Children's Mental Health Week & Total Legacy Care

We all know just how important it is to take care of our mental health, as well as that of our children. The past year has demonstrated just how important this is and how much more needs to be done.

Throughout the lockdowns we have worked closely with CHUMS CHARITY to provide sessions for their Young Carers (children and young people aged between 5 and 25 who are helping to care for someone with a disability, chronic or serious illness, mental health condition, learning difficulty etc. whether that be a parent or sibling). As you can imagine; young carers often experience social isolation because of their responsibilities at home and this was (and still is) heightened throughout lockdown, even more so as many of them are vulnerable or cared for those that are medically extremely vulnerable.

We were able to provide at least one virtual session per week for our group of Young Carers teaching the How to Solve the Rubik’s Cube. Not only was the weekly session able to bring the group together and encourage some engagement and communication between the group, ourselves and the staff at CHUMS, the Rubik’s Cube brings so many benefits!

We knew already, and these sessions have demonstrated just how many positive benefits solving the Rubik’s Cube has, including:

Increased Confidence & Self-Esteem

Improved Communication Skills

Reduced Anxiety

Increased Social Engagement and Interaction

Improved Mental & Emotional Wellbeing

Improved Hand-Eye Coordination

Sense of Pride & Achievement

All of the Young Carers completed the Original 3×3 Rubik’s Cube and some of our group have continued along on their Rubik’s Journey with us, completing the Rubik’s Edge (3×1), Rubik’s Mini (2×2) and Rubik’s Master (4×4). It is an achievement in itself completing the 3×3…let alone how far our group has come both with the Rubik’s Cube and as individuals, especially in such testing times!

We have also worked with CHUMS Friendship scheme, a youth club provision for young people aged 13-25 with disabilities that enables their parents/carers to have some regular short break hours, both prior to and during the lockdowns. We know first-hand how important services like this are for the mental health of those using the service and also their parents and carers.

If you would like further information about the Young Carers service or Friendship Scheme please contact info@chums.uk.com

We are extremely proud and privileged to be supporting CHUMS, and the amazing people that they work with, and have committed to volunteering with CHUMS on an ongoing basis.

For more information on CHUMS or how you can help, please visit their website: http://chums.uk.com/

If you are interested in our sessions, or know someone that might be, please contact us on info@TotalLegacyCare.co.uk or 01727 865 121

9th October 201923rd April 2020

How to Solve a Rubik’s Cube: What’s the Link?

How to Solve the Rubik’s: What’s the Link?

Rubik’s Cubes and Total Legacy Care…what is the link?

This is something that we are SO SO passionate about so, let us enlighten you!

As a legal firm, we protect our clients with Lasting Powers of Attorney but we wanted to do something to go the extra mile for our clients. That’s when we decided to help our clients to not only protect themselves if they were to lose capacity in the future, by putting Lasting Powers of Attorneys in place, but ensure they take measures to keep their minds active and have some fun in the process. Learning to solve the Rubik’s Cube has some amazing benefits…

The Rubik’s Cube is often referred to as the IMPOSSIBLE TOY but everyone recognises the iconic cube and it often brings back memories from childhood, whether that be elation at solving the cube or frustration at not being able to!

We are so passionate about the positive benefits that the Rubik’s Cube can have that we have committed to giving each of our clients a Rubik’s Cube when we have finished registering their Lasting Powers of Attorney BUT WHY?

The Rubik’s Cube is not only for the younger generations but for ALL of us! Some of the benefits that we have already seen from our voluntary projects include; improved dexterity and coordination, memory improvement as well as a reduction in anxiety, getting social, engagement and socialising with others (and maybe even those that you wouldn’t usually!).

So, what exactly do TLC do?

Not only are we great believers in the positive benefits of the Rubik’s Cube at any age, we are always keen to HAVE FUN!

We give a Rubik’s Cube to each client upon registration of their Lasting Powers of Attorney and have just finished recording our videos that will teach YOU how to solve the Rubik’s Cube in just EIGHT steps!

A Lasting Power of Attorney in relation to your Health and Welfare only comes into effect when you have lost capacity (either physically or mentally, or both) and are unable to make decisions for yourself, whereas a Property and Financial Affairs Lasting Power of Attorney can come into effect immediately upon registration or upon losing capacity, depending on your decision. So, here at TLC we don’t just want to help you in the future…we want to help you now! Hence the Rubik’s Cube. We genuinely believe that the positive benefits of the Rubik’s Cube, learning to solve it and keeping your mind active each day will have lasting effects on your health and wellbeing going forward and so that is our gift to you.

We currently run projects throughout Care Homes and Day Centres to teach people, largely the older generation (we are talking 30plus, so definitely not old!), how to SOLVE THE RUBIK’S CUBE.

We have taken solving the Rubik’s cube and simplified it to open it up to all ages and abilities. Through trial and error, and with the help of a group of elderly participants, we have devised a course of eight sessions with simple videos to accompany them. The videos will be released on FRIDAY 25 OCTOBER and will be available on our website and on YouTube (so, keep your eyes peeled).

Our main aim is to HAVE FUN but solving the Rubik’s Cube keeps the mind active and has already demonstrated that is is key in helping the residents within a Care Home or Day Centre setting to learn (or re-learn) a skill – solving the Rubik’s cube, whilst having the benefits of improving their hand-eye coordination and giving them something a bit different from the norm.

We are keen to explore a link between solving the Rubik’s Cube and stimulating and improving short-term memory (similar to those studies with Sudoku, Crosswords and chess), a symptom of Dementia that is common across most types of the condition. Keeping the mind active has numerous benefits and can keep connections within the brain communicating to improve a person’s daily activities and communication skills.

At present we are often found in Care Homes and Day Centres teaching our lessons on how to solve the Rubik’s Cube, we are currently in talks with an Autism Charity to develop a scheme for them too as the benefits for those with Autism could be just as positive and rewarding!

This is a project we are super passionate about and are always happy to discuss.

If this is something that you would be interested in for yourself,or a group that you are involved in or just want to have a chat or find out more, please do GET IN TOUCH!

And, if Lasting Powers of Attorney is something that you have been thinking about, or putting off, now is a great time to get your plans in place!

Before we go…

We couldn’t write an article about this without mentioning our latest involvement with Rubik’s:

🏆GUINNESS WORLD RECORD🏆

We are so proud to be a part of the Guinness World Record for…

The most contributions to a Rubik’s Mosaic. With 308 individuals contributing to the final mosaic, it was a brilliant achievement!

Thank you so much to Rubik’s Brand Limited and Torgeir Amundsen (Cube Arting) and CONGRATULATIONS!

We absolutely LOVE teaching all generations how to solve the Rubik’s Cube and it was our pleasure to help as many as we could to be involved in the GUINNESS WORLD RECORD! 🧡

Solving the Rubik’s Cube has so many POSITIVE BENEFITS!

If you would like more information, to discuss a project with

a group you are involved with,

or are thinking about putting Lasting Powers of Attorney in place,

call us on 01727 865 121 or email us at info@TotalLegacyCare.co.uk

Leah Waller

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24th July 201923rd April 2020

Rubik’s Cube & TLC: What is the connection?

Rubik’s Cubes & TLC:
What is the connection?

What on earth is the connection between a Will Writing Company and Rubik’s?

It does seem a little random doesn’t it?

Well let’s clear this up for you…

Here at TLC, one of our core services is putting Lasting Powers of Attorney in place for our clients. Our clients are concerned about losing capacity later in life and want to make sure they are covered – It’s very important, and you can find out more in our article “Why do I need an LPA?”.

One of our clients’ main concerns, when considering an LPA, is developing Dementia; a cruel condition that takes over an individual’s life. Like many of us, we at TLC have had loved ones that have developed this condition and have first hand experience of the devastation it can bring. We wanted to look at ways of preventing or at least delaying the symptoms of Dementia.

Dementia is classed as a “disease of the mind” and affects the brain. Memory loss is a significant symptom and so we were keen to look into this. Research and studies have shown that keeping the mind active has positive benefits at any age and this can take a variety of forms including completing crosswords, sudoku and such like, to improve their minds and keep them active. So, we thought, let’s up the ante a little and look at one of the most difficult puzzles of all time…the Rubik’s cube.

One of the directors at TLC is a Rubik’s fanatic (that’s me!), not least because having learnt with my son just a few years ago, I know of the huge benefit that the Rubik’s cube brought, enabling bonding with my son as we learnt to solve it.

When you look at a cube for the first time, it seems utterly impossible. There are books to read to solve it, videos on YouTube but even these seem confusing and overwhelming. We persisted, took each stage onboard and finally completed it! It took a little while to continue to practise until we were confident to complete it, on our own, unaided. At the age of 40, I felt like I had really achieved something but the time with my son learning together was PRICELESS!

Neil Barras-Smith

I still solve the Rubik’s cube daily and not a day has passed, since I learnt the cube three years ago, that I haven’t picked up my cube and played around with it.

Still with us? Let’s continue.

Now, the benefits alone from the Rubik’s cube can make your mind sharper, it builds your own confidence and raises self esteem, improves hand-eye coordination just to mention a few. These benefits can make a huge improvement on someone’s day-to-day life and so this is why we decided to take the Rubik’s cube into care homes.

We took some time to devise lessons specifically tailored to the elderly – this was never, and will never be, about speed rather just about being able to solve the cube, as that in itself is a feat!

We broke the course down into 8 steps to be able to complete the Rubik’s cube (from wherever you start with the cube). Each week we teach a step towards solving the Rubik’s cube.

Each step takes around 2 minutes to explain, then we practice, practice… and practice some more!!! Our participants love it, as do we. Seeing their faces light up as they understand and get what they are doing is rewarding in itself. There is a buzz in the room…there’s also confusion at times, but we work passed that 🙂

One of our current students is 101 years young and an absolute inspiration, she is so focused on learning and mastering the Rubik’s cube and is always the first in the class and the last to leave.

We are currently working with a fantastic Care Home in St Albans – Grace Muriel House, which is a fabulous care home with wonderful staff. The carers sit in on the lessons as the residents learn and able to support the participants in the lessons and then throughout the week once we have left. This project is supported by Rubik’s themselves and they have provided all of the Rubik’s cubes free of charge for everyone to learn –

Thanks Rubik’s for your support!

We are now running a project to prove the cube can make a difference and hopefully delay the effects of Dementia. We also have a separate social media account & website http://DementiaTLC.co.uk to provide awareness and support to those living with the condition and also carers and family members.

If you would like to learn to solve the cube yourself or want to get involved with our volunteering, please do get in touch.

info@TotalLegacyCare.co.uk or 01727 865 121

Neil Barras-Smith

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want to book a
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Tag: Rubik’s