InSight Magazine – Autumn 2023

Our latest edition of InSight is out now.

This edition includes:

 

Click here or the image above to read the latest edition of our InSight Magazine

Christmas Raffle & Christmas Cards are back!

Our Christmas Raffle is back and there’s a host of fantastic prizes up for grabs, including a big Christmas hamper, a Betty’s hamper, two £100 Lifestyle shopping vouchers and a box of Nestle favourites. Tickets are £2 each and available from reception at Wilberforce House and by emailing reception@wilberforcetrust.org.uk

We are also delighted to be offering Christmas Cards again, this year featuring a wonderful contemporary design. The cards come in packs of 10 and are £4.50 a pack. As with the raffle, all proceeds raised go to the trust.

 

Donate A Star Campaign
This Christmas we are asking our supporters to donate a star to our virtual tree, and help us provide a Sensory Garden for our tenants, and visitors, to enjoy.

A garden is a wonderful thing bringing joy both to wildlife and to the beholder. Yet not everyone is able to enjoy the visual beauty of a garden. People with sight loss experience the world in different ways, so with a little help from you we can provide a sensory garden which appeals to ALL the senses and can be enjoyed by everyone.

Your gift of a star could help buy magical mint, succulent strawberry or calming chamomile for the garden. Many small individual gifts can build a legacy we can be proud of and look forward to when the warmer months arrive.

You can donate a star by clicking the donate button that you see on every page of our website and by clicking here.

Congratulations Will Jubb!

We caught up with our Club Wilber Ambassador, and York City Knights player, Will Jubb, on his recent graduation from the University of Hull for his PHD!

 

Congratulations on your recent graduation and receiving your Doctorate of Philosophy in Fisheries Studies. How long was your course? 

Thank you very much, it took me 4 and a half years to complete my phd.

In easy language, what was the course about?  

So I was looking at a conservation fish species called river lamprey. They are protected in the river Humber so I was looking at whether a historic fishery for them was sustainable, I.e., they can catch them to sell and still leave a lot of the population in the river to continue their lifecycle, and the impacts of all the weirs and barriers throughout the Humber catchment on their spawning migration.

What was your favourite part of the course/ best day? 

I really enjoyed every part of my studies but the fieldwork was always really fun. On one day the fisherman caught over 1 tonne of lamprey and we had to process all of them! It was like lamprey Armageddon there was that many of them, they were absolutely everywhere but they are really tough and we managed to sort through them all and re-release them into the river after putting little tags in them and moving them upstream of the weirs.

Being a student with a visual impairment, did you have any challenges in your education? Can you share an example and explain how you overcame them?

I was brought up to never let my eye hold me back from anything and this was the same here during my phd. I have always treated myself the same as everyone else and I hope that everyone else does the same with me as well. I would obviously just make sure I was extra careful when doing fieldwork or working around dangerous machines on the river banks by wearing protective glasses etc but I have always been able to overcome any challenges throughout my life which I definitely believe is down to my upbringing.

If any of our club Wilber members are currently struggling at school/ college, or dislike going,  what would your advice be?  

I would say that all the hard work that you put in now at school, college or wherever you are is 100% worth it. No one can ever take that piece of paper with your grades on away from you and putting in the effort now sets you up for your future successes. It allows you to enjoy whatever you want to do in life if you work hard now and believe me, it is the best feeling in the world. I wish all the club Wilber children and families all the best with their education and hope that you are able to take enjoyment from the hard work that you put in now which will reap rewards in the years to come.

 

Thank you for chatting to us Will!

Wilberforce Women’s Wellbeing
Last month we held our second Wilberforce Women’s Wellbeing event, hosted by our CEO Philippa Crowther, an opportunity for a group of women to come together and eat, drink and connect, with an informative talk and theme each time.
 
WWW launched on Yorkshire Day, the 1st August, with a Yorkshire themed two course lunch, a drinks reception and a talk by the fantastic Cate Hollett, a hypnotherapist and massage therapist. The focus of this event, and those that follow are to promote Women’s wellbeing and to give an opportunity to socialist, connect and to learn about something that will improve wellbeing, whatever your age or stage in life.
In September we welcomed the fantastic nutritionist, Sally Duffin, who gave us an engaging and informal talk on nutrition importance in the peri- menopausal years, a topic she has written about in her new book. The brilliant team in our on- site Weston’s Cafe treated us to a fresh and tasty lunch of salmon and rice and vegetable lasagna, with apple strudel and fruit salad to follow.
 
In October we are excited to introduce our guest speaker Andrea Jackson, owner of Wild Women Academy, who will discuss working in sync with the moon cycles and the seasons. Honouring the changing season we will be serving up a delicious autumnal, pumpkin salad.
The Wilberforce Women’s Wellbeing events are open to women of all ages and backgrounds; whether working, retired, full time parent or carer. They are a great way to make new connections and broaden a knowledge on wellbeing topics. If you would like to attend our October event please contact s.scholey@wilberforcetrust.org.uk
The return of Yorkshire Day’s Club Wilber Raffle!
This year saw the return of our popular Yorkshire Day Raffle, in aid of Club Wilber, the children’s arm of our charity. The raffle was drawn live on social media and one of our tenants, Lee, drew the tickets for us! We wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who bought a ticket for the draw on the 1st August. We raised over £1500 for Club Wilber, which will go towards enabling us to put on more inclusive activities and events for the children, and their families. 
 
A big thank you too to all of the people and businesses who kindly donated a Yorkshire themed prize-
John Wrights Electricals, Simon Patterson, Assetiam, Delta by Marriott Hotel York, Masons of Yorkshire Gin, The York Roast Co, Flamingoland Resort, York Dungeon, The Deep, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Pizza Express, Markinton Hall, Cross Fishmongers, Grant Young, Whittakers Gin, York Terrariums, LNER, Waste Management Co., North York Moors Railway, York City FC, Yorvik Viking Centre
Club Wilber turns 4!

A few weeks ago we returned to the Delta Marriott Hotel on Tadcaster Road to celebrate Club Wilber’s 4th Birthday! Originally planned as a garden party, like many we had to bring the fun indoors, but we were still able to play with all of the giant, garden games and enjoy our party food in the warm and dry!

Our annual birthday party is the perfect excuse to get our Club Wilber families together to catch up, and enjoy a selection of games for a few hours. This year we welcomed Richard from Limelight Hire with their photobooth and we all had the best time putting on the props and standing in front of the selfie mirror! The Activities and Events Team also made sure they got a couple of snaps!

 

We were treated to a party feast for lunch and afterwards we sang Happy Birthday and enjoyed a slice of the delicious traybake. Our Club Wilber children and young people left a with a summer themed party bag each, and a stack of photos from the photobooth!

Club Wilber started in 2019 and was the brainchild of our Operations Director, Samantha Scholey,  as a way of creating a club for children and young people with a visual impairment, and their families. We arrange accessible activities and events that the whole family can enjoy, regardless of vision and a welcoming place for children and parents to bond over common experiences.

Insight Magazine – Summer 2023 Edition

Our latest edition of InSight is out now.

This edition includes:

Laura runs York 10k!
Yesterday our brilliant Support Worker, Laura, ran the York 10k after months of training took her from the couch, to 5k and on to the start line! With her Dad running alongside her, and support from her partner, Kat, cheering her on she ran the route taking in the iconic streets and sights of York. Laura wanted to raise money for the trust as she loves her job and feels that the work we do and the services that we offer are really special.
The money Laura has raised, and continues to raise will go towards our Sensory Garden that we are building for the enjoyment of our tenants, and the families that visit us.
Well done Laura, for all of your hard work training for, and running, this event! There’s still time to donate to the fundraiser via her Local Giving page-
https://localgiving.org/appeal/York10K/
York Pride

Following a brilliant York Pride last June, we were eager to sign up to be part of the festival again, and this year was even better than the last. Sarah and Lucy from the Events Team arrived early doors at York’s Knavesmire with their fundraising and information stall, amongst other the charities, organisations and traders. York Pride is the largest Pride event in the North of England and is part of Pride Month, recognised across the world.

The morning had a gentle buzz, with families and residents who prefere to avoid the crowds of the afternoon wandering around, and excitement building for the parade’s arrival. When the parade arrived, in all its noisy, colourful and joyful glory the crowds and atmosphere on The Knavesmire trebled and the party really started.

Having a presence at York Pride gives us a great opportunity to meet members of the public from all different communities, to advertise the services we offer; such as YorSensory and Club Wilber. This year we brought the popular Lucky Lolli- stick game from last summer’s events and it was a roaring success as ever! While people gave their 50ps to have a turn to win some sweets, it’s a perfect opportunity to start a conversation about the trust.

What hits you most about Pride, and what most passers- by comment on, is the amazing atmosphere; inclusive and welcoming to all. Its an opportunity for everyone to be themselves, to wear what they want and be with whoever they want. As a charity, it gives us a chance to interact and chat to people who may not have heard of us before, or know of the services available to them. It’s a long day, but it’s a happy and fulfilling one, and one we look forward to each year.

We attend the summer fundraisers to raise money for Club Wilber, the children’s arm of the charity, where we organise activities and events for children and young people with sight loss, and their families. The money we raise helps us continue to facilitate activities ranging from pizza parties and forest school, all the way to our recent Harry Potter Studio trip! As Club Wilber is Yorkshire wide, and not just for York residents, it gives us an opportunity to meet families across the county.

Our next event is our Summer Fete here at Wilberforce House, come down and see us and enjoy a host of stalls, games and summer fun!