Tag Archive for: Apna Virsa

#Cake4Caring online event 

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To celebrate those special ones in our lives who’d made the national lockdown a little easier, we staged a remote cake-baking event in August 2020. 

Using the hashtag #Cake4Caring, we encouraged people on our social media accounts to bake a cake from home for their special person.

Participants were encouraged to bake their own cake and give it to a loved one where possible. Here are some of the lucky recipients and bakers!


Once done, they had to upload a picture of themselves with the finished cake – whilst nominating who they were giving it to and why. 

The weekend of baking saw Ozlem record two video demonstrations for members to follow if they didn’t know what kind of cake they wanted to bake.   

We had such a terrific variety of bakes from the August weekend event: Here are just a sample that were posted online.

But the most touching part was seeing who the cakes were made for, which included little granddaughters and separately partners who’d performed errands for their loved ones whilst they’d been shielding from the coronavirus. Upwards of 30 people took part. 

And the following week a collage of images of everyone’s cakes was pieced together.

The Step Up 4 Seniors Challenge

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During May and June 2020 we ran an online dance challenge to get seniors up and moving from the comfort of their homes.

The Step Up 4 Seniors Challenge saw Bhangra teacher Jasmine Cheema record a routine for the members to dance to, which was posted to social media. 

Scores of seniors did a jig from their own homes – and we brought these together for a giant video, as if they were back together again despite the lockdown.

Members then respectively practised at home and recorded themselves doing the routine once they were ready.  Their videos were edited together to produce a final music video, giving the impression they were all dancing together.

Amazingly, even seniors who were in their late 80s took part. 

Before lockdown, the majority of the seniors had attended Bhangra dancing for the over 50s in Slough on a weekly basis. But when the coronavirus measures kicked in they were confined to their homes and could no longer dance together. 

The challenge not only promoted wellbeing and encouraged them to exercise more, but brought the members together albeit in a different way given the challenging circumstances. 

National Lottery TV advert

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In May 2020 Apna Virsa was included in a television advert from the National Lottery which showcased the excellent efforts of community organisations during the pandemic.

In our case, we were included for the endless hours of free exercise classes we put online – as you may know we are partly funded by the National Lottery.

The final collage allowed community organisations, such as ours, a chance to take the stage. Seema is pictured bottom, centre left, alongside 15 other volunteers. Well done Seema!

Seema recorded herself saying “Thank you” which was featured in a collage at the end of the piece with numerous other group leaders saying the same thing.

The advert is called “How you’re helping,” and can be viewed here. It has clocked up around 11,000 views so far.

The National Lottery has showcased our efforts during the pandemic on a regular basis, and in fairness we couldn’t have done a lot of our work without their essential funding.

Unexpectedly, the advert continued to be shown on national television for the best part of five months – so in the end Seema had far more than just five minutes of fame!

Apna Virsa’s Recipe Channel

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In May 2020 we launched our own YouTube channel to provide some cooking inspiration for people from home.

Ozlem demonstrated the perfect prawn salad amongst other dishes. Everything was filmed from her home.

Ozlem uploaded weekly cooking videos of a variety of different dishes, with the recipe and method outlined alongside each post.

Some of the most popular recipes, with the most views, have included her lentil bread, mango salad and Turkish zucchini.

What’s more delicious than a prawn pasta dish? Surprisingly, it wasn’t one of our most popular posts but still did well. Followers were always advised to follow the information provided as well as the video.

The channel was also utilised for the #Cake4Caring event where Ozlem baked two different cakes for people to consider baking themselves on the August weekend celebration. 

Free Online Exercise Classes During The Pandemic 2020/2021

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Since the first lockdown in March 2020, we have run a consolidated series of classes online so people won’t miss out on keeping fit, moving and generally taking care of their wellbeing.

Youngsters take part in one of our fast Bhangra classes in 2020 via the Facebook account.

With the help and commitment of our fabulous instructors, we have continued to deliver yoga-pilates, yoga, and bhangra classes on Facebook live and Instagram.

In fact, we initially delivered both a fast-bhangra class and a class for those veterans who wanted to go a little slower.

One of our seniors gives slow Bhangra a go in the morning via Facebook. Participants used whatever space they could to try and keep fit during the lockdown.

Our viewing figures have been staggering with up to 500 live views on a weekly basis, and thousands more during the course of the week as people do their own pre-recorded “catch up”.

Plus children as young as three, seniors in their late 80s and those in wheelchairs have taken part. What a result!

Here, one of our male seniors performs a yoga move with the help of our teacher leading the session on Facebook.

 

It was touching how many people took part. Here, a brother and sister have a go from the comfort of their own home.

Special thanks go to Priya, Kiran, Jasmine and Kay, whose hard work has enabled thousands of our followers, and people further afield, to stay sane and connected during the pandemic.