Charity of the month
Each issue, we find out more about one of the good causes you could raise money for with your knitting…
Niz Smith, Project Coordinator Sensory Bus Charity Linkage Community Trust Sensory Bus Established The bus was set up in 2016, with a grant from the National Lottery. Linkage has been around for over 40 years, working with people across Lincolnshire with learning di culties and disabilities to provide specialist education, care, employability and daytime activities.
What do you do? The Sensory Bus is a sensory room on wheels, so its contents include bubble tubes, fibre optics, a music board, vibrating snakes, a switch board – all the things you’d find in a static sensory room. In addition, we change the theme of the bus on a regular basis so the bus has been Under the Sea, On Safari, Winter Wonderland, and more. The bus works with children and young people with special educational needs and with adults with dementia. We work alongside teachers and carers and it helps them to see what sensory activities work for those they care for. They go away with ideas to continue in the classroom, nursing home and so on. One teacher wrote: “It’s improved their [beneficiaries’] quality of life, reduced problematic behaviour, and improved their access to community activities… and for some, it’s completely opened up their world”.
Latest fundraising news We’ve created a pattern for a Twiddle Teddy (£3) which can be downloaded from Ravelry: https:// www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/linkagesensory-twiddle-teddy. Sales will help to keep the Sensory Bus on the road.
What can we do to help? An occupational therapist we were working with, in an NHS dementia assesessment unit, mentioned that a lot of their patients were comforted by teddies that were big enough to cuddle. As a result of this we developed the pattern for the Twiddle Teddy. They are really loved so it would be lovely if people would like to make them for nursing homes in their local area. For anyone unable to find a home for them, they can be sent to us for homing. Contact details: Email niz.smith@linkage.org.uk Address Linkage Community Trust, Sensory Bus Team, Toynton Campus, Main Road, Toynton All Saints, Spilsby, Lincs PE23 5AE