Wakefield Let's Get a Good Thing Going

Across the UK, there are many people

who would love to do something they think will enhance their community.

Let's not leave the beach as we found it,

let's leave it a little nicer.

But what they are lacking is the money to get their bright ideas

off the ground.

My project needs your vote!

We're giving individuals the chance to kick-start their venture

with donations from their own communities.

ALL: Hello!

Brilliant, come on in, then.

Come on!

But to win that pot, and to make dreams a reality,

they first need to win over an audience of locals

who will be voting for their favourite idea.

Is it going to be open 24 hours a day?

Would this be sort of an annual event?

What are your running costs likely to be?

All across the country,

there are local heroes prepared to go the extra mile

to make our communities better places to live.

-TEARFULLY:

-It's very...

Sorry.

Unusual for me, very emotional.

They just need a helping hand to get their ideas up and running.

The champion who you have voted for is...

Welcome to West Yorkshire, and the city of Wakefield.

We've got the Pennines over there,

and down there is the city,

with the 247-foot spire of the Cathedral Church of All Saints,

which is the tallest in Yorkshire.

For over 1,000 years, Wakefield has been a busy market town.

It also became known as a productive coal-mining area,

as it lies within the South Yorkshire coalfield.

However, traditional industries

like mining and textiles declined,

and this was one of the first places in England to be

hit by mine closures, from the 1950s onwards,

so the city had to reinvent itself.

Today, we're five miles from the city in the market town of Ossett,

and our home for the day is

this very fancy French Renaissance town hall.

It was built in 1905 and, suitably for us, from public donations.

The clock is nearly 100 years old,

but it's still wound every single day by the staff here.

BELL TOLLS

The four locals trying to get a good thing going today are Tom,

leader of the Senior Citizens Group,

who wants to help all his members to be silver surfers.

Trish, who thinks her art students have star quality.

Adam, who's fighting the battle of the bulge for the whole city.

And Sheila, who has an unusual therapy idea for dementia patients.

Each of the four community champions have an idea that could

really help their local area,

but to get the money that could make it happen,

first they have to win over the community.

You're moments away today from your pitches.

-How are we feeling?

-Oh, wonderful.

-What about yourself, Adam?

-I think I'll be all right.

-I'll see how it goes.

-Trish?

I'm desperately forgetful.

Desperately forgetful, I've been there!

Tom, you seem really confident.

It's just an act, but I've been practising!

-Yeah?

-Yeah. My handicap's come down, too!

So, I guess no matter what happens today,

the community have all been brought together.

-Yeah.

-That's right.

-And just speak from the heart.

Well, good luck to everybody, and I'll catch up with you later.

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

-Great stuff.

CHEERING

We're open for business. The doors are open.

I wonder if they're going to be a tough crowd.

Hello! ALL: Hello!

Brilliant! Come on in, then.

Come on! Hiya! You all right?

Nice to see you. Kevin, pleased to meet you.

Nice gloves. Lovely gloves! Like those.

Thank you very much!

Local people have been invited to hear what our community champions

have to say, and will later vote for their favourite pitch.

As they come in, they can make a cash donation

towards the community fund.

Great crowd today.

When I say "great crowd" - lots of people,

and lots of people means lots of donations.

Whichever of the four pitches receives the most votes

from the audience

will win all of today's funds to start their community project.

I'm more worried about the steps going down

than I am about anything else.

I can hear them. It's like the Coliseum going on in there,

but I'm sure it'll be worth it in the end.

-Um...

-A bit nervous.

A bit like the gladiators, isn't it?

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Hello, hello, hello!

CHEERING

Yeah, that's not bad, that's not bad.

Ossett Town Hall and the community of Wakefield,

hello!

ALL: Hello!

Now, shortly you are going to be hearing from four sets of people

whose love for this community goes way above the norm.

These people, all they want to do,

is make a big difference with a small idea.

But they need you,

because it's down to you.

You will decide who gets their vote.

The person that gets the most votes takes home the pot of cash,

and then tomorrow they will be able to start their projects.

The question is, community of Wakefield,

are we ready to get a good thing going?

ALL: Yes!

Right, let's welcome our first person to the floor.

Now, he is a senior-citizen champion,

who wants all of his members not to miss out on the digital age.

Please welcome Tom Long.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

-Hi, Kevin.

-Good luck, Tom.

-Thank you.

Hi, everybody! My name is Tom Long,

and I'm chair of the Senior Citizens Support Group,

which is based here in Ossett, and in Horbury.

The village of Horbury,

just three miles south of Wakefield town centre,

was Tom's first choice for setting up the family home 43 years ago.

This is where my wife and I moved in 1974.

When we came here, our two boys were both at the primary school.

By the time we left, 25 years later,

they were both at university.

Although retired from his property-investment business,

Tom has never been busier,

as he is chairman of the local Senior Citizens Support Group,

with over 600 very active members.

ROCK N ROLL GUITAR

The whole idea of the Senior Citizens Support Group is really

to provide a motivation for older people to come out of the house,

so we organise roughly 150 different events throughout the year.

Today's event is a weekly fun and fitness class,

which also encourages people to socialise outside of their home.

I'm 70 tomorrow, so I'm going to give it all I've got.

You get quite involved with it.

It's not just the keep fit, it's the atmosphere that it brings with it.

Tom is always developing new activities for the members.

Now, we're just looking at the programme for 2018

and I just wondered if you'd any ideas of something new

that you might want to do.

Always top of the agenda at any get-together is the real struggle

to stay up to speed with technology.

What's happened in the last 60 and 70 years is

the major move in technology, and people are frightened of it,

and we're trying to encourage them not to be.

More or less chase the mouse rather than use it!

When the Senior Citizens Group recently acquired a new office,

Tom had a vision to address these issues by setting up

an internet access point for pensioners.

Older people do have problems with accessing the internet,

and they get very, very frustrated

when television adverts tell them to go to .uk, .com,

and yet they can't, because they haven't got the equipment.

Affectionately calling it the Pensioners' Pit Stop,

Tom is convinced he can meet all online needs.

This idea of being able to be used constantly by our members

for things that they can't get anywhere else

appeals, and we want to really get that off the ground,

move it forward, and move it forward quickly.

It's a hidden thing to a lot of people,

but if they had someone with them to show them,

to guide them, and to teach them, even, to do it,

then perhaps it would be better for them,

and they wouldn't be as afraid.

Senior Citizens Support Group is trying to eradicate loneliness

in older people.

We have 600 members.

500 of them do not have an e-mail address.

It therefore follows logically that, perhaps,

they don't have access to the internet, either.

Now, after a year of trying,

the Senior Citizens Support Group have managed to obtain an office

and we wanted to make real use of that office,

so our plan is extremely simple.

What we want to do is to provide access

so that older people can come into the office,

and we will access the internet for them.

Now, one of the big things at the moment is

that it's about five years since bus passes were introduced,

and what we find is the simplest and easiest way to renew your bus pass

is online.

Brilliant! Who has bus passes?

The elderly.

Yes, sir, you!

Who doesn't have access to the internet? The elderly!

Come into the office, we'll do it for you.

Now, to set this system up correctly is not going to cost a fortune.

We need to purchase a laptop,

we need to purchase a printer.

We maybe need a desk and a chair.

Oh, and I forgot one thing, the most important,

particularly if the elderly are visiting,

we need facilities for tea and coffee.

So, we're only looking for a relatively small amount of money,

but it could make big things happen.

So all I can say to you is we're determined that the elderly

should not be excluded from the best rates for gas,

electricity or other utilities, or holidays.

Thank you very much for listening to me,

but let's have internet for seniors.

Thank you.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

For his Pensioner Pit Stop,

Tom wants £250 for a laptop,

£90 for a printer,

and £60 for stationery.

He was nervous earlier on.

You wouldn't know, would you?

Brilliant. Great pitch, Tom, great pitch.

So we're going to open the floor now.

Is there anybody that's got a question about Tom's project?

Can I just ask,

how are you going to man the facility

that you're offering to the elderly?

We've recruited the volunteers, and we've trained them.

Is it going to be open for 24 hours a day, or for...?

No, sir, it definitely will not be open 24 hours a day

because I need my beauty sleep.

But you won't be the only one, of course.

-Of course not.

-You mentioned in your pitch there, Tom,

that you won't need much to start you off.

-No.

-So how much are you talking?

How much is "not much"?

Oh, well, in my terms, not much is no more than about 20 grand...

-LAUGHTER

-No!

No, around about £500 is all we need to get it off the ground.

A round of applause, please, for Tom Long, everybody. Tom!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Recent government figures confirm

that the least-active age group online are the over-65s,

with only four in ten over-75s with internet access.

This means most are missing out on the digital era.

We could hear them cheering out here.

Don't tell us it were terrifying.

No, it wasn't, it was brilliant.

Now, there are many community groups - and individuals, for that matter -

who do sterling work in the Wakefield area.

Now, our next pitcher believes that her students are so good

they can have an exhibition.

Please welcome Trish Hollies.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Hello, everybody. Thank you for that lovely, warm welcome.

I can't tell you what the nerves are like backstage, but here we go.

I'm Trish, and I'm an educational coordinator

for the Workers' Educational Association,

and the area I work in is Wakefield and the Five Towns.

Trish's job as an education officer involves setting up

a variety of classes for adults with learning disabilities

across the Wakefield area.

One of her personal favourites is art.

-What's all this that you're using?

-It's called a collage.

Ah, so this is a bit of a new project for you, then, isn't it?

And art is something that she's always been passionate about.

If I look back in my life,

things that I've created myself have given me a feeling of self-worth.

When her son, Ben, was diagnosed with severe dyslexia,

art played a key role in his education.

He really, really struggled with reading.

Art, for him, has been a route to success, really.

Ben took his artwork incredibly seriously,

went on to university, and he now works in the West End.

He works in the wardrobe department, and as a dresser.

Now I really want to help people to experience the same success

that my son has had.

Trish manages over 50 classes in a variety of subjects.

In her art classes, she can see real development.

It really helps with their...

..self-esteem and their confidence.

Let's have a look. Do you just want...

Mandy Williams is an art-and-crafts tutor,

and passionate about art therapy.

It's just fantastic to see people grow, grow in confidence,

especially if they can exhibit their artwork,

and developing their own ideas.

Trish and Mandy believe their students' work

should have a wider audience and appreciation,

so want to put on a professional exhibition in a central location.

They believe the community will benefit

by appreciating local students' artwork,

and the students will get a real sense of achievement, too.

I'm quite pleased with that.

But as this is a new venture,

there's no money to frame all the work and set up the exhibition.

Trish wants to raise funds to have all work framed,

and displayed professionally.

If you create a picture,

you're very proud of it.

If you're able to put it in a frame,

and put it somewhere where other people will see it,

that makes it really special,

and I think to feel valued as a person

is a tremendous boost to your mental health and wellbeing.

The title for our project is called In The Frame.

My aim is to raise the profile of

the work those with learning disabilities are able to do,

and how much they can contribute to the art world.

We want to have a big exhibition

of professionally framed students' work.

You can see some of our students' wonderful work behind me.

It looks spectacular because it's been beautifully framed,

but that costs money.

I would like you to meet one of our tutors, Mandy,

and two of our students, Simon and Laura,

who want to come out and meet you and say of few words.

Thank you.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Hello. My name's Mandy Williams.

I'm an arts and crafts tutor.

I consider it a real privilege to teach adults generally.

And we have great fun.

Simon, how do you feel when you're making your artwork?

I like to do it, and I want to continue doing it.

It gives me something to do,

and I want to continue doing the art and crafts.

How do you feel when you see your artwork actually framed?

I feel like I've achieved it,

and I'm very proud of it,

-and it makes me feel fantastic.

-Yeah. Excellent.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

How could you not want to do this?

I'd like to say thank you to everybody for listening to me.

Please vote for us,

because that's the only way I can take this forward,

and make it happen. Thank you very much indeed.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

For her art exhibition,

Trish needs £390 for professional framing

and labelling of the artwork,

£45 for invitations,

£65 for event programmes,

And £10 for invite postage costs.

We've got some questions, I do believe, in the audience.

Who would like to ask a question?

The lady over there. Yes, what's your question?

I would like to ask Trish, how many people do you think

would come to the exhibition?

With the students, their carers, their relatives,

their friends, the wider public, I'd like to aim for 100.

Happy with that?

Another question for Trish, please.

Yes, that lovely lady there with that beautiful blouse on.

What's your question, please?

Thank you. Hi, Trish.

I'd just like to ask you, would this be sort of an annual event?

Would you be looking to take it forward?

It would be wonderful if it could be an annual event.

Having the work framed individually

costs a considerable amount of money.

I had brought some unframed work today for you to see.

And as lovely as it is,

it just doesn't look like this.

Well done for your pitch today, Trish.

A round of applause, please, for Trish Hollies. Well done.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Art therapy has long been credited with improving communication,

relationships, and creating positive feelings.

Right, let's just have a little chat now,

see if we've found a winner yet.

Who's impressed you so far?

-Definitely Trish.

-And why's that?

I think the project that she's doing is invaluable.

I think the people that she's working with,

it sounds like they get a lot from it.

And, yeah, she's definitely got my vote.

-You've found your favourite already, haven't you?

-Yes!

You've found your favourite! The young lady there,

who's impressed you so far?

-I think Tom.

-Why Tom?

I'm in that age bracket, and I know where he's coming from,

and the internet is so important.

Well, still two more projects that possibly could sway your vote.

You'll have to wait, and cast your vote shortly.

Thanks for your input.

Next up, we're talking about health and fitness.

Now I don't need to tell you that obesity is a global problem.

But here in Wakefield is one man who's determined

to get the community here a little bit fitter.

Please welcome Adam Redfern.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

-Thank you.

-Good luck, Adam, good luck.

Thank you. Thank you, everybody.

So, basically, we're here to talk about our project,

which is based over in the south-east district of Wakefield,

and we're wanting to create a community gym.

Adam grew up in South Elmsall and Upton in Wakefield,

and works locally

with a charity helping unemployed people back into the workplace

through vocational courses and qualifications.

They were from a lot of different backgrounds.

Long-term unemployed.

Some of them have had long-term injuries.

Others have had issues happen in their life

that has sort of stopped them moving forward into employment.

And by offering them the training that we do at this centre,

it's sort of getting them back on their feet.

As a fitness fanatic himself,

Adam believes, in addition to the vocational courses he teaches,

that including elements of physical fitness

is a huge benefit to future employees.

We've also found that a lot of other unemployed people would benefit

from being able to work on their physical fitness.

Cos obviously when they're feeling physically more healthier,

they're more likely to stay in a job.

Squat down as far as you can, and back up.

Adam's enthusiastic,

he gets you going, he builds your confidence,

he says you can do this, you CAN do this.

Before I came here I didn't have much confidence,

I didn't have much self-esteem.

And through the physical training that we've had,

it improved my confidence and my self-esteem...

..loads.

Adam's love for fitness - and specifically martial arts -

has also led him to begin volunteer work

and set up projects of his own.

Martial arts was my way into volunteering, really.

I started out, it was about 2006, at a local church hall.

And they, like, had boxing and martial arts classes.

And I went down there, volunteered.

One of Adam's volunteer projects was to help set up and run

a free fitness class for local community members.

But when the building used for the classes was closed by the council,

Adam and his class members were left looking for a new home.

All this equipment that you can see here has come from

the Northfield Community Centre, where we originated from.

It got damp, and we had to close it down.

So we've transferred the equipment up here.

Having managed to secure a new venue

and salvaged some of the original kit,

Adam now has big plans to open a new gym

that would offer free membership to local community members.

I've come to the conclusion

that this would be a really good space to develop

as a little community gym for people that maybe can't afford

a gym membership, or don't feel comfortable going to a gym.

But to get the gym up and running,

Adam needs money for more equipment.

Obviously it needs doing up as an actual gym,

all the mats laying out,

some extra equipment, cos some of this equipment's ready for renewing.

This room could make such a difference to people's lives

in this community. They've had the facilities before,

and we're trying to bring it back again.

And this room is the key to doing that.

The story behind it is we had a gym,

but, actually, damp got in it, and the council closed it down.

So we moved all the stuff to the community centre,

and we wanted to fit it out for the community.

It's something that we've really got a passion for,

about getting people into employment,

as using health and fitness as a way of doing that.

And I'm now going to bring down Ben, who, eight weeks ago,

came to see us about getting into employment,

but actually, through engaging him in physical activity,

cos he'd got no motivation,

we've since been able to put him through courses

and he's starting to look into jobs now.

APPLAUSE

So, Ben's going to just demonstrate some kettle bells,

which works on muscular endurance,

and also cardiovascular system.

So that's kettle bell, you can use it for all different exercises.

We're also going to show you a little bit of boxing on the pads,

which works well for coordination, confidence building,

and also motivation.

Not just actually hitting things in a destructive manner,

but actually being able to apply that focus

in other areas of your life.

Right, Ben?

Good. Thank you, Ben.

APPLAUSE

So if we were successful tonight,

we would use the money to fit everything out,

so it's all in good working order

and it's safe for people to go in and use.

The staff and volunteers are going to give up some of their time

to actually help people work on their own personal fitness goals

and achievements.

I'd like to thank you all for coming tonight.

And let's get a good thing going.

Thank you.

For his community gym,

Adam needs £200 for dumbbells,

£70 for a dumbbells rack,

and £275 for a bench press.

Let's open the floor now to some questions.

-Yeah.

-We've got a question there from that young lady.

What's your question, please?

Like most gyms that have membership fees,

will your gym have a membership fee for the people that are using it?

No! No, this gym's going to be free of charge

because the space at the moment is just a waste of space.

It's a classroom within the community centre that's not used.

And therefore, by kitting it out,

we're more or less doing it for people that attend the centre

who want to work on their health and fitness.

We work in a highly deprived area.

Most gyms, they can be £60, £100 a month,

depending on where you go.

And people that are not working, or on low income, can't afford that.

So we want to give them the same opportunities.

Thanks for your question. Another question for Adam, please.

I was wondering how you're going to manage the numbers in this gym,

because people perhaps that have gym memberships might...

Would you have a criteria for people that can join the gym?

Yeah, if they're unemployed and they're claiming benefits.

-Right.

-Social needs, that's what we are aiming at.

I can see where you're going with that.

You were imagining thousands of people just getting free membership?

-Yeah.

-No, it's a good point.

-Yeah, definitely right, yeah.

-Thank you.

-Thank you for your question.

A round of applause, please, for Adam Redfern. Adam.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Research suggests that when we exercise,

even just for a few minutes,

the body releases endorphins that make us feel happier.

I thought it went all right.

I were nervous, more nervous than I would have thought,

but I think that were mainly due to...

..just not doing that type of thing before.

But I got there.

So just one more pitch to hear today before you get to decide.

But just hold that thought for one moment,

because last, but by no means least, please welcome Sheila Wainwright.

-Thank you.

-Good luck.

-Thank you.

Well, I've come here tonight because I want to talk about cats.

But before I talk to you about cats,

I needed to give you a bit of background information.

And I'm really, really sorry

because I'm going to start with a sad beginning.

But you, I hope, are going to give me a happy ending.

Retired headteacher Sheila lives in the village of Woolley,

six miles from Wakefield.

She and husband John lived happily together for 34 years.

We had four children between us.

I was very happy with John, we did lots of travelling together.

We did have a good life.

But aged just 59,

John became ill, and was diagnosed with early-onset dementia.

I didn't know anything about dementia.

I didn't know anything about Alzheimer's.

But I soon learned.

Sadly and tragically, he began to get violent,

a chair over my head every now and again.

And then he was sectioned.

And then he went into a care home, and he just deteriorated.

And within six, eight months, he died.

After John's death,

Sheila wanted to help other families with dementia sufferers

by campaigning for funds,

and a greater awareness of the illness.

To date, she has raised over £100,000.

Daughter Rose is immensely proud.

Since my dad died in 2011,

my mother has somehow found the wherewithal

to become a really amazing ambassador for better dementia care.

I just think she's astonishing and amazing, and I'm so proud of her.

As part of her fundraising for dementia research,

Sheila heard about a new type of therapy involving cats.

And she knew from John's illness how fond he had become of their pet cat.

He quite liked Sophie,

but I wouldn't say that he was particularly keen on cats.

But when he became ill,

it was as though he found comfort in her.

And she used to sit and he'd just stroke her.

But the cats that Sheila was reading about weren't real cats,

but robotic cats.

They are specifically designed for dementia patients,

and respond to stroking and petting.

They even purr.

RUMBLING PURRING

-Say hello. Are you going to say hello?

-What does he do?

Well, he purrs when he's happy.

IT MEOWS

He meows!

Roll over, come on, roll over and have your tummy tickled.

CHUCKLING

You can't help laughing at him, can you?

Michelle McGowan is an Admiral nurse -

that's a specialist dementia care nurse -

and has seen patients benefiting from robotic cats.

There's plenty of research about pet therapy,

what's produced when you stroke and pet a dog or a cat.

The feel-good factor and the benefits of that

are really important.

Knowing the health benefits of these robotic pets,

Sheila wants funds to some of get these therapy cats

to dementia patients in Wakefield.

Do you remember when Dad used to get really, really angry sometimes?

Mm.

I could imagine that he'd probably really enjoy this,

-don't you think?

-PURRING

MEOW

So now I've brought one of these cats for you to see.

And I'd like Matthew to bring our cat called Snowball to meet you.

AWW-ING

This is Snowball.

You'll guess by now, I gather, that it isn't a real cat.

You have worked that out, have you?

It is actually a robotic cat,

and it is made specially for people with dementia.

As you can see, Snowball is a special cat.

He can move and twitch and purr and meow for us all.

And we know that animals are really therapeutic for people,

not just people living with dementia, but for us all.

It reduces stress, and it helps improve us mood.

Unfortunately, some people living with dementia

can't have animals of their own.

They can't look after them,

or the place where they live in doesn't allow pets.

This is a really great way to get that back into somebody's life.

And I can just tell you a quick story about a lady

that this cat has been used with.

LAUGHTER

Ah, yeah. A little turn over, here.

If you sit very quiet, you'll hear him.

PURRING

Purring away. This lady grew up on a farm, and she loved animals.

But unfortunately, she couldn't look after one in her later life

when she was living with dementia.

And she was very restless, wanted something to do.

And it really helped to bring her out of her shell

when we introduced her to the cat.

She would introduce the cat to people,

she would ask people to stroke it,

she would sit at home and brush the cat.

She'd even ask her husband to go out and buy cat food for her

when he went to the shop.

This cat really helped calm this woman down.

And hopefully, you can see how it might be really useful

to have such a friendly little face, when you're living with dementia,

sat on your lap.

APPLAUSE

I really want you to dip deep into your pockets.

If we had £100 from you tonight, we would be able to buy one cat.

If we had £200, we'd be able to buy two cats.

And £300 would be absolutely amazing,

because we'd give happiness to three people with dementia.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

APPLAUSE

For her therapeutic cats,

Sheila is looking to raise £100 for one cat,

and £200 for two cats.

Now before we open the floor to questions,

I've got a sneaky feeling - I could be wrong -

but there's probably a few people that would want to meet Snowball,

am I right? We've got a volunteer.

-There we go.

-While we're passing Snowball around,

we'll open the floor. Who's got the first question for Sheila?

Sheila, I love your concept, I love Snowball, he's gorgeous.

Can I ask, is it one cat per patient, or do they share?

If it goes into a private home, it'll be one cat per person.

If it goes into a care home,

-I would imagine we'd put more than one in.

-Yeah.

Matthew would know this.

We could quite happily put a few cats in the care home

and people could share them,

and have a bit of a shared experience, as well.

It depends how closely people bond with the cat, as well.

Thanks for your question.

We have one more question, I think, for Sheila.

Yes, the lady at the back, please.

If an individual person has them,

can they have them on a long-term lease,

or is there a set time that they can borrow one?

We would be able to -

depending on how much money we're able to raise -

get a fair few cats which we would give people free of charge.

And I don't see there being any time limit

with how long somebody could keep that.

Obviously, if people wanted to purchase their own,

they could keep it for as long as they liked.

It really depends, person to person.

Thank you.

APPLAUSE

Round of applause, please, for Sheila Wainwright, Matthew,

and Snowball!

Care homes that have used therapeutic cats for a year or more

report calmer, less-agitated patients,

and in some cases, reduced use of medication.

I think Snowball was the star of the show, wasn't he?

-I think he was, actually.

-LAUGHTER

PURRING

Yes, he performed really well.

Right, that is it.

Our four community champions are now backstage.

Now, shortly you'll get your chance to exercise your democratic right

to vote for the favourite project that you've seen here today.

Which project do you think

the community of Wakefield will benefit from?

Today, we heard from Tom Long and his internet Pensioner Pit Stop

for senior citizens...

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE Yeah, yes!

The healing power of art for adults with learning disabilities,

and Trish and Mandy's passion to showcase

their students' achievements.

Round of applause for Trish and Mandy, as well.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE Yes!

Adam Redfern's community gym that's open to all.

A free community gym.

Round of applause for Adam.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

And Sheila Wainwright, Matthew, and Snowball,

who plan to give some home comfort to dementia patients

by introducing therapy cats.

Round of applause for Sheila.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

What a fabulous, inspiring group of people we've just heard from today.

They've done their work now.

Now, it's time for you to do your work.

Now, you'll get one chance to vote,

so make it count.

So, please, think wisely.

Let's get voting.

APPLAUSE

Everyone voting today has contributed towards a fund

which totals £510.79.

As soon as I said, let's get voting,

boom! Straight out of the chairs and straight over to the box.

But you know what? All of the pitches that we heard,

they all had, like, a personal element to them.

I think it's going to be too close to call, you know.

I think today's result is going to be very, very tight.

I couldn't call it.

I was quite pleased with it.

I think I could have done it better.

If I did it again, now, I'm sure I could do it better.

Well, I thought he did fine.

Everybody seemed to enjoy it,

and it put his cause over well.

So hopefully he's the winner!

-Oh, I feel good.

-Yeah?

I feel great, because I think Snowball did really well.

I was very pleased with him.

He performed just as I wanted him to perform.

You could tell she was quite nervous to start with,

but once she got into her flow, I thought she did really well,

and I think if she could be, she'd still be talking now about the cats.

We've done the pitch,

we've done the best we can possibly do, and I'm just glad it's all over.

I think it's 50-50, to be honest, but I hope he has won it.

We voted for him, anyway.

I wish I could have remembered more.

I had to rely on my notes a lot,

and I think that was nerves.

I would have been very proud even if she wasn't my wife.

She's extremely good.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

You know, we've heard some truly amazing community initiatives,

and if it was down to me,

I would give you all the money, I really would.

Honestly, you'd done yourself really, really proud.

But in this envelope, now, I can reveal who the winner is.

And the winner is...

Tom, pensioners online!

A round of applause for Tom! CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Well done, Tom!

Just take a stand there, Tom.

Tom, how do you feel?

Oh... I'm elated.

Absolutely elated.

I just want to thank everybody for voting for us.

It's been a tremendous evening,

but not only have we succeeded in winning this money,

but we've got a gentleman in the audience who's just offered us

some computers, which is absolutely fantastic!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE Brilliant.

Thank you.

Brilliant.

Well, Tom, we're looking forward to seeing you in a few weeks' time

to see the project up and running,

but it just leaves me to say, this is for you,

for you to get a good thing going.

-Tom Long, everybody.

-Thank you.

Thank you.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

The right man won, I think. Definitely. Really pleased.

We know one or two of the people that actually go there,

and people are dependent on that sort of thing.

-I'm disappointed for Trish.

-Disappointed.

I think she gave a really, really good presentation, a good pitch.

I don't think she could have done any better.

Tom's project was really, really valuable.

I think it's really important.

I've already been liaising with Tom,

because I think there's some work that the WEA can do with them,

because we have got IT tutors and things like that,

so I think we've come up with a little bit of partnership work

in there.

I feel a little bit disappointed that we didn't win it,

but I am really happy for Tom,

and I think it bodes well in future,

showing the terrific work that people are doing.

Lots of people have come up to me and said lovely things.

Three people have asked for my address

because they want to know more about the cats

and they want to know more about Matthew and the service.

So I couldn't ask for more than that.

Tom, Tom, Tom. Well done.

-Thank you very much.

-How does it feel? How does it feel?

It feels absolutely great.

-Brilliant. Well done.

-I feel fantastic, now.

First thing we're going to do tomorrow

is move a section of the office,

get it laid out ready,

and then we'll start and put the computers in,

get everything in.

As the first frosts appear and the days get shorter,

four weeks later, we're back in Wakefield,

to see how Tom is getting on with creating his Pensioner Pit Stop

in the old town hall.

If I remember rightly, it was £510.79.

We knew exactly what we wanted,

which was a laptop and a printer,

because we think it's important that they can take away with them

what they've actually seen on screen.

Oh, and I mustn't forget, three chairs and two jars of coffee.

So basically that's what we spent the money on.

Within a week of the pitch, we'd actually got the whole thing set up.

It was very crude, initially,

but we've refined it since then, quite appreciably,

and now we've started the general advertising.

So we expect in the run-up to Christmas and into the New Year

to have quite a lot of appointments coming forward.

By word of mouth alone, the Pensioner Pit Stop is already busy.

Now, what are you looking for this morning?

I tell you what, I want you to help me to find a child's gardening book.

Is this a Christmas gift?

Yes, it is, it's for the stocking.

There's one or two, look, here, that come up straight away.

-Oh, yeah.

-Children's gardening,

gardening laboratory for children, personalised.

You see, online, as they say,

you can find all sorts of places

where they stock these things that you don't otherwise.

Came into the office today to book my train ticket

because I've no idea how to do it at home,

so Sue has now shown me.

So now we need to know where you want to go from...

-I want to go from Wakefield to London.

-Right.

Do you want to renew your bus pass, Margaret?

-Yes, please.

-Oh, yeah, it's running out, isn't it?

-I just want to know how to do it online.

-Right.

It's just that I'm nervous of the computer

as to whether I press the wrong key or not.

But I've been told by my sons that you can't break it!

But what about the extra offers of help from the audience

after the pitch?

One gentleman offered us a computer and then came a bit later and said,

"Oh, my brother's closing his shop. Would you like three or four more?"

And that's brilliant because we're now thinking,

from that, of using the office across the hallway downstairs

to set up a computer cafe.

And for the runners-up, what about their projects?

Are they still just a dream?

Sheila wanted to raise funds for

robotic therapy cats for dementia patients.

Since the pitch,

I've set up a fund in my Rotary Club in Wakefield,

and I'm taking the cat with me

whenever I go to talk about dementia.

And we've got about £450 at the moment,

and only this morning I received a cheque for £110 from somebody.

It's really quite exciting.

Trish wanted to organise an art exhibition

for her adult students with learning difficulties.

Since the pitch, one or two things have happened, very positive.

I had got somebody in the audience

who has agreed to put some of the pictures up in his salon,

and do some fundraising for us in the New Year.

A local community centre have also been interested in the project

and finding out more about it,

and so I'm marching forward to late spring

with the possibility of the big exhibition that we planned,

because it's really, really inspired the students to do even more.

Adam wanted to set up a community gym for all.

And whilst he didn't get the funds on the day,

local builders have volunteered to do repairs on the gym roof.

And in the New Year, he's planning to get fundraising.

So it seems like all four projects will happen.

That's a testament to the people power of the locals in Wakefield.

It doesn't end with the pitch,

it doesn't with the money and setting up the equipment.

It's just going to go on and on and on!