Cardiff Half Marathon Fundraising.

March marks this years Cardiff Half Marathon and 6 members of staff from FCHA are running on behalf of Gig Buddies Cymru. First Choice has been a funder of Gig Buddies Cymru since it's inception in 2018 are honoured to support them during the Half Marathon for such a fantastic cause.

Gig Buddies Cymru pairs up adults with and without a learning disability who share the same interests so they can go to gigs and events together. It’s a very simple and effective way to tackle loneliness and isolation, while creating new friendships who can enjoy the arts, sport and new experiences together. You can find out more and apply to be a gig buddy here:

The 6 members of staff running the Cardiff Half Marathon are: Adrian Burke, Nigel Bowen, Tudor Davies, Michael Mainwaring, Dave Bingham, and Richard Griffiths. You can support their fundraising here.

First Choice's Housing Manager Nigel had this to say about supporting Gig Buddies Cymru in the Cardiff Half Marathon:

First Choice has been very proud to support and provide funding to Gig Buddies Cymru since 2018. The actions, aims and outcomes of Gig Buddies Cymru are directly linked to the values of the Association. First Choice has been a provider of housing for people with a learning disability for over 30 years. We feel passionately about promoting the rights of our tenants – and all people with a learning disability – to be able to enjoy all aspects of life.

Bristol Fundraising Gig in 2020

First Choice agrees with the Disability Rights Commission`s stance that all people with a disability should have equal opportunities to participate and contribute as equal citizens in the social, economic, civic and community life of the country. We believe that Gig Buddies Cymru plays a key role in helping to achieve this for people with a learning disability. Six members of the First Choice staff team are running the Cardiff Half this year to raise awareness of the great work that Gig Buddies Cymru does – and we welcome any donations to help motivate us further for what we are sure will be a great day. Training is going well but there is a lot of hard work still to be done. We can’t wait to join the rest of the runners representing Gig Buddies Cymru on 27th March.”

Support our runners

You can find out more about all our runners and donate to their LocalGiving fundraising page at the link below:

First Choice Housing – Adrian, Nigel, Tudor, Michael, Dave, Richard

Staff Introductions: Eve

My name is Eve and I am the new Health and Well-being Coordinator for First Choice Housing Association.

My job is to help you feel happier and healthier. This could be in your home or in your community. For example trying a new sport or activity, cooking new foods, or meeting new people.

There are lots of things that might be important for your own health and well-being and I would love to hear your ideas. If you would like to chat about any of this, then please let First Choice know.

I am really looking forward to meeting all of you at events shortly!

Staff Introductions: Dan

Hi Everyone, my name is Daniel and I’m the Compliance Officer for FCHA. I have been doing this job for just over a year but I have worked for First Choice for over 3 years now, starting in the Customer Services Team.

My role involves arranging safety checks for things like your gas and electric supply and your fire alarms. These things are really important to keep your homes safe for you to live in.

One of the ways to help us maintain your home’s safety, is to carry out a weekly fire alarm test and record the results in your fire logbook. Doing this will help find any problems so we can arrange for our Fire Safety contractors to come out and fix it. You will also have fire fighting equipment like fire blankets and extinguishers. It is also important that you check these for signs of damage or to check that they have not been used already. If you see any signs of damage or the safety pin is missing it is important that you call or email First Choice Housing as soon as possible so we can arrange for them to be replaced.