Volunteers at local sensory loss service celebrated as part of Falkirk exhibition
Forth Valley Sensory Centre logo.
Volunteers who have supported a local sensory loss charity over the past 18 years have been celebrated in an exhibition in Falkirk.
Forth Valley Sensory Centre volunteers were among those whose stories were celebrated in the Capturing Volunteer Stories (CVS) exhibition at Arnotdale House in Dollar Park. The exhibition was organised by CVS Falkirk and puts people who have acted as volunteers in the area over the past 40 years in the frame. It included tributes to two Forth Valley Sensory stalwarts, John Ormsby and John Preston, who made an enormous contribution to FVSC and who have now passed away.
John Ormsby, who died last year, volunteered at the centre for more than 15 years, offering peer support for people who attended the low vision clinic, recommended products and assistive devices through FVSC’s resource centre, offered IT support and showed people new ways to use their tech devices after losing their sight. He also gave tours, went on school visits and played Santa at the annual Christmas Fayre.
John Preston, who died in 2021, joined FVSC as a volunteer driver and was also assistant to the Falkirk and Stirling Blind and Partially Sighted Social Groups. He stepped down as a driver in 2018, but stayed on as a navigator assisting the new minibus drivers. John planned the pick-up routes, armed with his trusty book of maps, and made sure everyone got to the centre and home on time. He loved to dress up and entertain centre users at events, and the charity was delighted when he won the volunteer award with Stirling Volunteer Enterprise in 2015. He was charismatic and always happy to help out at the Centre and he persuaded his wife Jan to also help with some of our Blind Group theatre trips and his granddaughter to volunteer as an Elf at FVSC’s Winter Fayre. John was a poet and a talented artist who liked to stay busy.
Other volunteers who were featured in the exhibition were father and son duo John and Kyle Somerville, who have been involved with the centre since they started supporting Kyle as a child, and Sarah Ryan, who helps with the Knit and Knatter group and drives the minibus. The centre organised a visit for volunteers and centre users to the exhibition, led by volunteer coordinator, Hannah Wilson.
A group of volunteers smiling, with an exhibition behind them.
FVSC has supported people with sensory loss and their families who live in central Scotland, including Stirling and Clackmannanshire, for more than 15 years. It acts as a community hub, offering support, advice, practical help, and social opportunities. The centre has around 20,000 visitors every year and is funded by a mix of statutory funding and donations.
The charity was recently awarded £200,000 for three years from the National Lottery Community Fund to tackle isolation and loneliness caused by sensory loss, and new services will take place in community venues and hubs throughout the area to increase access and availability. Its overall objective is to help people who have sensory loss to live as independently as possible, through activities, groups, and classes, including access to IT and tech support, cookery classes, visits and excursions, and sign and lip-reading classes. It also offers volunteering opportunities to boost their skills and confidence.
Forth Valley Sensory Centre Chief Executive Jacquie Winning MBE“We are hugely grateful to have the opportunity to share the work and impact of our wonderful volunteers. We simply couldn’t offer the level of support and activities we do without the people who give up their time to share their skills to help others. Alongside helping our varied groups and classes, they also support us in raising awareness of and promoting our services, helping our Deafblind chef in the kitchen, tending to our gardens, driving people to and from the centre, supporting us in erasing the stigma of sensory loss through their own lived experiences, and in more ways than we can describe. It is only through their dedication and hard work that we have been able to achieve everything we have achieved, and we give them all our heartfelt gratitude. We are always looking for people to come forward and support our work, so please get in touch if you would like to help”.
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