CEO Blog – this year, next year and beyond
Since taking over from Gary in June I have been on a rollercoaster of getting to know the ways and workings of Support 4 Sight.
I’d like to thank our amazing staff team who have steered me through the past 6 months, and all of you that participated in our various consultations, as well as those I spoke to as part of our big Autumn Phonearound (where we contacted everyone on our database to check on wellbeing and ensure our GDPR compliance was intact). Your feedback, candid observations on how you have been coping in and out of lockdowns, and your recommendations for Support4Sight in 2022 have been really informative and very much appreciated.
Taking your suggestions on board we are looking forward to a new year that will see the development of services designed to enable connectivity both in person and virtually. We are delighted to be opening our social hub at Cottage Place in Chelmsford. Our thanks to Age Concern for generously extending our tenancy so that we are now able to be there from Monday to Friday. We look forward to seeing you at as many social events as possible! This compliments our coffee mornings across the region, which I am delighted to say have attracted a good turnout in each location since they reopened in the summer, alongside our weekly, award-winning, virtual social groups, where you can meet people across the UK as well as in Essex, from the safety of your own armchair. These meetings won an award from Visionary, the sight loss charities’ umbrella organisation, for their innovative approach to keeping people connected throughout the pandemic. Please contact us on 01799 588897 if you need assistance to get online or would like to join these social groups via your landline telephone.
We hope, by providing both virtual and in person opportunities, to keep you connected whatever the pandemic may bring.
Dates for our 2022 activities can be found here: https://www.support4sight.org.uk/events/
With all Covid safety measures in place, we are seeing a real appetite amongst people to reconnect after the isolation of the past year or so. That is why our Christmas Appeal this year is focussed on ensuring these social activities are maintained and can continue to provide the much-needed support that was the unanimous request at each consultation we held. Please see our website if you would like to support our Christmas Appeal: https://www.support4sight.org.uk/2021/11/christmas-cuppa/
In the coming weeks, months and years, we would like to be able to deliver more help, to more people, in more ways.
To keep you informed of developments the Board of Trustees has agreed to make the minutes of their meetings publicly available – these can now be found on our website and will be updated after each meeting, https://www.support4sight.org.uk/about-us/key-documents/#tab-id-2. It is hoped that this will provide insight into the charity’s planning, and encourage any feedback and ideas you may have to add to its development.
So, as we look to 2022, I’d like to wish you all a safe and happy Christmas, and a New Year of hope and connection.
