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BRANCH NEWS
A great big pat on the back goes to our intrepid ‘tin rattlers’.
On Saturday July 21st 13 members and friends of our branch were in the town centre encouraging shoppers to part with their cash. After a four hour stint the committee are delighted to inform you that a magnificent £453.13 was raised.
This brings our flag day collections this year to a grand total of
£1,289.76!The money we raise enables us to support the members of the Stevenage & District Branch; whether by paying for the helpline, sending flowers to a member who is particularly poorly or
giving financial support when needed. Whatever the purpose we could not do it without you
So a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has turned out to support the Branch on Flag Days so far this year. The next flag day will be on
Saturday 15th September at Tesco’s - Broadwater, we will be there from 9am - 5pm. If you can help for an hour or so in the morning please ring Eddy on 238065 or for the afternoon ring Ian on 227330 and let them know what time you could cover.
Well Done Eric!
Congratulations are in order for Eric Brown, a long time member of the
Stevenage & District Branch.Eric has been awarded a Certificate of Achievement from WAACIS (Wigram Aid to Ability for Critically-disabled Internet Students)
We asked Eric to tell us a bit more about the course he undertook:
"By chance I was reading the paper or magazine (can't remember which
one) when I saw an article about internet training for the severely disabled in
their own home, so I rang them in London.
They explained that they only catered for people in the London area, but if they
could get a tutor to come to Stevenage, and provided I met the criteria, they
would give it a try, which I thought at the time was most helpful?
They sent me an application form which I completed and sent back. After a short
while, I received a letter saying I had been accepted as a student and
arrangements were made for my first lesson.
To say I was amazed at what I learnt the computer was capable of, is an
understatement, the tutor I had was very knowledgeable, he taught me many short
cuts, and made things a lot easier for me, because prior to this tutoring, I was
struggling quite a bit, but thanks to WAACIS, I am now a lot more confident, and
hopefully more efficient.
All it cost me to register was £8, to some the cost is free, then it starts
from £5 depending on what money you have coming in, so all I can say is a big
thank you to WAACIS.
We then asked WAACIS if they would let us have further information on their scheme, this is their reply:
Do you want to learn how to use the Internet, surf the world-wide-web, exchange email messages with friends, shop on-line for goods and services, and the use of chat-rooms? If so, the charity WAACIS can help with a virtually free tuition course for the physically disabled and those with sensory impairments.
The WAACIS course is designed for beginners and consists of ten sessions of one-to-one home tuition and, apart from a one-off registration fee of £5, is free for those whose income after tax is less than £150 per week. All WAACIS ask on the technical side is that students have access to a reasonably up-to-date computer and a modem. Once this is established potential students are visited in their home for a Preliminary Assessment session to assess their suitability for the training course.
The WAACIS network of carefully selected tutors have excellent technical ability and good teaching skills, and many have specialist experience of working with the disabled. In particular, tuition of aurally and visually impaired persons.
For an application form please contact Avril on 020-7730 7766.You can learn more about WAACIS from their information-packed website. Just click on the address below
On September 2nd branch member Gill Burns will be taking part in the
Flora Ladies Light 5Km Challenge.
The
Flora Ladies Light 5Km Challenge takes place every year in Hyde Park and last year it attracted nearly 15,000 entrants from the serious runners to mums pushing their tots in buggies. The majority were all raising money for their designated charity or organisation.A group of 7 friends and I raised just over £700 for the North Herts MS Society and this year we would like to do the same for the Stevenage and District Branch. Although I do not actually run, my friends do and I just hang on tight as they take it in turns to push my wheelchair - I feel like a baton in a relay race but it’s worth it.
If you would like to help by making a pledge, please contact me on 01438 227330 or via the Branch number, or you can email: gillburns@ntlworld.com
Thank you
Gill Burns