Centre Update January 2022

Happy New Year! We wish you all the best and hope you had a healthy, happy, and
restorative festive break and are now energised and ready for what 2022 may bring.

We can't wait to see you again. FVSC want to ensure you stay up to date with
everything that is happening at the Centre, and our plans for the future.

Our Café remains open, with a warm welcome awaiting all visitors. Our Sensory
room is available to book and whenever the weather is ok we open our Garden.
Some of our activities are going ahead where possible, either online or with a
reduced capacity. We are really looking forward to being able to welcome you all
back on a bigger scale as soon as it is safe to do so. Thanks to everyone for
continuing to respect and follow guidelines in the meantime.

Even though we had to curtail our activities earlier than planned in December, during
Nov/Dec last year we still had an incredible total of 3657 Centre visitors including
1129 Café visitors.

We are very proud to have recently set up a partnership with Glasgow University
Communications Department who are world leaders in developing Assistive
Technology for people with Sensory Loss. PHD Students and Teaching staff from
the University will be coming to the Centre at the end of January to showcase some
of their amazing technology including a fully interactive robot who can act as a guide
for blind people. A number of our Centre Users with Sight Loss have already
registered to take part in this innovative session which we will be delivering
alongside our Centre Partners, RNIB Scotland. We also hope to have a similar event
during Feb/March where we will invite the University to demonstrate their new
communication products for BSL Users.

We have many more exciting things to report on. I hope you enjoy reading the latest
updates provided by FVSC team members. As always you can find the most up-to-
date information by visiting our website: www.forthvalleysensorycentre.org or on
Facebook/Twitter, @FVSensoryCentre.

1.Centre Groups and Activities – Linsey Stocks, Activities Co-ordinator

Due current restrictions we are unable to have larger groups meeting in person at
present, however we still have many things to celebrate and look forward to, and
some groups are continuing online.

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Some of the positive things that have happened since our last update in October; our
history group enjoyed a talk from Greenhill Historical Society. This group meets on
the second Wednesday of the month from 11am-12pm, there was no session in
January but we will be returning in February, look out for more information on that
coming soon.

Our book group have been continuing on with their monthly meetings, we have a set
book each month, but also like to discuss what people have been reading beyond
this too. For our January meeting we were discussing ‘Lockdown’ by Peter May (how
apt!) and for February we will be moving onto Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell. This
group is currently taking place online and meets on the third Tuesday of every month
10am-11am, the group is open to all, and we primarily source our books from RNIB
talking books.

The Talk and Sign group had a brilliant session with Greig at Blacknoire Glass
making their own glass designs in November. Check out our Facebook page to see
the outcome of their creations! The group is looking forward to meeting in person for
a walk around the Helix on Saturday 22nd January, where they will also get their
glass creations back.

Prior to Christmas our Art Group had been enjoying making Christmassy creations
with Val, including reindeer and Christmas trees! With the help of Val, we have also
been displaying the art group’s very own creations around the Centre, so why not
pop in and check them out! Our art group meets fortnightly on Wednesdays from
1.15pm-3.15pm and costs £5, and we welcome people of all artistic abilities. As we
like to say, there’s no such thing as bad art!

Sara, our Energy Redress Co-ordinator, Volunteer Laura Cluxton and myself will be
attending two events in February to link our Centre with more community groups and
hopefully increase our foothold in rural Stirling and Alloa. Our first event will be in
collaboration with Forth Environment Link, where we will be looking to see what we
can do for people living in Drymen area. Our second event in Alloa will be a
networking event to let Clackmannanshire residents know about the great things that
we have to offer. We’re excited to expand Forth Valley’s knowledge of our little
charity and what we do.

Can you help us? If you’re looking for something new to get involved with, and you’d
like the opportunity to have your say on shaping groups in the centre, we are looking
for new members for our Centre User Group! This group meets 5 times per year on a
Tuesday morning and is Chaired by a Centre User. The committee is an integral part
of our Centre as it provides an opportunity to give feedback on any aspect of our
Centre and to influence future decision making. Anyone who is currently a member
of any of our groups can apply to join the Centre User committee. BSL interpreters
are provided. Get in touch with Linsey at the email address below if you are
interested in joining.

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We are looking forward to having all of our groups back as soon as we are able to
safely do so, and will keep in touch with our centre users to let them know what is
happening. In the meantime if anyone would like to know more about any of our
groups and classes you can contact Linsey at
linseystocks@forthvalleysensorycentre.org. Please also keep an eye on our social
media pages and website for updates.

2. Volunteering – Hannah Wilson, Volunteer Co-ordinator

On the week commencing the 10th of January we welcomed our new volunteer
Duncan! Duncan will be helping out around the Centre throughout the week as our
volunteer handyman and gardener. Please feel free to say hello and introduce
yourself if you see Duncan out and about on your travels in the Centre.

I will be plotting out and planning our presentation to share with Trustees and Centre
Members at AGM when a date for this is agreed. Together with other staff, we will
use this chance to further spread word of what new staff, including myself are
bringing to the Centre. This will provide an opportunity to reflect, see how we can
further improve on the Centre as a whole, and on our own development as individual
staff members.

I will also be using this month to further build our connections with CSREC (Central
Scotland Regional Equality Committee), CTGC (Camelon Tidy, Green, and Clean),
and the COVID testing unit in Falkirk Council. With CSREC and Falkirk Council we
will be discussing the challenges Deaf and BPS individuals face in communication
and how to best address and implement changes. Hopefully we will keep building
connections like these to improve accessibility across Forth Valley! Speaking of, we
have a supply of free lateral flow tests are available at the Welcome desk for all
Centre visitors.

With CTGC we will be building on our climate conscious award and using our garden
resources to greater effect. Then, once the restrictions have lifted and the weather
has thawed, we will be getting our school pupils from Carmuirs and Windsor Park
into the Centre once more. The children are all very eager to start growing their own
vegetables again and we’re looking forward to seeing the results of all their hard
work in the warmer months! We will also be getting our older school pupils in to start
decorating our garden with their own hand painted decorations to add a splash of
colour amidst the grey weather.

Aside from this, I am still dedicated to providing fulfilling and interesting opportunities
for volunteers. I am always open to suggestions and ways to improve so that we can
provide the best roles and opportunities possible to all our volunteers, regardless of if
they’re in every day or once a year.

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If you would like to find out more about volunteering, please contact me:
hannahwilson@forthvalleysensorycentre.org

3.Publicity/Fundraising - Martin Allen, Fundraising and Publicity Manager

We ended 2021 and started 2022 very strongly in terms of publicity. Our
Employability Project received some excellent coverage in Business Scotland
magazine, once again demonstrating that the Centre is a true champion for people
with sensory conditions and leads the way in terms of equality and accessibility.

Starting 2022 we have had some great coverage of the Take on 250 challenge which
is being backed by our Slimming World Group. One of the group members, Erin
Callan, has secured additional support from her employer, Diageo and the team are
very confident of achieving their 250lbs weight loss target as well as raising funds for
the Centre.

Further on the community fundraising side, in the run up to Christmas we had our
Quiz Nite with Laura and Joe Cluxton. This had a mix of in person and online
attendees and raised £500 despite Covid restrictions limiting the numbers involved.

Another idea from our Fundraising Group, a 100 number challenge took place in
November too. Thanks to Chair of the Board, Pat Reid who donated a box of
chocolates to go with our champagne, the prize gripped the attention of many Centre
visitors, quickly reaching the £100 total.

December saw the return of our Festive Hampers. Again, Laura Cluxton and family
were very much involved, making up some amazing prizes. However, we could not
have done it without all the generous donations of items from Centre Users,
volunteers and staff so well done to all involved. Ticket sales reached £570 despite
the cancellation of our planned Christmas Dinners. If it had not been for this setback
the final total would have been well over £600, a fantastic effort.

Our strong media presence has also helped with fundraising too. We were chosen
by The Miller Family, Gordon and Pamela, to be the recipients of their annual
‘Christmas Sparkle’ as Gordon passes the Centre each day on his way to work and
they like to pick a local charity to support.

There was extensive coverage online and in print and the family received visitors
from as far away as Pakistan as a result. An emigrant to Falkirk brought their visiting
family round so they could see how Scotland celebrates Christmas! In total, just over
£800 was raised which is a great amount.

In terms of grant funding we had a number of successes, the biggest being a

£45,000 three-year fund for a Centre Ambassador from Blindcraft Trust. This funding
will allow us to employ a person with lived experience of sight loss to visit community

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groups, schools, organisations and more, promoting the work of the Centre and
encouraging more people to get the support they need or be more aware of the
challenges people with sight impairments face each day. We hope to have someone
in position for the start of April.

To support our new Ambassador, we also applied to the Stirling and

Clackmannanshire Wellbeing Fund and received £6840 over two years to support
new groups in Stirling and Clackmannanshire. Part of this will provide expenses for
our Activities Co-ordinator, such as travel or room hire, to help set up new groups
and take our work out across Forth Valley.

We continue to look at new and ongoing funding opportunities around core costs,
groups and classes too.

We are currently in the process of submitting a bid to the Forth Environment Link
Food Futures Fund. This is aimed at providing access to sustainable, healthy, low
cost food across Falkirk. The fund includes a small capital fund for building works.
We are hoping to tap into this and refurbish our training kitchen which has not been
upgraded since the Centre opened. The plan is to create a more open plan space so
it is easier to host cooking classes, something our Centre Users have repeatedly
asked for. This will also allow us to make use of our Kitchen Garden and dovetails
with our Energy Redress project as we can provide people with the skills and
confidence they need in the kitchen as well as educating people on food waste and
eating fresh, local or home grown food.

One of the additional objectives of the Food Futures Fund is also to help people with
digital skills so it is a good fit for us given our amazing Tech Hub and experience in
supporting people to get online safely.

We are a beneficiary in the Stirling Community Lottery and have promoted an

invitation to people to take part by purchasing tickets, across our social media
platforms. Uptake is slower than hoped at present but the launch coincided with the
cession of our groups and classes where we would promote this kind of opportunity.
New players can sign up at any time via
https://www.stirlingcommunitylottery.scot/support/forth-valley-sensory-centre

Supporters can still sign up to provide funds as Co-op members too. Every time you
shop at a Co-op, purchase own brand goods and use your member card, we get a
donation. There are details on our website for how to assign your Co-op member
card to the Centre no matter where you live. If you would like support to do this.

Coming up we also have Abby Anderson who is taking part in a 10k run in Callendar
Park on 16th January. Abby has decided to raise sponsorship for the Centre as her
nephew is deaf and attends audiology here at the Centre. Although he isn’t a
member of any of our groups (yet) Abby and her sister Kerri have always been
impressed by the work of the Centre and the welcome they receive.

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Finally, we have our first Kiltwalker signing up for Glasgow on 24 th April. Sandra
Snaddon edits the Falkirk Disability News e-zine and is keen to do her first Kiltwalk in
aid of FVSC. We are sure she would enjoy some company on route and will be trying
to sign up more Kiltwalkers in the next few weeks.

4. Customer Engagement Assistant – Rowan Ferguson

My role here at the centre has grown arms and legs since I started last summer. For
all I am still mainly based at the Welcome Desk to greet Centre Users and answer
queries I have also had a chance to undertake other tasks out with the Centre.
Before Christmas Hannah, the volunteer coordinator and I went to the Howgate to
promote the centre and raise awareness. I was also excitedly looking forward to go
and support our Sensory Singers at Falkirk Morrisons in the week before Christmas
but sadly due to Coronavirus regulations this had to be cancelled.

I am taking part in the running of our Voices Off Café. This is a group run by staff
and a Deaf Volunteer to teach people the very basics of BSL. I enjoy this as it helps
me build my skills, particularly as I am undertaking my SVQ Level 2 in BSL.
I have also been enrolled in a Modern Apprenticeship for business and admin
studies. I feel this will help me to fulfil my role here and improve on skills I have
already built upon.

5. Climate Challenge – Sara Burns, Energy Redress Co-ordinator

As things begin to slowly re-open after the Christmas restrictions the Energy
Redress project is back up and running. The focus of this month will involve travel
outside of the Centre to engage with community groups and clubs in the wider Forth
Valley Area. Included in these visits are Strathblane and Dunblane Guilds, a
partnership project with Forth Environment Link in the East of Loch Lomond, an
energy networking event in Denny and a Community Awareness Event in Alloa.
These are some really exciting opportunities that we are hopeful will increase FVSC
presence further afield in Forth Valley and encourage people to visit our centre.

I have started a Climate Education programme with Winsor Park PS, delivering
weekly classes for children all the way from Primary 1 to Primary 7. The children
have been learning about a variety of topics linked to climate change and energy
saving and we are working together with Falkirk Council to design our very own
Climate Comic! We are hugely excited to see the children put everything they have
learned into fantastic characters, stories and art that we can showcase later in the
year!

I’ve established a network with other local recipients of the Energy Redress Funding
–Clackmannanshire and Stirling CABS- creating a network to maximise the services
we can for people looking for energy advice. I’m hopeful that a collaborative
approach will ensure Forth Valley communities more accessible, inclusive and
available access to energy advice and services across the area.

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I have also been working with Trading Standards Scotland to organise a Scam
awareness workshop with a link to energy efficiency so that centre users know what
to look out for in scams offering grants and services like double glazing or loft
insulation. They have also invited us to take part in their trueCallMobileSafe Project
to prevent people receiving scam phone calls. If this is an issue you have had
previously, please contact Sara to discuss taking part in this project!

Unfortunately, the bad news only continues in rising energy prices. Typical energy
prices could increase by as much as £700 per household per year when the price
cap is lifted in April. We are really keen to ensure everyone knows and understands
their energy usage and is making as many savings as possible or applying to any
grants that might help over this difficult period. If you haven’t already, please
consider applying to the Warmer Homes Discount Scheme to receive a £140 off
electricity bills this winter. If this is something you want more information on or to
discuss further please get in touch with Sara calling 07719916050, popping into the
centre or emailing saraburns@forthvalleysensorycentre.org. If you have applied for
this discount and want to know if there are any further discounts or ways to maximise
energy saving, please also get in touch.

6. Employability Project – Kim Grant, Employability Co-ordinator

Since the start of the project in June 2021 I have supported a total of 17 clients
through this project. 11 clients have a hearing impairment and of these 11, 3 of them
have been successful in securing employment. The remaining 8 include 5 people
who are looking for help with building their CV’s and preparing for the job application
stage whilst actively looking for opportunities, and 3 who are currently in
Employment however requiring support with Access to Work and staff training. This
is all real evidence that our project is much needed. There is also growing interest
from other organisations such as Life Link, Job Centre Plus, Skills Development
Scotland and Step Up Forth Valley to work with the project and offer our services to
those in need.

Towards the end of 2021 I attended a conference with 57 work coaches who focus
on supporting clients from Forth Valley. Their role is to help individuals back into
work and provide them with the right avenues to do so. I was able to give information
as well as real case studies of successful clients I had worked with and guide them
on my referral process as well as the services I can offer. The purpose of developing
these meetings is to create future working partnerships and create a multitude of
options for those with sensory conditions who are in need of employment support.

In the month of November, I co-ordinated the Falkirk See Hear meeting to bring
together ideas, old and new from partnership members RNIB, NHS, Falkirk Council
and Windsor Park School. Collaboratively, we discussed the need for Mental Health
support for those with Sensory conditions as well as support for those transitioning

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from education. Our January See Hear meeting developed these topics and
agreement on funding new initiatives to provide Mental Health Support for BSL
Users and to create closer links with the Falkirk BSL plan.

I continue to promote the Employability project through Social Media and our
website. I am planning and preparing a factsheet for schools aimed at school
leavers, their parents and teachers and monthly newsletter to promote the service to
jobseekers with sensory loss. I am also working on a marketing report aimed at
employers who may be unaware of incentives available to help them take on people
with additional needs.

If you have a sensory impairment or you know someone with a sensory impairment
who would like some help with finding a job please contact me:
kimgrant@forthvalleysensorycentre.org

6. Summary

I hope you enjoyed our first report of the year. Please visit our website to sign up for
our quarterly newsletter to keep updated on everything that is happening. You are
most welcome to call into the Centre, speak to any of our team, and find out what we
have to offer. If you have any questions, suggestions or requests, I would be
delighted to hear from you. Please get in touch.

Jacquie Winning CEO,

18 January 2022

e-mail: jacquiewinning@forthvalleysensorycentre.org

www.forthvalleysensorycentre.org

@FVSensoryCentre