Local charities in Sevenoaks.
Family Centre Needs Volunteers!
Volunteers are needed by a Sevenoaks family centre to assist in the work of supporting parents with young children. Spring House, in Hospital Road, Sevenoaks, require willing assistants to the play leader in the preparation and provision of activities for pre-school children and to help parents learn cookery and other home-making skills.
The centre also needs help with transporting families to and from the centre.
If you can help in any way, please contact the centre manager on 01732 465539 .
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Mencap
For just 2 hours a week you could make a real difference.
Mencap has a long-standing reputation for championing the rights of people with a disability, but we also place a great emphasis on supporting their families and carers. That's why we're so excited about a new initiative in West Kent in which we're setting up a team of volunteers to offer information and support to families. To become a volunteer it isn't necessary to have any experience. It is more important that you are willing to learn, enthusiastic about working with people and able to communicate information well. All we ask is that you spare a couple of hours each week to the people who will be using the service. Naturally all of your travelling and out-of-pocket expenses will be paid by mencap. We're looking for volunteers from all age groups and backgrounds.
Training will begin after Easter, so if you are interested and would like to find out more, please contact Vicky Routledge on telephone number: 01732 360033
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Would you make a good puppy walker?
Puppy walking is an essential element in the development of a future guide dog. Volunteer puppy walkers take a puppy into their homes for just over a year, getting it used to the hustle and bustle of everyday life. The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association provides food for the puppy and meets veterinary bills. Puppy walkers give their puppy a firm foundation for its later training and life with a visually impaired person.
* Do you live within a 5 mile radius of Sevenoaks?
* Are you at home most of the day? (part-time workers considered)
* Are you 18 years or older?
* Could you commit a year of your time and enthusiasm to rear a puppy
the Guide Dogs way?
* Do you have a securely fenced garden/yard?
If you can answer yes to any of these questions and you would like to know more, please contact Judy on 07990 540045 or email
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Royal London Society for the Blind
The Royal London Society for the Blind, based in Seal is dedicated to providing services, which meet the needs of blind and partially sighted people and to promoting equal opportunities and social inclusion.
To achieve these goals we provide high quality family services, education, training and employment in London and the South East of England which, enable blind people to fulfil their personal aspirations and ambitions.
We use our resources to create a society where blind people can enjoy the same rights, responsibility and quality of life as everyone else.
So What does all that mean in practice?
The First Steps
The world can be a daunting place for an infant with little or no sight. Immediately the child feels things like "what is wrong with me?" "why am I different?" "why me". Parents also struggle to come to terms with their child being blind and "not normal". That's where our nursery and family services come in.
We immediately begin work with the whole family and help the child cope with what they are about to face in a the world. In our nursery children do what all other children do, they play, they learn to walk and run with confidence without the fear of bumps and falls. They also learn their abc but in braille and they learn to adapt their physical mobility, how to catch someone's arm and be led around strange places.
Building confidence at this stage is vital and leads to a more stable childhood, it also helps the parents to learn how to care for their child in the outside world. Our aim is to have that child lead as normal life as possible, we do not encourage reliance on our help, we encourage independence, spirit and enjoyment.
Education
The RLSB's Dorton House School provides Europe's best specialist education and care needed by the children. Our pupils study the National Curriculum like anyone else but they are given the specialist equipment and close support they need. This equipment ranges from braille books to the latest voice adaptive technology.
As well as the curriculum our children are taught basic life skills and mobility skills that will allow them to go out and about like all other kids and they are actively encouraged to mix with their sighted peers. Blind children don't like to think of themselves as different, they want to do the same stuff as anyone else, dancing, music, sport, acting. The stigma of disability is often felt acutely by blind teenagers. We provide the balance of support and encouragement that enables them to "fit in". Music, Drama, Art, Fashion all play a major part in a blind childs development, it is fun and very enjoyable but more importantly it builds confidence, self esteem and the ability to "take on the world and let people see our ability not our disability"
Leaving College and Getting a Job
All through school and college (nursery, school and college are all on the same site so consistency is maintained) the children are taught to be independent, free and to act like any other kid. But things become different when they are ready to leave college and the safety net of our site. This is when the very worrying statistic that 75% of blind people cannot find work comes in. We challenge society in this respect and our employment service provides work related training and practical help with job search. A parallel aim is to combat discrimination and change employers' perceptions so that blind people are not excluded from pursuing careers in today's workplace.
Our own factory in London gives many clients a helping hand and practical start. Here we operate a going concern making turned parts for manufacturing industry and pump spears for the brewing trade. 95% of our workforce is blind, which clearly illustrates our claim that blind people can do as good a job as anyone else.
We are about LIFE CHANCES, creating the best opportunities for blind children and adults to live a normal and productive life.
Conclusion
The RLSB has a deserved reputation as one of the world's best, we are recognised by OFSTED (the Governments Office for Standards in Education) as excellent.
Our children have gone on to make successful careers, we have produced the only blind actuary in the UK as well as several blind IT managers, accountants, actors and singers.
For a small, little known outside the blind world, organisation our record is quite outstanding yet all this is achieved through voluntary support and the help of people who have no connection or experience of blindness. The RLSB is presently looking for people in Kent to join our team of volunteers. Giving up just a few hours can make a real difference, whether you help us at a coffee morning, street collection or even at a celebrity event, it all helps. If you would like any information about the RLSB or about being a volunteer please phone 01732 592532 or Email
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- also you can look on the Volunteer page of this website.
As well as all this we run a huge number of great events throughout the year giving you the opportunity to see (and sometimes meet) celebrities ranging from Michael Parkinson to James Herbert or take part in Masked Balls and Murder Mystery evenings. Details of all these events can be found on the Sevenoaks Life Whats On page, just click on the link to the left.
Or email
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Or phone 01732 592532
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Sevenoaks Round Table
Sevenoaks Round Table is seeking local charities who require funding for specific projects, for amounts of up to £5000.
Please contact Nick Kirkham on 01732 455061
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