Head Office 01323 832252 info@eastsussexblind.org
Letter from the Chief Executive
Off we go into another year! Another year full of challenges for all of us at ESAB. At the time of writing we are bidding for a 5 year grant from East Sussex County Council. This grant will enable us to carry on all the vital work we do across the county and ensure our members get the highest level of service we can offer.
The Friends of ESAB have a packed programme this year, on page 5 is a list, please come and support them if you can.
My personal thanks to Chloe Packer who is leaving us in April, she’s been a wonderful addition to the A&E department and we shall all miss her.
Co-op have chosen to support our ESAB Outreach Vehicle Project until November 2019 at four shops local to us. We would like to encourage everyone to support this project by visiting their local stores and for every plastic bag you buy ESAB will receive a donation from them. If you are a Co-op member, you can raise money for ESAB at any Co-op Group store across the country; if you are a Co-op member and would like 1% of what you spend on Co-op branded products to go towards funding ESAB then please sign into your membership account or call the membership helpline on 0800 023 4708 and select the ESAB Outreach Vehicle Project. ESAB will receive two payments as part of the Local Community Fund. The first payment will be in June 2019 and the last payment in November 2019. The stores supporting us are: Polegate Roundabout, The main Polegate store by the station, Upper Horsebridge and The Funeralcare services at Polegate.
Happy Easter to you all.
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A big ‘thank you’ to you all
Two years we launched our annual donation request and we are very grateful to all of you who made contributions to our work. So the time has come again, included in this bulletin is a separate sheet for you to consider making a donation to us. The donation sheet is green and there’s a return envelope for you to put it in.
Thank you very much for supporting the work we do.
£10.00 will pay for our initial telephone helpline and new referral welcome pack, signposting our members to a wealth of information and advice when they need it most.
£25.00 will pay for a newly diagnosed person to attend an information day to help come to terms with their condition and build their confidence.
£50.00 will pay for Maggie (our Low Vision Support Worker) to visit someone in their home.
£75.00 will pay for Rachael to provide mobility sessions to get someone out and about in their community.
£100.00 will pay for the Outreach Vehicle to visit a lunch club and provide information and equipment to a group of vulnerable people.
What is Gift Aid?
Gift Aid is a scheme that allows charities to reclaim tax on a donation made by a UK taxpayer, which means your donations will be worth 25% more to us at no extra cost to you. If you Gift Aid your donations we can claim back from the government 25p for every £1 you donate to the ESAB.
The Friends of ESAB has a full calendar of events this year and we look forward to seeing as many of you as possible. We are very proud that we have raised thousands of pounds for ESAB and continue to do so.
Our popular 500 club has a new secretary. We are really grateful to Caroline Light for offering to take on the task of managing it. If you would like tickets please get in touch with Caroline on 01323 441169 or email her at caroline.light019@gmail.com. If you are an existing member of the 500 club, Caroline is available should you have any questions. We will continue to draw the numbers on or around the 18th of the month and the results are always available at Head Office.
Friends of ESAB Calendar of events for 2019
Saturday 11th May – Racenight at Westham Village Hall
Come and enjoy a delicious ploughman’s supper and lose your shirt on our exciting horse racing evening. Tickets £10
Sunday 2nd June—Open Garden Bodle Street Green
Come and enjoy this beautiful garden in Bodle Street Green. £5 on the gate. Lunch and refreshments will be available at a small extra cost.
Saturday 14th September – Pop up Wartime Cafe
By popular demand, our pop up café returns, this time we remember the Wartime years with a delicious Wartime menu! to be held at St Augustine’s Church Hall, Bexhill. Tickets £12.50 to include lunch
For further information or to buy tickets for any of these events please get in touch with Shirley Price on 01323 833942 or shirley@shirleyprice.me.uk
Sound Tennis Sussex
With the summer coming up what better way to spend an afternoon than with a friendly game of tennis with friends.
Sound Tennis adapts the sport allowing blind and partially sighted players to enjoy tennis regardless of age, experience or level of fitness by having additional bounces dependent on sight level and a spongy ball that can be heard when it bounces.
For the more competitive there are also a number of tournaments around the country and we look forward to hosting our second regional tournament at Virgin Active in Falmer on 1st and 2nd June 2019.
If you are interested in playing or volunteering please contact Paul Gillett email soundtennissussex@gmail.org.uk Or visit our website www.soundtennissussex.org.uk
The Aids and Equipment department says a sad goodbye to Chloe Packer in April. Chloe joined us two years ago as Steve’s personal assistant and during her time here she’s has endeared herself to everyone. Chloe is off to pursue her filming career and we all at ESAB wish her the very best with her endeavour and we shall miss her.
East Sussex College Eastbourne
ITQ Visually Impaired Course
A two year practical, hands-on course providing the opportunity for VIP’s to learn/improve basic IT skills across a range of software packages using assistive software. The course will help you, not only to build your IT skills and gain a recognised IT Users ITQ certificate but also to develop personal and work-related skills whilst growing in self-confidence and helping with progression to further study and/or enter/re-enter the world of work, as many of our student have.
1 to 1 personal tutoring with never more than two students and two tutors in it at any one time, creating a friendly and supportive atmosphere. Further information from Keith Eldridge on 03030038578 or by email to keith.eldridge@sussexdowns.ac.uk
It might surprise you how much ESAB has to offer
Specifically for East Sussex
Low Vision Support Worker
Mobility and Orientation training
Certificates of visual impairment
Aids and Equipment service
Skills and strategies for daily living courses
IT skills courses
In Brighton
Full time Co-ordinator
Aids and Equipment Centres in Hailsham and Brighton
Volunteer visiting scheme
Six social groups
Central services from ESAB
17 Social Groups.
Volunteer Co-ordinator
Outreach Vehicle (OV)
ESAB telephone helpline
Volunteer visiting scheme
Advocacy help for members
Lobbying local and central government
Working with local planners
Three times a year membership Newsletter
Drop in (by appointment) for Aids and Equipment
Friends of ESAB
Annual well-being call to all members
Outreach Vehicle
The Outreach Vehicle continues to visit a range of public venues and local community groups across the county.
Last year we met a grand total of 468 people over 32 Outreach Vehicle visits.
Over the coming year we hope to be at a variety of events and happenings across the county.
ESAB members are always welcome to take part in Outreach Vehicle visits and help us raise awareness of sight loss. Just phone our head office for more information about how to get involved!
Let us know if there’s somewhere you think the OV should be going! Just call the office and ask for Ian 01323 832252
There’s so much going on at your local ESAB Social Group
Here we are in 2019 already. During the past year all our social groups have again done a wonderful job in helping to combat isolation and loneliness for members across the county. Social Eyes even had Elvis Presley come to visit them in Brighton just before Christmas.
One group worth a special mention though is the Theatre Group. Having been run under the stalwart stewardship of Sue Slade for many years, Sue decided to hand over the reins to Alan Cook, who himself is part of the audio describing team at the Devonshire Park Theatre in Eastbourne, to carry on the good work.
The first event held was the panto Cinderella in January which was a great success, so if anyone is interested in attending future audio described plays this year, or if you love the Theatre and would be happy to be a volunteer driver, please do let us know in the office.
One other person deserving of a special mention is Ruth Jones, who celebrated her 105th Birthday in July last year when she received a lovely Red Roses plant at the group meeting in Bexhill. We believe Ruth is Bexhill’s and indeed ESAB’s oldest member. Congratulations Ruth!
Don’t forget our chairman Roger Thomas, who many of you already know well, has very kindly made himself available again this year to come along to groups to tell his tales and stories of his very interesting life and work as a broadcaster, so if anyone has any gaps to fill, please get in touch.
Volunteering
To all new volunteers that have joined us in 2018, we extend a very warm welcome and we hope you have settled in, and are enjoying your volunteering experience.
I know we have said this before but it is still as true today as it ever was, and that is that ESAB simply would not exist without the help of our wonderful volunteers. In whatever your role out in the community or at head office, you really do make a huge difference to the lives of our members, and your support is greatly appreciated.
To highlight some figures, our outreach vehicle service volunteer drivers help us connect with around 400 people a year, our social group organisers, helpers, and drivers help up to 500 members combat isolation and loneliness every month, and our home visitor volunteers provide one to one befriending support to around 58 members both in the city of Brighton and Hove and across rural East Sussex.
If any readers know of anyone who might be interested in volunteering, please let us know, and we will follow up. All volunteers receive Vision Awareness training, which can also be useful for friends and family members supporting someone with sight loss, so if anyone would like a refresher, again please do let us know here in the office.
For further information on Volunteering for ESAB please contact Ian at HQ on 01323 832252 or ian@eastsussexblind.org
Social Group Diary
As a member of ESAB you are welcome to attend your local social group. They provide talks, afternoon teas, trips out and a host of enjoyable social activities. Here are their meeting times:
- Bexhill 1st Friday
- Crowborough 3rd Friday
- Herstmonceux 3rd Wednesday
- VitalEYES (Brighton and Hove) 1st Friday
- Lewes 2nd Monday
- Polegate 4th Tuesday
- SocialEYES (Brighton and Hove) 3rd Friday
- Seaford 1st Thursday
- Saltdean & Peacehaven 4th Monday
- Tuesday Club 2nd Tuesday (In the evening)
- Uckfield 1st Wednesday
- Brighton Deaf/Blind Group 1st Wednesday
- Theatre Group—based from Head Office
- Bowls Group—Hailsham area
- ESAB VIABLE
- Sound Tennis Sussex
For further information on any of the social groups please contact HQ.
East Sussex Association of Blind and Partially Sighted People
Prospects House, 7-9 George Street, Hailsham, BN27 1AD
Telephone 01323 832252 – Fax 01323 833054
Email: info@eastsussexblind.org
Website: www.eastsussexblind.org
Charity Registration number 209535
Company Registration number 363004