Moseley & Kings Heath

Groups

View the Groups List at the bottom of this page to see the full list of friendly groups MKHD u3a has to offer and when they meet. In nearly all cases, you can find out more information about a group by clicking on the highlighted group name. Groups meet in homes, public venues, hired venues or outdoors and members are free to join as many groups as they wish.

Vacancies occur in groups continually as members leave and join, so you need to contact the group leader to find out the position with the group you are interested in. If you look at the Group details on the Members Portal you can find out the group leader's name and contact details, ask them for further information and enquire about joining.

Some groups are actively seeking new members and these are advertised on the Opportunities in Groups page. It is also possible to form new groups and the Interest Groups Co-ordinator is always willing to advise on how to set these up.

(Note that non-members have access via Beacon Groups to a more limited set of information, restricted for security reasons and Data Protection, so you need to join MKHD u3a before you can apply to join a group.)

The South Birmingham Network (SBN) provides further opportunities if you cannot find the group you are interested in on our MKHD u3a Groups List. See South Birmingham Network News for details of current opportunities to participate in groups and activities organised by the other SBN u3as. If the other u3as have vacancies in groups that they cannot fill, they will be advertised there.
The SBN is made up of our u3a, together with Kings Norton and Harborne & Edgbaston u3as. If you are interested in joining a group in one of these u3as, you can contact the relevant Group Leader. Contact details can be found on their respective websites. They will need to check you are a member of MHKD u3a, either by seeing your membership card, when you join a group, or by confirming with Faith Walsh, our membership secretary. You will have to pay the same contributions towards venue costs (if any) that other members of the group pay. Members of KN and H&E wishing to join a MKHD group will need to contact Anne (James) as the IGL, at Interest group enquiries and she will take it forward from there.

How much previous knowledge is required? Groups offer the opportunity to acquire new knowledge or learn new skills and not all groups require you to be an expert to join. Members learn from each other at their own pace. The group leader will be able to explain how much previous knowledge or expertise is needed to derive full benefit from a group.

Is there a charge? There is no charge to join a group and MKHD u3a sets its membership subs at a level which enables it to subsidise the cost of venue hire. However to be fair to the membership as a whole, we do ask group members to pay a contribution towards venue hire costs which could be greater if a group meets frequently in an expensive hired venue. The group leader can explain if this the case.

Would you like to start up a new group? In spite of having a large number and variety of groups, groups eventually become full and we are always looking for opportunities to form new groups on new subjects or to split existing well-subscribed groups into two. Someone needs to be willing to act as group leader for any new group, but this does not require subject expertise, is not an onerous task and can be extremely rewarding. Our Interest Group Coordinator is always ready to assist and offer advice to get the group going and handle any questions.

Useful Information for Group Leaders can be found on the Useful Information for Group Leaders page including a Starter Pack, Risk Assessment forms, Venue costs and other useful forms for downloading.

For more information about Groups please contact the Interest Group Co-ordinator via - Interest group enquiries