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200 CLUB DRAW - JANUARY 2012

First Prize	No. 171	Elaine Angel	£198.75
Second Prize	No. 022	Barbara Holton	£39.75
Second Prize	No. 166	Jemima Martin	£39.75
Third Prize	No. 008	May Aird	£23.85
Third Prize	No. 050	Isabel Riddell	£23.85
Third Prize	No. 111	Mrs M G Innes	£23.85

Congradulations to all of the winners!

OPENING OF THE SENSORY GARDEN AND SKIFFINGTON cOTTAGE

The new Skiffington Cottage and Sensory Garden at Elmwood College were opened on December 1st 2011 by Fife Society for the Blind’s Honorary President Gordon Brown.

The event also saw the opening of a new Karten Centre at the college, filled with high-spec technology for the visually and hearing impaired. The Centre also provides Autistic students with technology to progress thought their college experience.

The Skiffington Cottage has been refurbished to accommodate the assessment and development of the visually and hearing impaired. The use of contrast colours, tactile surfaces and talking equipment (most notably in the kitchen) will be of huge benefit to the many FSB service users and college students with sight or hearing loss.

The Sensory Garden has been constructed by FSB and the College’s horticultural staff and students to create as safe place where the visually and auditory impaired can utilise their other senses to enjoy a safe environment. The garden contains distinctively scented plants, water features and wind chimes to name but a few features.

To mark the opening, Mr Brown planted a tree in the garden and a plaque was unveiled at the Skiffington Cottage.

All staff and clients who attended the opening had a fantastic morning out and would like to thank everyone who contributed to the construction of such incredible facilities which will bring a lot of happiness to a great number of people.

PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE ELMWOOD OPENING

Photographs from the opening of the Skiffington Cottage and Sensory Garden at Elmwood College have been uploaded to our Facebook page.

You can visit our Facebook page by clicking HERE

USER CONSULTATION EVENTS

Earlier this year the Society held a series of User Events in order to establish greater communication with our clients and users of our services. It is important to the Society that our clients are receiving the best possible services and it is therefore also important that the users feel able to give us their positive and negative feedback.

By clicking here you can read the full report on the outcome of these User Events, held in July and August 2011.

A FANTASTIC DAY AT THE FAIR!

On Friday 4th November we held our annual Christmas Fair and it was a massive success! We raised over £800 - a fantastic amount that will continue to rise with the sale of our Christmas Raffle tickets.

Clients, staff and visitors alike enjoyed the opportunity to chat, shop, eat and relax!

FSB Enterprises was particularly popular with lots of interest in Braille Jewellery...

While some shopped, others preferred to enjoy a cup of tea, a cake and a catch up...

We would especially like to say a big THANK YOU to Body Shop and Adam Smith College for contributing to the day. The students from Adam Smith were a great help on the stalls, as well as treating everyone to a free hand massage.

Once again we would like to thank everyone who contributed to a fantastic day and we hope to see you all next year!

BILLY AND MATTHEW ENJOY A DAY OUT AT THE FOOTBALL!

We all know about fans supporting their favourite football team - but East Fife FC has a heart-warming example of the club supporting one of its fans.

Read more on this story here

CAN U C 2 DRIVE? BRUSH UP ON YOUR EYEWAY CODE

The results of the Internation Glaucoma Association (IGA) awareness campaign CAN U C 2 DRIVE survey are in.

30% of 1,000 drivers aged 40 plus are failing to take an eye test every 2 years!

The survey was conducted in July 2011 by ICM Research on behalf of the International Glaucoma Association and results are based on the sample of 1,000 drivers aged 40 plus.

Glacauma is the leading cause of preventable blindness and the 40 -54 age group are most at risk. Experts, including the IGA, recommend for people aged over 40 to take an eye test, including all three glaucoma tests, at least every two years to ensure early diagnosis, when treatment is most effective.

The survey also showed that many people are not aware of the facts about glaucoma such as:

Glaucoma mainly affects peripheral vision.
It is not easy to self diagnoise as the condition develops slowly.
Glaucoma can be diagnosed through a complete ‘eye health check’ by a qualified optomitrist, as this should include the three simple and painless glaucoma tests.

The IGA has published the 'EyeWay Code: Keep your eyes and life on the road after 40 years old'. The EyeWay Code addresses the risks of glaucoma and aims at 'getting the nation into gear with glaucoma'.

The Code is available to download free of charge on the IGA website:
http://www.glaucoma-association.com/media.html

Just Ask is a brand which aims to make services and facilities accessible to those living with a sensory loss.

The three facets of the Just Ask brand are:

A checklist of areas to consider when an organisation is looking at the accessibility of the public areas of their premises.

Information on how to get your publications transcribed in to alternative formats as well as details on how to book a BSL interpreter or deafblind guide communicator.

A half day training course in sensory impairment awareness delivered by service users which will offer practical advice, information as well as a wide range of practical senarios and solutions .

Once an organisation has become Just Ask Accredited they will receive a wide range of publicity materials which will help raise their public profile as well as helping to raise public awareness of the Just Ask campaign.

Please check out the website now at http://www.justaskfife.co.uk/