Winchester Stroke Support Club

Winchester Stroke Support Club was inaugurated in 2019-2020 as a collaboration between Winchester Rotary and the Stroke Association. The COVID epidemic meant that the first meetings did not taking place until September 2020, and those were by use of Zoom. Face to Face meetings began in September 2021, when we moved into the Simeon Room at Christ Church, Winchester. We meet on the first and third Thursdays of each month, and our meetings run from 2pm to 4pm. There is a nominal charge for members of £3 per meeting to cover refreshments and part of our running costs.

Meetings Typically our meetings begin with a group activity, e.g. a speaker, a quiz, or a game such as charades or ‘who am I’. We have an exercise therapist who comes in and provides 20 minutes of seated exercises, then to recover our strength, refreshments are served. After refreshments, there is a choice of activities. Some members like to paint or draw, some like to play table games such as Rummikub. Other members may just wish to sit and chat.

New Members we are open to anybody who is recovering from any type of stroke who wishes to come along to our meetings. You may bring a carer if you wish, and as the Club is not permitted to provide ‘personal care’ you would need to bring a carer if required for your personal care. If you have not had a stroke, but are a relative or friend of someone who has, feel free to refer them to us.

Volunteers We welcome new individuals who would like to volunteer to help make the club run smoothly. No particular qualifications require – just an interest in people, and helping them along the path they have to follow after a stroke. All strokes are different, affecting different parts of the brain, and we try to be supportive for whatever needs of our clients have.

History COVID had caused many problems within the Stroke Association, and the proposed ‘collaborative’ club format was no longer viable from their point of view, so we became an independent group but part of the Stroke Group Network. This means that we can be found on the Stroke Association web site, but no longer have a direct management link to the Stroke Association. In particular, we no longer have access to the direct referrals which the Stroke Association used to provide through their links with hospitals and GPs.

Contact Us Our Rotary contact is Ian Valentine, who can be reached on email at ian@cival.uk. or by phone: 07771 716778
You can also contact Jenny Davidson on email at jennydavidson3@gmail.com or by phone: 01962 852818