shopmobility - Newsletter

Newsletter, Summer 2008

Shopmobility, St Helier, The ONLY charity in Jersey specialising in the hire of wheelchairs, mobility scooters and other walking aids.

Welcome to the Summer edition of our Newsletter.

As will be seen from below we are continuing to thrive and expand our activities due to popular demand. At times we are stretched for volunteers as those running events ask us to supply scooters and that means at least one qualified person. Sundays are not usually a problem as Sand Street is closed but Saturdays are. No one is permitted to use our equipment without instruction, for their own protection, even if they have a scooter at home or use a Shopmobility scheme elsewhere. We have an excellent reputation but are concerned at a company which copies us and sometimes uses a name which can be confused with ours. We are a Charity and that company is a commercial business. We offer a service and they don’t.

Equipment

Since the last newsletter we have purchased 6 more Rascal scooters (silver) and 9 RMA manual wheelchairs with small wheels and hand brakes, which seem to be the most popular. We have also had equipment donated.

Raffle

The Raffle has been selling well and has also brought in a number of donations. Thanks to all who have bought. We still have lots of tickets in Sand Street and if you haven’t yet returned your money and counterfoils, if you wish to buy, then please could you do so as soon as possible. We can send more tickets if you contact the main office on 739672. The Raffle will be drawn on the evening of the 5th December at the RJA&HS. The prizes include: £500, a pearl necklace from Jersey Pearl, a pair of ear rings from Catherine Best, a case of Champagne from the CI Co-op, a case of wine from Technicare, a fairly large teddy bear, a fruit juicer, a meal at Longueville Manor with a bottle of house wine and other prizes.

Volunteers

Kerry, Angela and Sue are now manning the office from Monday to Friday.This is a wonderful help as it allows Keith to deliver and know that all is fine “back at the ranch”. They are all very popular with our users and always have smiles for all. On Saturdays we have help from Paul for the summer season and he assists greatly by collecting from hotels. Since our last edition Trish has had a baby, Harris and we all wish Colin, Trish and Harris well. Come back soon, Trish!

We sometimes have problems with delivering scooters or wheelchairs particularly outside town and if any reader can help please contact the office.

Car Boot Sales

Kerry and Sue are going to Car Boot Sales and have raised substantial sums to help us with our costs. Many thanks to those who have donated their unwanted goods. If you have any items you don’t want, please ring us and we can collect at a convenient time and defray some of our expenses.

Hire What!?

Late one Sunday afternoon in July we had a call from an hotel asking if we could hire a push chair for a young child. My wife had a spare one so we were able to help. The following day we had a second request which we were
not able to help but have now bought a second push chair just in case! We try to offer a service and usually succeed!

Itex Around the Island Walk

We had 5 scooters in the Walk this year. Only one was not a Shopmobility user. We enjoyed ourselves and even the “Beans” saw parts of the Island that they hadn’t seen before. All are looking forward to the third section next
year.

Outside events

The West Show at St Peter was an enormous success in that a record number of people attended. We had 12 scooters available and on the Saturday we loaned them out 17 times and 11 on the Sunday. Kerry, Sue
and Angela all spent much of the 2 days there. The Rosarians Show at Samares Manor had 6 scooters and all were well used on both days. We will be back at Samares Manor for their show on the 23rd and 24th August.
We will be supplying 6 scooters for marshals to assist disabled people to travel from the entrance to their seats for the Battle of Flowers. Angela has designed wings for 4 scooters to look something like the Red Arrows (you may have to use your imagination) and we will travel in formation in both the day and night parades.

Fete de Mer at Gorey was a total failure as we were not permitted to park on the hill where most disabled parking takes place and we were put on the Welcome Slipway. Almost no one came to us and we will not go to Gorey again for any events unless they relent. The reason given is Health and Safety which is so often used as an excuse for saying No to something. We have better things to do than sit hidden away all day. The people who will suffer are the disabled who expect us to be at events and close to where they park.

Island Inter-ville Games, Granville
We were asked to supply scooters for this friendly event. Due to a lack of transport we were only able to loan 2 but this was sufficient. On my calculation it will be 44 years before St Saviour host these games again and
as I will be about 113 by then it will be someone else’s problem!!!

Post cards and Christmas cards

These are on sale in our office in Sand Street. The cards are unique to Shopmobility, St Helier and cause a smile by the recipients. All are from original paintings which are on the walls in Sand Street. The artist is Edward
Blampied who recently had an exhibition at Jersey Pottery in Gorey particularly to show the new oversize mugs for which he painted the designs.

Disability Aids and Scooter donations

We receive a few calls for disability equipment such as bath aids, toileting aids, etc so if any become surplus we would willing take them. Additionally we have been given a number of scooters over the years and this saves us
the money on having to buy so many.

Legacies

Another reminder that the larger charities receive much money from legacies so if you would like to help us please make provision in your Will.

Booking

We are now in our busiest time of the year and it is important that local users ring up and book their scooters rather than come to Sand Street and be disappointed. For Durrell and War Tunnels it is important to book at any time in the year.

Disabled spaces in St Helier

Since the introduction of Parish Wardens in Town there has been a noticeable drop in the illegal parking in disabled spaces at night and at weekends. There is still quite a number of offenders and perhaps the fines should be increased to make it a real penalty - after all a disabled person is disabled 24 hours a day and not just between 8 am and 5 pm. Thanks to Constable Simon Crowcroft for suggesting the wardens to a Parish Assembly and thanks to them for the action they take.

Your views

If you have any views you wish us to print related to Shopmobility please send them to Shopmobility, Sand Street, St Helier, JE2 3QF.

If you don’t want to receive future newsletters please write to us in Sand Street or email to info@shopmobility.org.je

Newsletter

Newsletter, Summer 2008Shopmobility, St Helier, The ONLY charity in Jersey specialising in the hire of wheelchairs, mobility scooters and other walking aids.Welcome to the Summer edition of our Newsletter.