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AUTISM GUERNSEY'S
WINTER NEWSLETTER 2022
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Happy New Year! We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas break.
Autism Guernsey has another motivating year planned ahead including some exciting fundraising events, however we do need your support to make them a great success.
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WIZARD OF OZ AFTERNOON TEA
12th March
Autism Guernsey is excited to be holding its annual themed Afternoon Tea at Les Cotils. Tickets are available at £18.50 each from Mandy at Autism Guernsey on 232879 or office@autismguernsey.org.gg. Suitable for adults and children. Fancy dress encouraged. Don't miss out as we normally have a waiting list for this event due to limited numbers.
Vegan, vegetarian, gluten free & dairy free catered for.
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FLAG DAY
26th March
We are looking for volunteers to 'shake' a bucket for 1.5 hours on Saturday 26th March between 9am - 5.30pm. Venues will include M&S L'Islet & St. Martin's, Co-op St. Sampson's & St. Martin's, Waitrose Rohais & Admiral Park, Alliance & Forest Stores. If you are able to volunteer your time, please contact Mandy on 232879 or office@autismguernsey.org.gg with your preferred location and time. Many thanks.
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FASHION SHOW & AUCTION
22nd June
We are now taking donations of good quality, clean summer clothes, handbags, shoes, fascinators/hats and costume jewellery. If you have anything you would like to donate, please contact Mandy on 232879 or office@autismguernsey.org.gg. Many thanks.
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CARERS GUERNSEY & GUERNSEY DISABILITY ALLIANCE
We are pleased to announce that Carers Guernsey and the Guernsey Disability Alliance are now sharing our offices in La Grande Rue, St. Martin's. It's extremely beneficial for all three charities to be working closely together, as we complement each other in the services we provide.
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NEW OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST & SENSORY INTEGRATION
Autism Guernsey is extremely lucky to have secured a new Occupational Therapist to work with individuals with autism, specialising in Sensory Integration. This post is partly funded by the Social Investment Fund for which we are immensely grateful. Our new O/T will be commencing on 1st March.
This new position will greatly complement the other services we provide to the autism community.
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GOLDEN GUERNSEY GOAT CALENDAR
We still have some goat calendars left to purchase for £5 from either Autism Guernsey or Alliance. The calendar includes photos of all 52 goats, together with photos of the public taken with the goats.
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TOY & BOOK SALE
Unfortunately the Round Table Christmas Fayre at Beau Sejour had to be cancelled this year, however we still managed to hold a mini toy & book sale in our offices in December. This raised £254.50 for the charity. It was a rainy, windy day so thank you to everybody who ventured out and supported us. It's much appreciated.
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PUFFIN PARADE!
Due to the massive success of our Golden Guernsey Goat Trail, Autism Guernsey is extremely excited to have partnered up with the GSPCA to hold a Puffin Parade (Trail) in 2023. 60 giant puffins will go on display around the Island commencing the beginning of April 2023 to coincide with the annual landing of puffins around Herm.
Sponsorship of each puffin will be £1,000 each. We will therefore shortly be seeking sponsors and artists for this exciting initiative. If you are interested in taking part, please initially contact Mandy on office@autismguernsey.org.gg.
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CHRISTIES GROUP INITIATIVE
We are extremely thankful to the Christies Group, including Christies, The Boathouse, Crabby Jacks & Chop, for continuing their initiative to raise money for Autism Guernsey. They kindly raised £477 during the last quarter of 2021 which we couldn't be more thankful for.
20p is added to each food bill at any of the Christies Group restaurants after midday, however this is totally discretionary and customers have the option to opt out.
This initiative is kindly sponsored by Enjoy Guernsey, a free app for locals. https://www.enjoy.gg
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ROCKMOUNT INITIATIVE
We are also extremely grateful to https://www.therocky.gg/ for also adding 10p to each food bill to raise money for Autism Guernsey. This is totally discretionary and customers have the option to opt out if they prefer.
The Rockmount have kindly raised an amazing £1,547 during the last quarter of 2021 for Autism Guernsey, which we are extremely thankful for.
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SALE OF CARDS
Pip Looijenga kindly produced some fantastic artwork which she created into cards for sale and raised £44 for Autism Guernsey. Thank you so much Pip, your artwork is incredible.
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HAND-MADE GONKS
We are extremely grateful to Caroline Dorey who made some wonderful Christmas gonks and sold them, along with some other hand made items, in aid of Autism Guernsey, raising £110. Many thanks Caroline, it's really appreciated.
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UPCYCLED JEWELLERY
Extreme thanks goes to Gil Darling who upcycled some jewellery creating beautiful new items, which she sold in aid of Autism Guernsey raising £50. Thank you so much Gil for your continued support of our Charity.
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OTHER GENEROUS DONATIONS RECEIVED
£300 - Round Table kindly donated £300 to each charity who would have attended the Christmas Fayre
£100 - Giving.gg donations
£25 - Jill Despres - Lottery win refund
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TEEN LIFE PROGRAMME
Following the success of our previous Teen Life programme, we are pleased to be able to offer parents of our teenage clients another course commencing in March. The aim of the programme is to bring parents together to share information, experiences and ideas in a structured way. The subjects include self-esteem, stress & anxiety, puberty and education.
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EARLYBIRD PLUS
Co-op Helping Hands have kindly donated £1,000 to enable us to deliver another course of Earlybird Plus to parents of our younger clients aged 4-10. The aim is to bring parents/carers together to help develop a better understanding of autism and evidence based strategies, to empower and inform parents and to better understand and support behaviour. The course will commence in May.
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MINDFULNESS PROGRAMME
One of our Wellbeing & Enablement Facilitators recently completed a well being course with dialectical focus and will be delivering this to staff in February and adult clients in March to support their wellbeing. The aim of the course is to develop acceptance skills in order to feel more comfortable with making changes.
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ANXIETY GREMLINS
Rothschilds are kindly continuing to provide funding for Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for children and young people with autism under the age of 25. This will commence in March and will be delivered in the form of the Anxiety Gremlin programme for children with extreme anxiety. The programme uses fun and activities to teach the children how to manage their anxiety by changing how they think and act.
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HOW CAN YOU HELP SUPPORT AUTISM GUERNSEY
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Lottery
The primary aim of the Autism Guernsey Lottery is to ensure the sustainability of the Charity. Autism Guernsey offers a range of support in the local community including an Outreach Service where staff give one-to-one help to individuals and families. Demand outstrips our capacity and therefore we have a significant waiting list with referrals for support being received on a daily basis.
The charity receives no financial support from the States and has to rely on fundraising and charitable donations to continue the valuable work within the community.
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Donation
If you would like to make a donation, please either send us a cheque made payable to Autism Guernsey or you can request bank details for a bank transfer from Autism Guernsey at T: 232879 or office@autismguernsey.org.gg. We are also happy to accept cash donations.
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Raffle Prizes
A significant part of our fundraising events is raffles and we are always looking for raffle prizes, however big or small. If you have anything you would like to donate, please contact Autism Guernsey on T: 232879 or office@autismguernsey.org.gg
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"Thank you so much for taking the time to visit us at the GTA to help us understand the challenges of autism. You gave us some really insightful examples of the difference between what someone with autism will experience, to what someone without autism will experience which was really interesting. It was lovely to meet you all.
"I found the presentation extremely informative, we now have options to change the way we present ourselves individually whilst being in contact with people on the spectrum."
"I found today’s session really insightful and interesting I could have stayed for much longer learning more. Although I was aware of autism as an issue going into the session, I don’t think I had any real idea of the practical implications which that condition has and how what we do and operate can impact on people with autism. I would be really interested to learn more and also to see what we can do at the GTA to make ourselves more accessible and approachable for people using our services. Fantastic session – thank you so much to Fran, Julia and Sandra for teaching us so much."
"This session opened my eyes to the challenges that people who are on the autistic spectrum face. Hearing first hand from Sandra and Fran was extremely powerful and engaging and the different exercises helped me to see the world through their eyes. It was very informative and really well presented. I would highly recommend this training to every organisation."
"I thought the session was really interesting, well-considered and effectively highlighted the sensory and social issues that people with autism have to face."
"XX says “ she ruffs ❤️❤️❤️ It, art is the best bit of club”
"XX did these while in lockdown via zoom with Rob. XX was real pleased that he could do the virtual classes, it was one of his few contacts he had outside the house during lockdown."
“I love art at club. I enjoy doing it there because it’s relaxing and no one bothers you while you are doing it. We have been able to make custom caps, pots and painting. It’s super relaxing. There is always loads of equipment and Rob is kind, artistic and complimentary. He makes me feel good about myself”
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