SIGHTLINE
Winter 2013
Winter is on the way, though recently it feels like it’s here already. Whether you are at home or out and about, we ask that everyone wraps up warm by adding on that extra layer during the colder weather. If you need any assistance during the winter holidays, please get in touch with us at our Centre.
Everyone at Support 4 Sight would like to wish all its members and everyone that has visited the centre over the last year a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! We would also like to take the opportunity to advise you that Support 4 Sight’s offices will be closed over the Christmas period. Our centre will be closing on Monday 24th December at 12 noon and will re-open on Friday 3rd January.
Sightline Contents
News from Support 4 Sight - 2 -
Support 4 Sight Feature - 5 -
Support 4 Sight Events and Activities - 8 -
Support 4 Sight Past Outings and Events - 12 -
Jokes - 14 -
National Update - 15 -
Useful Information - 17 -
Numbers You Might Find Useful - 17 -
Talking Newspapers Contact Numbers - 17 -
Noticeboard - 20 -
Contact us - 21 -
Return Slip – We Would Like To Hear From You - 21 -
News from Support 4 Sight
Lloyds Community Fund
We are delighted with the news that we will be awarded £3,000 from the Lloyds Bank Community Fund. The public were asked to vote in store, online or by text and we’re pleased that we have received a high level of support from the local community. Thank you so much if you voted for us!
Nicola’s Fundraising Quiz
Great News! Thanks to the brilliant fundraising efforts of our wonderful volunteer, Nicola Smith, we have received a wonderful donation of £269!
Nicola raised these funds through her quiz night and it will be spent supporting our monthly Saffron Walden Coffee Mornings.
(Here's a photo of Nicola with our mascot, Seymour).
Thank you so much, Nicola - You're a real star!
Charity of the Season
This year Saffron Walden Football Club has chosen Support 4 Sight as their Charity of the Season and on Saturday 19th October, Seymour went along to a game and met the chairman of the club. We will be there collecting again on Saturday 21st December, for the big Christmas game with a 3pm kick-off! If you are going along to the match, stop by and greet Seymour, our staff and volunteers.
Fire Walking - Article by Linda Pollard, Volunteer
On November 6th a brave group of people made their way to Saffron Walden Rugby Club - not the easiest venue to find in the dark - to take part in a sponsored fire-walk to raise funds for Support 4 Sight.
The weather was not ideal - blustery with a forecast of heavy rain. Usually the fire is lit well in advance of the walk but the company running the fire-walk, Time 4 Change, needed to keep the wood dry for as long as possible. They were getting regular weather updates from the Met Office and they decided to bring the walk forward 15 minutes to avoid the forecast downpour.
The participants were given a pre-walk talk by Cliff, from Time 4 Change. He was very down-to-earth and addressed any concerns we might have. He even managed to get us to do that most un-English of things - look happy and give a big whooping cheer!
Meanwhile the wood for the fire had been doused with paraffin and was being kept lit with a flame-thrower. The participants assembled round the fire and we were told to take off our shoes and socks. This is when we discovered that a rugby club car park is not a comfortable surface on which to walk. Despite it having been swept prior to setting up, there were still plenty of little stones to stick into our feet. In fact, we were looking forward to the relative comfort of the fire!
Time 4 Change raked the wood, and sparks flew up in the wind. It was very gusty, but they managed to control the fire so everybody was able to do the walk. Cliff pointed his laser thermometer at the embers, telling us that they were burning at between 1100 and 1300 degrees - rather hotter than the usual 800 degrees, because the wind was fanning the flames! We leaned over the fire to feel the heat radiating from it - we would be walking on that soon.
We lined up and, in turn, we were asked, "What's your name?" After replying we were asked, "Are you ready?" Each person answered, "Yes!" and set off through the fire to cheers and applause from the other participants and from the spectators who had braved the weather to support us.
It seemed to be over in a fiery flash. It is an amazing thing to have been able to do, I'd recommend it if you get the chance.
Tour De France
Do you have any ideas for next year’s event? The route will be coming by the Centre and we love to use it to raise funds for our Centre. So we need your ideas on how we could fundraise at this big event! Please contact Margaret with your ideas.
Christmas Cards
Could you use some help writing your Christmas Cards? Call us at the Resource Centre to arrange a day to come in and have yours written for you!
If you still need to buy your cards, ours are now on sale this year at £3.50 for a pack of ten or £10 for three packs. For information on the designs or to purchase the cards, just drop into the centre.
Volunteer Welcome
We have a number of new volunteers to name this edition; we hope you will join us in welcoming them all!
Joining us in the Resource Centre will be Kym Hand, Brenda Badger, Alice Eddershaw and Lizzie Green. Also joining us is Mary Scott, helping with our newsletters and social media, Jim Entwistle as a volunteer driver and Lisa Wright, who will be helping to run the Outreach and Eye Clinics in Harlow.
Support 4 Sight Feature
Trustee Needed:
Do you want to make a real difference in our local community of blind and partially sighted people? Could you add value to the overall management and administration of our charity?
To strengthen its Board of Trustees, Support 4 Sight is looking to recruit a new trustee.
We need someone to donate one day each month, working with a committed team of staff and volunteers.
Would you like to play a part in delivering Support 4 Sight's strategic plan and vision for the future? For full information and an application form, please call our Director, Madeleine Cassidy, on 01799 523700.
Photos for Support 4 Sight
We need your help! We are looking for people willing to have their picture taken and featured on our website and in marketing materials, to demonstrate the services and support we provide.
A few of the ideas we currently have include: using a magnifier to read a newspaper; being guided in and around the centre, using our computers and chatting to a member of staff.
Discussions on which photos we need to take are on-going, but if you are interested and would like to support us, please get in touch!
Would you like to try the role of a volunteer?
You could become a role model and provide support to others with sight loss in the local community. Your own experiences of sight loss would be invaluable to someone who is newly diagnosed and not sure what to do next to remain independent.
Could you go along on home visits, sit in on inductions at the resource centre or make telephone calls offering support? You could also be part of a team to share your ideas and thoughts on Support 4 Sight’s fundraising activities or help with organising and planning social trips.
No skills are necessary and if you would like to discuss any possibilities (even those not mentioned above) with a member of staff, please call 01799 523700 or drop into the centre.
Have your say!
We’re here to listen, and want to hear from you.
We would like to know if anyone has had any experiences in the home, on the phone or when out and about, which were particularly good or bad. Did you have someone extremely helpful on the phone? Are there any stores you would avoid after being treated unfairly? Would you visit a local shop more often if their facilities or support were improved?
Whether it was a shop, restaurant, Council, Social Services, doctor, the job centre or anyone else you can think of. Whatever it may be, please let us know.
You can drop in, call, email or put an anonymous note through the door. Your details won’t be passed on to anyone and anything you say will be treated with strict confidentiality.
My Guide
The My Guide service is a partnership between Guide Dogs and local blind societies, helping people with sight loss get out of their homes and back into the community.
Our trained staff and volunteers are looking for anyone who would like to be matched with them to participate in the scheme. If you are at home and find it difficult to get out on your own, then this scheme is aimed at you. We can match you with a volunteer who can meet with you on a regular basis to help build your confidence, make new friends and become more independent. Please contact Paul for more information.
Recycling
If you have any old jewellery, mobiles, stamps or printer cartridges that you are looking to dispose of, consider passing them to us to recycle. Everything we recycle helps to raise funds for Support 4 Sight and goes towards the many services we provide.
Any of the items above you have for recycling can be dropped off at our Resource Centre in Saffron Walden.
We also take donations of items to sell on eBay or on our bookstall. For any more information about our recycling services, please contact Margaret on 01799 523700.
Book Stall
Do you have any books at home desperate to tell their story to someone new? If you have any books you no longer want to keep, please drop them into the centre. For larger donations of books, please check with Margaret beforehand to see if we can take them into the centre, by calling 01799 523700.
If you would like to come along to the bookstall the next one won’t be until 2014. Check back with us in the new year for the dates of the bookstall!
Free Will Making
There are many reasons for making a will. Perhaps the most important is for peace of mind to set your affairs in order. Also, it can be very distressing for those left behind when a will hasn’t been left.
By having a will, you can be confident your wishes will be carried out exactly how you determine. It is your opportunity to make provision for your family and friends. Moreover, once your loved ones are provided for, you may wish to leave a gift to your favourite charity and help others have a brighter future.
Many people fail to make wills and delay the process for as long as possible. For other people, the cost can be too high.
To help you with this, Support 4 Sight is launching its “Leave a Lasting Gift” service. Open to members, you can take advantage of this service and have a free will made by a professional will-writer or solicitor.
We have a list of local solicitors signed up to the scheme, who will offer free, independent, professional advice about wills and legacies. They can also advise you how to leave a gift to our charity, to help future generations of local children and adults with poor vision.
To find out more about the service, please come along to our Wills & Legacies Open Day on Tuesday 18th February, 10am until 2pm.
· How to make a will
· Getting a free will
· Who can help you write a will
· Legacies & Gifts
If you can’t come along, but would like more information on getting a free will, contact Michael at our Resource Centre on 01799 523700.
Support 4 Sight Events and Activities
Crossing Safely Workshops
Are you worried about walking outdoors and crossing the roads? It can be very difficult to navigate busy crossings when you can’t see the kerbs and pavements properly. If this is a concern to you, then please consider attending one of our free workshops.
Thanks to the funding we have received from the Police and Crime Commissioner from the New Initiative Fund to support crucial work in helping keep Essex safe, we will be running some short workshops about road safety.
Lasting only about an hour, the workshop will cover topics including: road safety and sight loss, silent cars and hazards specific to visually impaired people. The workshops will be held on the following dates in three different locations: