Hello

I joined VisionPK in June and it has been a busy 6 months. I have been spending time getting to know more about the charity, meeting service users, volunteers and building external links.

We have made the decision to seek alternative premises, but the vision of the Sensory Hub is still very much at the forefront and we want this to be a fully accessible and engaging space.

Working from the High Street has enabled us to have a wider presence and start to grow awareness of the charity and we need to continue to build on this.

We will be refreshing our strategy in 2024 but our key strategic priorities will continue to focus on increasing our income, increase awareness of the charity and developing services.

Wendy joined the team in Feb in the role of fundraising manager. We will be growing our community fundraising events over the next 12 months and building relationships with corporate partners to grow our income. We will also continue to source funding from grants and trusts to grow and maintain the services that we have in place.

We want to continue the work on branding, website development and social media. We also need a focus on marketing and communications including PR. This is all central to raising awareness of the charity alongside providing information about what services we provide. I will be looking at ways to continue to grow and develop this area over the coming months building on the work that has previously been completed.

Service development has been possible through Trusts – the Reconnect project for people with sight loss was funded through the Big Lottery and groups are now established in Kinross, Aberfeldy, Comrie, Bridge of Earn, Invergowrie and Auchterarder, with Pitlochry in planning for 2024. Lidia has been continuing to work with these groups with the aim to have sustainable volunteer led groups in each area when the funding finishes in November 2024.

Our volunteer and activities coordinator, Monika, continues to develop activities and grow our volunteers. We now have several activities for people to access including swimming, social/peer support, various talks, music sessions, games and attending the lunch time concerts and Perth Concert Hall. Once we have the sensory hub open activities can be based from there, which will make a huge difference.

Our core Rehabilitation service underpins everything and referrals continue to increase. We have also provided drop-in services at the High Street for people with sight and hearing loss and these have been very well received. The team have been busier than ever over the last 12 months – thanks so much to Morag, Debi, Tina and Thea for meeting our challenging targets and providing an excellent service to support people across Perth and Kinross. You can see some of the impacts of the service in the annual review document.

Eleanor, our receptionist/admin support and Leanne, our office manager continue to work hard keeping everything updated and being the first contact that people have when accessing the services/support. They always have a smile on their faces and play such an important role in the day-to-day function of the charity.

I would also like to acknowledge the wonderful volunteers who play such an integral part in our services and support we provide, including raising much needed funds and growing awareness of the charity. We wouldn’t be able to do what we do without you.

We are a small team but my impression as a new CEO is how skilled committed and passionate all the staff are at VisionPK. I am feeling positive for the coming year and what we can achieve together.

Finally, despite these ever-changing and challenging times, the Team here at VisionPK would like to wish you all a happy Christmas and our best wishes for 2024!

Festive Break

We will be closing at 1pm on Friday 22nd December and re-opening on Wednesday 3rd January, 2024. If you have an emergency while we are closed, the Council Emergency Social Work number, which can also be used out of hours, is 0345 301 1120.

Kate

Kate Charles, Chief Executive, VisionPK

 

Download our 2022-23 Annual Review Here