Volunteer News
2 & 4, George Street, Saffron Walden, Essex CB10 1EQ
www.support4sight.org.uk
E-mail: info@support4sight.org.uk
Tel: 01799 523700
Publishers.
Issue No.
Date.
ML
04/15
April 2015
Message from Paul
Dates for your Diary
Goodness, Spring already – and the hot
weather is finally starting to appear. I would
like to say a fond farewell to Sue, my support
worker for the last 18 months, and welcome to
Linda who is settling into the role and learning
the ropes. There have been many changes
within S4S recently which has meant new
volunteering opportunities. If you would like to
get involved, or fancy a change to something
new and exciting, please read the rest of this
newsletter to find out what’s available or
contact me at the centre.
14thApril - Cake Stall
11th May – Saffron Walden Volunteer Meeting
21st May – Harlow Exhibition
26th May – Chelmsford Volunteer Meeting
7thJune – Scotsdales Garden Collection
24th June - Chelmsford Exhibition
11th July – Cake stall at Boots
25th July – Saffron Harmony Concert
31st July - Chelmsford Funday
18th Aug – Chelmsford Volunteer Meeting
15th Sep – Sight & Sound Focus Day
21st Sep – Saffron Walden Volunteer Meeting
3rd Oct – Dinner Dance at the Golf Club
29th Oct – Braintree Exhibition
24th Nov – Chelmsford Volunteer Meeting
7th Dec – Saffron Walden Volunteer Meeting
Volunteer Meetings
To keep up to date with volunteering
opportunities and updates with the charity,
please come along to our volunteer meetings.
The next Saffron Walden volunteer meeting is
on Monday 11th May, 10:30am to 12pm and
will be held at Walden Place.
Our Chelmsford volunteer meeting will be on
Tuesday 26th May, 10:30am to 12pm and will
be held at the CVS in Chelmsford.
Upcoming Collections
Our next fundraising collection will be:
Sunday 7th June at Scotsdales Garden
Centre, Cambridge. Why not come along,
enjoy the wonderful blooms, a cup of coffee
and collect for Support 4 Sight, raising funds
and making a difference. If you might be able
to help with this collection please contact
Natalie.
U3A Saffron Harmony Choir Concert
Saffron Harmony Choir is holding its annual
summer concert on Saturday 25th July 2015 at
the Baptist Church, Saffron Walden. The choir
has chosen Support 4 Sight as its beneficiary
charity for the event. Please put this date in
your diary as it is hoped that Support 4 Sight
supporters will swell the audience! Posters
and tickets will be available soon at the
Centre.
Natalie’s Fundraising Group
Natalie held the first meeting of her new
fundraising group on Monday 23rd February.
The group has now relaunched the book stall
and held an Easter egg tombola which raised
£96.45.
The group will be holding a cake stall on 14th
April, held outside the centre. Urgent plea: If
you could help with making cakes for this.
Please bring them along to the centre.
If you would like to support the charity by
taking part in some of our fundraising
activities, please speak to Natalie for
information.
Edward Marcus Focus Day
On Tuesday 28th April, 10:00am to 2:30pm,
we will be holding a focus day with Edward
Marcus, a specialist of magnifiers and low
vision aids. There will be plenty of equipment
on display you can try or get more information
about. We encourage anyone who would like
to carry out home visits or give greater
support in the centre or at events to come
along on the day.
Funtastic Fun Day
Hospital Desks
Please keep watching this space for our
Funtastic Fun Day on Friday 31st July, 10am
to 3pm, held at Broomfield Village Hall,
Chelmsford. This event is aimed toward
children with sight loss, their families and
friends who will all be welcome on the day to
receive support, information and advice.
We are looking for volunteers who would like
to try helping at the hospital helpdesks in
Saffron Walden, Bishops Stortford, Princess
Alexandra or Broomfield. The Saffron Walden
Hospital helpdesk is held on Mondays, the
Herts and Essex Helpdesk is on Wednesdays,
Harlow and Broomfield can be any day of the
week. Please contact Paul if you would like to
give this opportunity a go. Full training will be
provided.
They will also be able to join in the fun
activities to include blind tennis, blind football,
navigating an obstacle course using a
vibrating long cane, making a tune by
stepping on a giant floor keyboard, tombola,
cake stall and much more!
There will be a chance to experience the
latest technology for computers, magnifiers
and computer games to assist those at
school, college, university or during leisure
time.
Eileen’s Chicks and Humpty-Dumptys
If you haven’t yet heard, our volunteer, Eileen
Gladman has created little chicks and humptydumptys containing a Cadbury Crème Egg.
They were sold in the centre for £1.50 each
and have sold really fast. Eileen was kept
busy making more and more as we struggled
to keep up with demand! Well done Eileen
and thank you much for all your hard work.
Check back in May’s Volunteer News to find
out how much the prized chicks and humptydumptys raised.
If you would like to help on the day and join in
the fun, please contact Paul so as to arrange
transport over. Everyone welcome, the more
the merrier!
We are asking for your help: if you have any
prizes suitable for a tombola or would like to
bake a cake, please contact Paul on 01799
523700 and we can arrange collection or
simply bring them along on the day. If you feel
comfortable to contact a local shop,
supermarket or store for a suitable tombola
prize, please feel free to do this but ensure
you are wearing your Support 4 Sight badge
as identification with the charity. A letter
template is available from the centre if you
need this.
Do you know someone famous who we can
approach to open the event? Please call with
your suggestions and possible contact details
for them as soon as possible.
Would you like the news by Email?
We send out our volunteer news and sightline
newsletters by email and if you do not already
take advantage of this, we can add you to the
email list. This helps us save on paper and
postage and gets the news to you a little bit
quicker. Please contact us with your email
address and let us know you would like the
newsletters emailed.
Email: paul@support4sight.org.uk