CLOSURE –
WEDNESDAY SPECIAL
NEEDS CLUB (WSNC)
& SENSORY
SOFTPLAY RESOURCE
– MARCH 2018
The Wednesday
Special Needs Club (WSNC) announces with the deepest sorrow and regret that the Club and its Sensory Softplay Resource (for
special-needs of all ages) closed permanently at the end of March.
The Resource was
completely dismantled over the long Easter weekend, and equipment and usable
fittings put in temporary storage. These will be donated in the coming month to
various special-needs resources, schools, individuals and groups who we know
will benefit greatly from them.
The decision to
close the Club and Softplay Resource has been very distressing for the
volunteers of the WSNC, its club members and users of the Resource. The closure
was not due to financial reasons or under-usage or lack of
WSNC volunteers. It was due to the fact that in the last twelve months,
operational changes in the running of the Community Centre made by its
management have caused issues for us which we have not been able to resolve
with the Board of Trustees or Centre management.
The Trustees and
Centre Management have ignored any requests to negotiate or meet with us to
discuss the issues and find a resolution to our H & S concerns, and have
confirmed they will not be changing their staffing operational procedures.
Though we do not
dispute the right of the Community Centre management to operate as they see
fit, we judged that their recent changes have unfortunately made continuance of
the Club and the Sensory Softplay Resource impossible.
10k Run to
Continue
The Hoylake 10k
Run will still take place on Sunday the 16th September, but will be run and
organised by local Hoylake UTS Running Club/Gym/UTS Foundation http://theuts.co.uk/uts-foundation/. Further information and contact details
will follow in mid May. To see details of the 2017 run and a list of winners of
all the runs, click here.
History of
the WSNC and its Sensory Softplay Resource
The WSNC has been
run, maintained and funded solely by WSNC volunteers. Since its creation in
1993 it has run a weekly social meeting for special-needs people aged 10 and
over, at Hoylake Parade Community Centre.
In 1995, WSNC
volunteers created and funded the Sensory Softplay Resource. The Resource has
been a valuable sensory therapeutic facility which has helped many
special-needs people of all ages, providing a vital and affordable
community facility, which has had a hugely beneficial impact on its many users
and their carers, helping improve their overall quality of life. It has been
open 5 days a week, with over 47 hourly carer/supervised sessions during the
week. Since its opening it has seen a footfall of over 135,000 users (figure
includes carers).
The monies
required for the Club and Resources maintenance and upkeep has been derived
mainly by organising the annual Hoylake 10k Run (over £140k being raised since
1994) and from a few smaller donations received over the years.
During
its existence, the Club has contributed a significant amount to the income of
the Centre. The revenue generated from the Resource (after deducting insurance
and other various annual equipment operating costs) has been contributed
annually to the Community Centre.
The Centre has also had the assistance of a WSNC volunteer who has given
considerable time and effort to help with the Centre’s fund-raising projects
having raised over £250k for the Community Centre.
The WSNC
volunteers would like to thank all those who have supported us over the last 25
years – members of our Club, users of the Resource, parents/carers alike,
volunteers, donors, runners who have taken part in our annual Hoylake 10k and
other members of the community, who have been so helpful and of value to us over
the years.
We
have loved running the WSNC and the Sensory Resource and know how much people
have enjoyed coming along and have benefited by using our facilities. We only
hope that those other special-needs resources we select to receive parts
of the dismantled Resource can make full use of them, and that they bring as
much joy to them as they have to us over the years.
Thank you.
WSNC Volunteers
past and present.
Email:
hoylakewsnc@btinternet.com
www.wsnc.co.uk
https://www.facebook.com/HoylakeWSNC
[Page
last updated/checked 23/04/18
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