About

Who are 'REFRESH Seminars'?

They are an informal community Interest group aiming to provide for Stirling people a values-led * programme of helpful, reliable, information, which draws on the services of community-minded people with recognised expertise in their field. Although some REFRESH Seminars aim to be particularly relevant to people working or in business in Stirling, they are all open to the general public.

* More info here.

Why ‘REFRESH’?

Because getting out, enjoying a healthy lunch with a few friends (bring your own or borrow some of ours) and getting something interesting to think about, delivered by someone who knows what they’re talking about is a fantastic way to de-stress and widen your horizons at the same time.

Our Values

• We value the well-being and prosperity of the people of Stirling and aim to provide services relevant to their physical, emotional, spiritual and community needs.
• We value compassion and aim for that to characterise our services.
• We recognise, value and respect the diversity of the Stirling community and intend our services to be accessible and affordable for all without distinction of any kind.
• We value community harmony and aim to contribute positively to community relations in the Stirling area.

Finance

The only income is from a charge for the buffet at the door. Otherwise, entry is free.

The only expenditure is for food and occasionally equipment for the seminars.

Everything else is donated free of charge and obligation:

Stirling Baptist Church - premises (including cleaning, services and insurance cover), postal address and landline contact;

Ron McColl - independent examination of accounts;

Speakers - time, travel and expertise;

A team of volunteers - administration, food preparation etc.

Partnerships

From time to time REFRESH Seminars partner with other bodies to provide an event for the community, e.g. with Stirlingshire Voluntary Enterprise in a referendum debate and election hustings for Westminster, Holyrood and Local Council, or with Stirling Baptist Church in a Referendum Debate for Faith Groups in Stirling.

REFRESH Seminars do not have a point of view to promote, but try to provide a forum where issues of concern to the community can be raised and discussed. In this respect, many seminars are informal partnerships.

How do we choose subjects and speakers?

We choose them from within the red circle below:

We DON'T pay fees or expenses to any of our staff or speakers, even though they are high calibre people. Entry is free, but there is a small charge to cover the cost of the buffet. No eat, no pay.

We DO try to address topics of wide interest in the community.

We DO also try to address some topics which are very relevant to a few people.

We DO try to address the community as well as the personal aspects of most topics.

We DO try to draw speakers from as wide a circle as possible, consistently with our ability to ensure that we deliver good quality and remain faithful to our values.

We DO consult our clients. Various consultation models have been tried (including focus and consultation groups), but the method which seems to work best for us is to gather suggestions for topics and/or speakers:

• informally at every seminar from those attending;
• informally through various Stirling Business community networks;
• in consultation with Medical Professionals for health-related seminars ( e.g. 'Healthwise' and 'Mind Matters');
• by tracking national and local media.