Recent news
AGM December 2016
Disability Huntingdonshire ( DISH) had a well attended AGM on Tuesday 13th December.
Audrey Gatford (manager) said:
“Our photo shows a presentation of a cheque for £5000.00 made by Huntingdon Freemen's Trust. DISH is grateful for this money which helps us to support some of the most vulnerable people in society. We help them to get benefits that they are entitled to. This can be life changing for them. We are constantly seeking the funds to ensure that we survive. We have so many people applying for our help that we are having to consider turning some away.
Our unsung hero was Michael O'Fee, who has worked for us for several years. He travels all over Huntingdonshire on public transport to visit people with disabilities in their homes and to give them Benefits Advice, and make applications for them. Many are housebound, or elderly, and don't have access to internet.”
The meeting was addressed by Cllr David Underwood, a DISH Director. David explained to the meeting that anyone might at any time experience disability. It was up to us all to make sure that people did not suffer disadvantage and discrimination. David himself is losing his sight as a result of macular degeneration. He has recently raised £300.00 on a sponsored walk of the Four Abbeys' Way for DISH, and also raised money for Hunts Blind.
Sandy Ferrelly, Chair of Directors and Audrey Gatford, DISH manager explained to the meeting that Disability Huntingdonshire provides value for money to all who contribute to the charity.
Over the last financial year (April 2015 to March 2016), the charity overall, with a part time staff of three, and two volunteers, dealt with 2286 contacts with 400 clients. These were by telephone, office based interview, and home visits. In financial terms, with an annual budget of around £50,000.00, we obtained around £322,423 (annual equivalent) in welfare benefits for our clients. This is money that also goes back to the local economy.
Here are some images from the AGM:
Click image to enlarge
AGM November 2015
The well attended Disability Huntingdonshire (DISH) AGM was on 17th November. Details of the event and other DISH news made be found here.
The full AGM Report may be found on the Reports page
Here are some images from the AGM:
Click image to enlarge
Get to know us - Agnes and Zibi from Poland
We have been volunteers for Disability Huntingdonshire for the last month . You would meet us in the main office of DISH in Papworth Everard, always smiling and ready to help. Who are we? Agnes and Zibi- two students from Poland, who have have spent our summer holidays in the UK.
We are both interested in British culture, history and traditions.
We decided to discover England: to eat fish and chips traditionally
wrapped in white paper and newspaper; see red telephone boxes; ride
London’s double-decker buses and the tube; visit a real college; try
some “British” sports; go to a British pub; understand how important
our “home, sweet home” is; drink tea with milk at 5 o’clock........
and we managed all these things!
But what is more, we wanted to do something for our community and to help others, because we know that every person counts.
How did our great British adventure start? We arrived to Great Britain on 1st August 2015. For the next 5 weeks we were volunteering for DISH and visiting new places. We went to Cambridge, Oxford, London, Brighton, Ely and many others surrounding towns.
What have we learned for the last month? Let us present our guide to great Britishness. There are only a few examples here (take them with a pinch of salt !)
- It’s always good to talk about the weather.
- We all love football!
- A cup of tea can solve every problem.
- Home, sweet home! Yes, we wouldn’t live anywhere else but in the UK.
- We know it’s necessary to look right before we cross the street.
- Sinks with separate cold/hot water are cool.
- We love the British sense of humour.
Unfortunately, we had to leave on 6th September. But without any doubt, our monthly stay in the UK was one of the best experience in our lives. If only we could have stayed a bit longer. We hope we will come back one day. At the same time we would like to thank the DISH’s Staff for supporting us and giving a chance to volunteering. It was a pleasure for us to work with you.
Kind regards!
Agnieszka Wójcik and Zbigniew Klimek (Polish forms of our names - try to pronounce them !)
