THE PEOPLE’S MILLIONS First this week, great news that two of our most active local voluntary groups are up with a chance to win funding from The People’s Millions! Freedom 2 The Disabled Sailing Association (DSA), established in 2005 by six disabled people who loved sailing at sea and wished to encourage and provide the opportunity for others to enjoy the fun and freedom of sailing, today provides sailing for all ages, from 5 to 105 they say, and through the whole range of people with a disability: blind, deaf blind, those with learning difficulties or chronic disabilities and people who are confined to their wheelchairs. They encourage family, friends and carers to join in their activity. All, I know, have great fun participating in the handling of the boat including youngsters from Combe Pafford School who sail with the DSA in the summer term – and gain certificates to acknowledge their achievement. The latest project, ‘Freedom 2’, is to purchase a new and specially adapted boat for people with a disability so that they can participate fully in sailing her. Wheelchair access via a specially designed ramp will make it accessible to those unable to access a hoist, making this boat fully inclusive to all disabilities. This project, they tell us, encourages social integration, teamwork, confidence to mix with other disabilities, while the volunteers also participate in social events and, most of all, ‘have fun and freedom in an activity that many believed they were excluded from.’ Torquay harbour was buzzing with activity when the ITV crew arrived last week to film DSA Chair David Musgrove and his wife Shirley along with a good number of Association members who’d turned out to celebrate the People’s Millions’ bid, and I was struck by the enthusiasm, too, of the Combe Pafford students, all geared up for a morning’s sailing. ‘They’re always so keen – and so well behaved!’ David told me. I asked him what having Freedom 2 would mean to the DSA and with what I know to be typical enthusiasm he smiled and said, ‘Freedom and Fun for the disabled’, explaining that the new boat would be still more disabled-friendly with facilities that would even enable the severely paralysed to enjoy the experience of sailing. To find out still more about the DSA, just visit their lively website disabledsailingassociation.org.uk or phone 01803 408886 . Acorn to Oak This project intends to modernise and refurbish Hele’s Acorn Centre, now 50 years old community and in need of radical refurbishing. The aim is to purchase equipment for specific activities that take place in the centre, such as a projector screen for the IT Hub, and mirrors for the dance studio. It will make the centre more sustainable, and better able to meet the needs of the community now, and in the future. The Centre hope, too, to refurbish and introduce a Community Café which will offer a warm safe place for all the community, focusing on the elderly and on teenagers. Voting November 24th is the date to pencil in for your chance to vote in the People’s Millions phone-in for the Acorn, and the 26th for the DSA. Phone numbers will be printed in the Daily Mirror on the day, and of course announced during the TV shows on ITV West. It’s not a competition between the two, by the way – you can vote for both the Acorn and the Disabled Sailing Association, so please do! CHILDREN and FAMILIES ACT Huge changes to the law and systems for addressing the needs of children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities are now in force and the Torbay Parents’ Participation Forum are offering you a chance to find out much more about them. A presentation at The Little Theatre in Meadfoot next Tuesday, November 25th will see Daisy Russell from the National Information Advice and Support Services Network explaining more about the Children and Families’ Act, and how these legal changes will affect families and professionals. She will also explain and answer questions about parent/carer rights to information, what information and support they should be able to expect and where they can go to get further advice and support. ‘Go to our website torbayppf.org.uk to book your place for this exciting day,’ Chris Sumner, the Forum’s Chair says, ‘or email [email protected].’ HELP FOR JOBSEEKERS A new scheme to help job seekers has been launched in Torbay libraries, part of a grant-funded partnership project with Job Centre Plus offering people free internet time and help using job sites including the government’s Universal Jobmatch resource. These ‘Free Fridays’ will take place in Torquay and Paignton Libraries, based in the Learning Centres, with two sessions available at each library, mornings from 10am until noon and afternoons from 2pm to 4pm. The demand is likely to be high so job seekers will only be able to attend either the morning or afternoon session. No booking is required, though, and claimants who are library members can still book their regular hour on library computers outside of the Learning Centre.
Posted on: Fri, 21 Nov 2014 10:08:13 +0000
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