FVSC Newsletter October 2024

Message from Jacquie Winning MBE, chief executive of Forth
Valley Sensory Centre
Hello and welcome to the autumn issue of our newsletter. We are

delighted to share the work we do across Falkirk, Clackmannanshire
and Stirling to support people who are deaf or have hearing loss and
people who are blind or have sight loss to live their lives to the full
and are proud of the impact we have in our community.
We have been busy getting out and about in the local community,
sharing our expertise and making sure that everyone who needs our
support to live a full and independent life is able to access it. I
recently joined Stirling Council’s health and social care strategy
group, and we have also had productive visits to freshers’ weeks at
Stirling University and Forth Valley College. We offer sensory
awareness training to local organisations and businesses so they can
make sure their services are fully inclusive, and recently worked with
The Doubletree by Hilton in Dunblane.
Volunteers are a huge part of our work and we are very grateful to
the people who give up their time and share their skills to support
others. We are particularly pleased to share some of the recognition
that our volunteers have received. We are always looking for new
volunteers to come and help us. It’s a great way to get involved in
the community, meet new people and get new skills. So, if you know
anyone who would benefit, please get in touch.
Picture shows our Chief Executive Jacquie Winning MBE.
We welcomed new MPs to our centre
We were delighted to welcome new MPs for the communities we work

in to our centre to find out more about how we support people with
sight and/or hearing loss.
Brian Leishman, MP for Alloa and Grangemouth, Chris Kane, MP for
Stirling and Strathallan, and Euan Stainbank, MP for Falkirk all came
to the centre this summer.
They all met people we support, found out about our programme of
activities and social groups, training we offer and community
partnerships.
We also welcomed Euan Stainbank back to Camelon to have an eye
health check as part of national Eye Health Week.
He came with us to For Eyes Opticians to highlight the importance of
regular eye checks, which are free in Scotland.
We were delighted to help facilitate his visit and hope that it
encourages more people in the area to get a free eye health check.
Top picture shows Brian Leishman meeting some of the
people we support at our centre.
Bottom picture shows Euan Stainbank at our BSL group.
Group spotlight: Knit and Natter
Our fortnightly knit and natter group offers a fun and friendly way for
people to get creative.
Alongside tea, coffee and cake, the group share their creations and a
good catch up.
The group, which has BSL support, makes blankets and hats for the
NHS Forth Valley Royal Hospital’s maternity unit and stroke ward.
They are also preparing beautiful handmade items to sell at our
popular winter fayre.
Group members tell is they love meeting new people and helping the
wider community.
Maureen Morrison told us: “I like the company and the opportunity to
meet new people from different backgrounds."
Marion Rennie said: “‘We have already started our Christmas knitting
for the FVSC Winter Fayre 2024, I enjoy the knitting and it’s always
good to raise funds for the Centre. We have already raised £80 to go
towards the Christmas fundraising total."
If you know someone who would like to join this group, or any of our
activities, get in touch at [email protected] or by
calling 01324 590888.
Pictures shows the Forth Valley Sensory Centre Knit and
Natter group in full swing.
Inspiring volunteer Colin honoured for his work to help

others
FVSC volunteer Colin Waterson has been recognised for efforts to

support people in the community with sight and/or hearing loss.
He won the Inspire award at the Stirlingshire Voluntary Enterprise
Inspire Volunteer Awards.
Colin, who is deaf, started volunteering for the centre in 2019 and
supports around 50 people directly to improve their health and
wellbeing.
Colin is involved in different social groups, including Stirling Visually
Impaired group, helping people make connections with their local
community and peers. He helps at our Braveheart walking group, and
worked one-to-one with a centre user who was housebound after a
heart attack.
He also helps to raise awareness about the centre so more people
can benefit from the support we offer.
Colin is learning British Sign Language (BSL) so he can communicate
with more members of his local community and in the centre.
Colin makes a huge difference to everyone he works with and his has
changed the lives of many people. People who were isolated at home
are now able to come to the centre and have their social and physical
needs met. Colin's hard work allows us to run a variety of groups that
would not be able to go ahead without him.
We are delighted that his efforts have been recognised and want to
say a huge thank you to Colin for everything he does.
Pictures shows Colin with his award. We are so pleased he

has been recognised.
Helping to celebrate 200 years of Braille
This year marks the 200th anniversary of Braille and the centre’s
community are joining in the celebrations.
Braille uses a tactile alphabet of raised dots so people with blindness
and sight loss can read and write and access education.
It was introduced 1826 and was hugely influential in the inclusion of
people with sight loss.
Our Braille group is working on a new collaborative art work to
celebrate the introduction of Braille and we are looking forward to
sharing this.
We are also hosting a film night to celebrate the history of BSL for
local schools at the centre in November.
FVSC youth groups enjoy a packed summer activity

programme
Our youth group supports children and young people with sensory
loss throughout the local community.
It gives young people with sensory loss and their friends and families
the chance to have fun, meet new people and try new things – as well
as offering peer support.
During the holidays, we ran a wide range of activities and trips. These
included baking, painting, picnics, den building, sports and a games
and movie night.
We teamed up with Central Football Academy to run football
coaching, with skill sessions and games to help develop confidence
and persistence.
We also ran a trip to the Science Centre in Glasgow, where our young
people had the chance to let their curiosity run wild, while learning
more about science in a fun way. We are very grateful to Falkirk
Schools Funding who helped meet the cost of our summer activity
programme and enabled us to provide healthy lunches, snacks and
activities.
We also welcomed Edinburgh University scientists to the centre for a
science workshop, where young people had the chance to conduct an
experiment and learn new skills. Two of the demonstrators were deaf
and use BSL, meaning young people had the opportunity to see other
positive deaf role models and learn some general and science based
BSL.
We are very keen to encourage more blind and partially sighted
children, young people and their friends and families to get involved
with our youth and families project. If you know of parents and carers
of children and young people who are visually impaired and would be
interested in attending a peer support group, please contact:
[email protected]
FVSC volunteers celebrated at Falkirk exhibition
Forth Valley Sensory Centre volunteers who have helped the charity
over the past 18 years were among those whose stories were
celebrated in the Capturing Volunteer Stories exhibition at Arnotdale
House in Dollar Park.
The exhibition was organised by CVS Falkirk and puts people who
have acted as volunteers in the area over the past 40 years in the
frame.
It included tributes to two Forth Valley Sensory stalwarts, John
Ormsby and John Preston, who made an enormous contribution to
FVSC and who have now passed away.
John Ormsby, who died last year, volunteered at the centre for more
than 15 years, offering peer support for people who attended the low
vision clinic, recommended products and assistive devices through
FVSC’s resource centre, offered IT support and showed people new
ways to use their tech devices after losing their sight. He also gave
tours, went on school visits and played Santa at the annual Christmas
Fayre.
John Preston, who died in 2021, joined FVSC as a volunteer driver and
was also assistant to the Falkirk and Stirling Blind and Partially
Sighted Social Groups. He stepped down as a driver in 2018, but
stayed on as a navigator assisting the new minibus drivers. John
planned the pick-up routes, armed with his trusty book of maps, and
made sure everyone got to the centre and home on time.
We are hugely grateful to have the opportunity to share the work and
impact of our wonderful volunteers. We simply couldn’t offer the level
of support and activities we do without the people who give up their
time to share their skills to help others.
We are always looking for people to come forward and support our
work, so please get in touch if you would like to help.
Picture shows a visit to the exhibition by staff and centre users. They
had a brilliant day.
Older people's generous donation to the centre as a thank

you for support
A group of older people supported by FVSC made a generous

donation of £250 to help us with our work.
Forth Valley Sensory Centre has played host to the group – who are
all BSL users – since it opened in 2006.
The OAP BSL group gives older people who have hearing loss the
chance to get together and socialise in a fun, friendly, supportive
environment.
The group is made up of around 25 BSL users, who meet every
Wednesday at the centre in Camelon for bingo and a good catch up.
The group also contributed £100 in February this year to help pay for
a window that was vandalised.
We are very grateful for the generous donation and are very proud to
host this group.
Picture shows our BSL group handing a giant cheque to
FVSC's Hannah Wilson.
Celebrity chef gives blind cookery demonstration at FVSC
A celebrity chef with a cult following served up a special treat for fans
with a live cookery demonstration at FVSC.
Kim Jaye, who lost her vision when she was 30 years old, wows fans
by cooking up delicious meals and treats.
She has written two cookery books, in partnership with the RNIB, and
her YouTube tutorials attract hundreds of viewers.
Kim was joined by the centre’s cook, David Black, who has both sight
and hearing loss to showcase how people with sight and/or hearing
loss can cook tasty food safely and with confidence.
The event was supported by the Blindcraft Trust and really helped
boost creativity in the kitchen for people with sensory loss.
You can watch an audio described video of the event
here: https://youtu.be/tGbw6F0tgeU?si=UtwcxxVLIDHgyRng
Picture shows celebrity chef Kim Jaye.
That's All Folks
Thanks for taking the time to catch up on our latest news. Of course,
we can’t do any of our work at the Centre without the support of all
our staff, trustees, volunteers, partners, donors and funders. Your
continued support is nothing short of amazing – thank you!
We are always keen to get your feedback. This link will take you to a
form where you can tell us – anonymously – what you like about the
Centre, and if there are any new things you’d like to try:
https://forms.office.com/r/fa5MinXcrc

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Message from Jacquie Winning MBE, chief executive of Forth

Valley Sensory Centre

Hello and welcome to the autumn issue of our newsletter. We are

We were delighted to welcome new MPs for the communities we work

Inspiring volunteer Colin honoured for his work to help

FVSC volunteer Colin Waterson has been recognised for efforts to

Pictures shows Colin with his award. We are so pleased he

Helping to celebrate 200 years of Braille

FVSC youth groups enjoy a packed summer activity

Older people's generous donation to the centre as a thank

A group of older people supported by FVSC made a generous

Celebrity chef gives blind cookery demonstration at FVSC

That's All Folks

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