Just before Christmas last year, we awarded funding to Sign and Share Club based in Tenby. Our funding was used to cover the transport costs for four events.
One event was Christmas dinner at the Giltar Hotel, Tenby. This was attended by twenty two people.
The second was a trip out to the Swansea Grand Theatre in January to see a pantomime with BSL interpretation. This was attended by nineteen people.
Trip number three was bowling at the Phoenix Bowl in Milford Haven. This took place in February and twenty one people attended.
Finally, the fourth trip was to the Royal Mint in Cardiff where twenty one people attended.
The travel costs included lifts for those not able to get to the pick up points as well as the costs for the minibus/coaches.
The Christmas dinner was a lovely opportunity to socialise with others who were deaf or hard of hearing and to enjoy the raffle after the meal. There was a disco afterwards and people were given the choice of having fun at the disco or preferring to chat in a quieter room upstairs. Many people had a great time singing at the disco and the noise was not a problem for them.
The feedback report we received said that many people remarked on how much they enjoyed the Christmas dinner as an opportunity to get to chat to friends in the club. Some people wanted to stay overnight at the hotel and really made the most of the time. With our funding they were able to pay for lifts and thereby accomodate this.
The pantomime was enjoyed by everyone as the British Sign Language users could follow the interpreter on stage. They even arranged a shout-out for the club, which made everyone laugh.
At the bowling some people took part whilst others watched and enjoyed chatting.
The trip to the Royal Mint was well attended and they had a lot of positive feedback about the trip. It also gave the charity an opportunity to ask for ideas for future trips.
We're very happy that our funding contribution helped to make a difference for so many people.