The Jan Urban-Smith Debate – Sat 12th October 2-3pm

Do We Still Believe Books Matter to our Children?

Melvin Burgess, Anne Fine, Jamila Gavin and Graham Tyrer

Do we still believe that books matter to our children? If so, why are libraries closing and literature reduced to extracts in school, as if solely for the purpose of jumping through hoops? Is the chance to read widely being squeezed between the pressure of regimented schooling and an increasingly pervasive digital ‘tablet culture’? And what can parents do? Join bestselling children’s writers Melvin Burgess, Anne Fine and Jamila Gavin and school literacy guru Graham Tyrer to debate these challenging questions and find out the books that shaped them as they grew up.

What are the books that shaped your childhood? Join the debate by tweeting your favourite childhood book that shaped you as you grew up @cheltfestivals  #cheltlitfest

This event is sponsored by the Summerfield Charitable Trust in memory of Jan Urban-Smith, who, in her role as a Trustee, helped to make Gloucestershire a better place.

For more details about the Festival and to book tickets visit the Cheltenham Festivals website

The Summerfield Lecture: Noreena Hertz
EYES WIDE OPEN: HOW TO MAKE SMART DECISIONS IN A CONFUSING WORLD.
Thursday 10th October 6.30-7.30pm

In a fast-moving world we’re often overloaded with conflicting opinions and advice. In this absorbing talk Noreena Hertz, author of Eyes Wide Open, and described by The Observer as ‘one of the world’s leading thinkers’, offers a practical method for making better, smarter decisions.

For more details about the Festival and to book tickets visit the Cheltenham Festivals website.

It is with much sadness we must report that Jan Urban Smith died on Saturday May 25th 2013 after a long and courageous battle with cancer. 

Jan was a trustee of the Trust for ten years; she attended her last meeting in November 2012 when she was as astute, thoughtful and funny as ever.  The following spring Jan retired and in spite of her obvious frailty, we all had a very happy lunch to celebrate her tenure as a trustee.  In her typically generous spirited way she gave each one of us a camellia tree which will help us to keep her memory alive.

Jan had lived in Gloucestershire for nearly 40 years.  Her career in education as a teacher, deputy headmistress and in the LEA gave her a deep insight and passion for education in all its forms which helped the trustees enormously when having to make decisions about requests for funding.  Jan was an extremely dedicated trustee; she rarely missed a meeting and was always keen to visit charities.  I remember her listening intently to the clients of the Nelson Trust while they were explaining the difficulties of starting life after prison.  Jamila Gavin remembers going to Gymnation in Gloucester with her and being so impressed with the gym classes for Muslim women.  James Millar remembers her huge stoicism when we all climbed up Gloucester Cathedral’s clock tower, which she insisted on doing in spite of her poor health.  Her enthusiasm for projects, even the more eccentric ones was always evident; and her opinions were pertinent and frequently persuasive.  As Edward Gillespie remembers: “time and again, Jan's thoughts on applications were totally opposite to my own, proving the value of bringing together people with brains and experience of such contrast”.  

Jan was elegant and charismatic and we all have a very fond memory of her sitting next to Oleg Gordievsky, the Russian spy who gave the Summerfield lecture at the Cheltenham Festival in 2009, and charming him to the extent that he refused to speak to anyone else but her. 

The trustees have decided to sponsor the Jan Urban Smith debate at the Cheltenham Literature Festival on October 12th in which leading authors will discuss the books that have shaped their lives.

Jan was a truly inspirational person, even in recent weeks her zest for life was unquenchable.   The county has benefitted immeasurably from her time as a trustee of the Summerfield Trust, her wisdom will be sorely missed.

Following a full, indepth review of our grant application procedures in 2012 we are pleased to announce that our new online grant enquiry form is now accessible via the website. The form is designed to be completed and submitted online and forms stage one of the revised two-stage application process. Full details can be found on the How To Apply page.
It is hoped that the revised procedures will help to simplify and speed up the application process for organisations who wish to apply for funding, and also for our Administrator Lavinia Sidgwick. 

It is the policy of the Trust for trustees to retire at the end of a ten year term and in February we bid farewell to both Jamila Gavin and Jan Urban-Smith.  At our April meeting we welcomed two new Trustees - Vanessa Arbuthnott, and Kate Hicks Beach.

(Reproduced from an original posting at http://www.gavca.org.uk/news February 2013)

GAVCA can continue to help Tewkesbury charities and voluntary groups to network and explore new and collaborative ways of working after securing funding from the Summerfield Trust.