. If you see us, please say hello!

Catch you later,

Catherine.