Last weekend, and for the first time, we were delighted to open the doors of Wilberforce House for the Club Wilber Christmas Party! Across the open plan Living & Learning Zone, we had craft activities, a sensory space, a disco area and a chocolate fountain.
As our families arrived late morning, they dived straight into the festive fun; making snowmen, decorating and filling their own crackers. As soon as the smell of chocolate filled the air, children, and adults, jumped to the fountain to dip festive kebabs of fruit and sweet treats. The sensory area, with lights, textures and sounds, was popular with the littlest Club Wilber members, and it was the perfect place to escape the busyness of the café area.
After a buffet lunch of sandwiches, pizza and nibbles, the children were excited when the Big Man himself, Santa Claus, walked through the door to the jingle of bells and took a seat by our huge Christmas Tree. The families took it in turns to meet Santa and say a few words and receive a present. The expressions on the children’s faces at this special moment at the party make all the hard work worth it for the team!#
We were delighted to welcome Club Wilber Ambassador and York City Knight’s player, Will Jubb to the party, along with his partner Jess. They spent time making snowmen with the children and chatting to the families, who are always really excited to see Will. We also gave him a congratulation present for his recent graduation, with a Doctorate of Philosophy in Fisheries Studies from The University of Hull.
Like the Birthday Party and at Halloween, these parties are the perfect time for the families to catch up. We waved everyone off and wished them a Merry Christmas and we’re already excited for our Panto trip together in January!
InSight Magazine – Autumn 2023Our latest edition of InSight is out now.
This edition includes:
- Letter From The CEO
- Coming Soon
- One year living in Wilberforce House
- Grow & Sow
- LLZ activities update
- Club Wilber update
- YorSensory
- Fundraising and our Christmas appeal launches
Click here or the image above to read the latest edition of our InSight Magazine
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!
The return of Yorkshire Day’s Club Wilber Raffle!
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.
Our latest edition of InSight is out now.
This edition includes:
- Letter From The CEO
- One Year at Wilberforce House
- York Design Award
- LLZ activities
- Club Wilber fun
- YorSensory and Outreach
- Volunteer with us!
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!
A couple of weeks ago, on a very wet Thursday, we invited some valued Club Wilber sponsors to meet us in York City centre, to kick off a Viking themed afternoon. We met at the award- winning Viking bar, Valhalla, famous for its craft beer and mead on the menu, rock music and dark and atmospheric décor. After introductions and drinks were ordered we took part in a challenging Viking quiz, expectedly put together and delivered by Samantha! Despite reservations, both teams scored pretty well!
After the quiz, our aspiring Vikings moved onto The Hilt, York’s very own, indoor Axe Throwing venue. Voted the number one fun activity to do in York on Trip Advisor, the venue boasts eight ‘cages’ for groups and every group is given a coach to help you get throwing like a true warrior!
Competing against each other individually, with our coach Jade on hand, we were a mixed bag to say the least; with some acing the throws and some lucky to even get the axe to the wall! As well as standard Viking axe technique throws we were also shown trick throws and extra points could be gained with them.
It was a close fight at the top of the leader board and a lot of fun was had. The general agreement amongst those that hadn’t done it before, was that axe throwing was far harder than it looked! We finished our afternoon off with an early dinner and cocktails at Las Iguanas and we’re looking forward to welcoming our sponsors back to our next event.
As always we want to thank our Club Wilber sponsors for continually supporting us through their membership and extra support that they always give.
- 360 Chartered Accountants
- Acomb Travel
- Ad Esse
- Assetiam
- Clare Connolly Aesthetics
- Dark Blue – IT Consultancy
- Fulprint
- Inglis Chartered Accountants
- John Wright
- Navigation Wealth
- Pia
- Pig & Pastry
- Star Cover
- Train Reaction
- Vangarde Shopping Park – York
- Vision Care Development
- The York Pie Company
- YO1 Radio
Club Wilber’s 3rd Birthday Party
On the 4th August, Club Wilber celebrated its 3rd birthday party at The Marriott Hotel in York and it was amazing to meet to celebrate this wonderful occasion.
It was great to welcome our Club Wilber ambassador Will Jubb from York City Knights Rugby Club who came to support this event along with some of our wonderful sponsors.
Guests were welcomed with a glass of Prosecco or fizzy elderflower as they arrived to the book themed party. The room was decorated with The Jungle book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Alice in Wonderland decorations.
Everything was geared to be a sensory experience, on The Jungle Book craft table we made beautiful leather notebooks. The leather had a lovely smell, and each piece had a different texture. The parents then helped the children bind the paper between the leather using specialist metal studs and they enjoyed using the screwdrivers to tighten the studs. They finished them off nicely with animal stickers and gems and some did great drawings inside them too. We had lots of animal balloons hiding in the jungle watching us from above.
The special guest was one of our ambassadors, the award-winning author, Christina Gabbitas. She came to read two of her books to the children. She was amazing, giving the characters voices and singing songs she delighted the children. The children were engaged and got to feel different fruit and vegetables mentioned in the book, tomatoes, broccoli, pineapple and even a dragon fruit! She quoted a poem too and the children loved joining in. We thank her for a wonderful opportunity to hear her stories. These can be found online on her website www.christinagabbitas.com.
Alice in Wonderland’s Mad Hatter’s Tea Party was the theme for the afternoon tea. With wonderful decorations for the table which consisted of a Mad Hatters hat, a white rabbit, and clocks… lots of clocks, the caterpillar on a giant toadstool, even the Cheshire Cat was watching us from above. Everyone enjoyed afternoon tea with scones with jam and cream, sandwiches, sausage rolls, crisps, biscuits, and lots of “drink me” squash.
Samantha Scholey who was the founder of Club Wilber gave a speech and thanked everyone for their support and coming to celebrate with us, especially the sponsors who joined in the fun. We sang happy birthday to Club Wilber and enjoyed a delicious rocky road birthday cake.
The final game was a sensory pass the parcel. Each layer was a different textured material. Sweets and scented lavender were between the layers with a box of fidget toys as a main prize for the two lucky winners.
Everyone who attended got a golden ticket which was labelled “golden ticket” in Braille. They took these to the Willy Wonka sweet table to claim their going home sweets and popcorn.
Everyone had a great time, and it was great to see the families have fun together. Club Wilber continues to grow bigger and better each year and we look forward to a year ahead full of activities.
We want to say a big thank you to everyone who came – our ambassadors, sponsors and of course our Club Wilber families.
If you would like to volunteer and help us out with these amazing events then please check out our Volunteers Page.
InSight Magazine – Q3 2022 EditionOur latest edition of InSight is out now.
This edition includes:
- Letter From The CEO
- Coming Soon
- Wilberforce House – Staff Perspective
- Club Wilber Pizza Party
- Living & Learning Zone
- YorSensory – Alone We Can Do So Little; Together We Can Do So Much
- Celebrating Deaf Awareness Week
Click here or the image above to read the latest edition of our InSight Magazine or click the links below to hear it recorded in an audio format: