Strategy(2015).

pdf

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Galloways Society for the Blind

Howick House, Howick Park Avenue
Penwortham, Preston, Lancashire PR1 0LS

01772 744148
@gallowaysblind

/galloways

www.galloways.org.uk

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2014/15 STRATEGY DOCUMENT

Reg Charity No .526088

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HELEN KELLER

IT IS A TERRIBLE THING
TO SEE BUT HAVE NO VISION

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Strategy(2015).pdf

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> Contents

04

Introduction

05

Background

09

Our mission and vision

11

What makes us special

13

Making our aspirations a reality

17

Challenging perceptions

19

Our commitment for the future

20

A listening organisation

21

Galloways strategy tree

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> Introduction
We believe that a strategy should be a living document which guides
our organisation and keeps us focused on our agreed priority areas.
Although we are living in unprecedented times of austerity, we are
committed to challenging the difficulties facing blind and partially
sighted people.
Galloways has a long and proud history of serving blind and partially
sighted people and underpinning this work continues to be a strong
and positive culture committed to reaching even more people affected
by the devastation of sight loss.

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We are committed to working in partnership with sight loss and other

organisations to develop new and meaningful opportunities for blind
and partially sighted people. In doing so we are ensuring that we
maximise our resources and remain focused on our core high quality
services.
We have seen significant change over the past 12 months and so the
first year of this strategy will focus on the reshaping of our services and
adopting a thematic approach to our service development. We are
aspirational but also mindful of the economic climate and so we will
develop all aspects of the charity in line with a carefully managed
budget. Our strategic plan is aspirational and therefore reliant on
increasing income over the period of the strategy.
We remain committed in our passion to reach more people affected by
sight loss with high quality, high impact services. Our commitment is to
develop services alongside blind and partially sighted people, thus
ensuring that we are truly an organisation of blind and partially sighted
people for blind and partially sighted people.
| Chief Executive

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> Background information

ges,
a
ll
a
f
o
le
p
o
e
cts p
Sight loss affe
creasingly
in
e
r
a
e
w
r
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old
but as we get
sight loss.
e
c
n
ie
r
e
p
x
e
likely to

Sight Loss - Some Facts

1 in 5 people aged 75 and over are living with sight loss.
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People from black and minority ethnic communities are at greater risk
of some of the leading causes of sight loss.
Adults with learning disabilities are 10 times more likely to be blind or
partially sighted than the general population.
Age-Related Macular Degeneration is by far the leading cause of
blindness in adults. Other significant causes of sight loss are glaucoma,
cataracts and diabetic retinopathy.
The number of people in the UK with sight loss is set to increase
dramatically in the future. As we get older we are increasingly likely to
experience sight loss, and the UK population is ageing. In addition,
there is a growing incidence in key underlying causes of sight loss, such
as obesity and diabetes. This means that, without action, the numbers
of people with sight problems in the UK are likely to increase
dramatically over the next 25 years.
According to the Royal National Institute for the Blind, in 2011
Lancashire and Sefton had an estimated 46,000 people living with
visual impairment. This is predicted to rise to 63,500 by 2020.

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There are an estimated 46,000

people living with sight loss in
Lancashire and Sefton

46,000
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50%
over 50% of all sight loss
can be avoided

MILLION
People in the UK are living
with sight loss

Every day in the UK 100 people in the

will start to lose their sight

60

Depression is
significantly higher
amongst people
with sight problems

Around 60% of people

living with sight loss are women.

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impaired
y
ll
a
u
is
v
f
o
lf
Almost ha
' cut off
ly
e
t
le
p
m
o
'c
r
erately' o
d
o
'm
l
e
fe
le
p
peo
them.
d
n
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o
r
a
s
g
in
nd th
from people a

Evidence shows that visual impairment is strongly linked with social

and economic inequalities; late presentation in glaucoma is linked
with socioeconomic status and older age; significant gaps in the
provision of primary eye care services (GP surgeries and
Optometrists) in deprived areas. Ethnicity is also a factor
encompassing social, lifestyle, cultural, environmental, and genetic
factors.

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Almost half of visually impaired people feel 'moderately' or

'completely' cut off from people and things around them. Older
people with sight loss are three times more likely to experience
depression than people with good vision. One-third of visually
impaired people of working age are in employment.
The emotional and psychological impact of sight loss is profound
(Burmedi and Becker et al, 2002) and sight is the sense that people
fear losing the most (College of Optometrists, 2011). Depression is
significantly higher amongst people with sight problems (Evans,
Fletcher and Wormald 2007) and feelings of wellbeing are
significantly lower when compared to people without sight loss
(McManus and Lord, 2012). Receiving practical advice and support
as early as possible in the sight loss journey is invaluable to someone
experiencing sight loss (Boyce, 2011 and Douglas et al, 2008).

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OUR TALKING NEWS

SERVICES PLAY A VITAL PART
IN KEEPING PEOPLE CONNECTED
TO THE WORLD AT LARGE

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N
O
I
S
I
V
R
OU

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Our long term goal is to see a world

in which every visually impaired
person realises his or her hopes and
dreams and fulfills their potential as
an individual and a member of their
own community

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N
O
I
S
S
I
M
OUR
We exist to represent and support visually
impaired people in practical ways in order
to ensure that now and in the future people:

Feel empowered to take

control of their own lives

will experience
opportunities which may
otherwise not be
available

Feel engaged and a

valuable member of their
own community

Have access to
information allowing
people to make informed
decisions about all
aspects of their lives

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Galloways will work in partnership with visually impaired people, other

organisations and the local community to achieve this and ensure that
visually impaired people are able to influence change that makes a
difference to their own lives.

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> What makes us special?

Galloways has a long and proud history of supporting blind and
partially sighted people to reach their own personal aspiration. We
are committed to working in collaboration with other organisations
including those in the sight loss sector.
The way we work is critical to our success and we call this our
organisational culture our values. Culture is key to achieving
organisational excellence. Values are important building blocks of
culture and are deep-seated and enduring. We have committed to
six core values which guide all our work throughout Galloways:

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1. Deliver Excellence through Service

We believe that anything worth doing is worth doing with PASSION.
We have to be creative and innovative to ensure we support people
to identify their own solutions. We go above and beyond the
average level of service to create an emotional impact on the
people we support and to give them a positive story they can take
with them the rest of their lives.
2. Embrace and Drive Change
The world in which we live is constantly changing and so we
position ourselves to anticipate change and embrace it with open
arms. We never accept or become comfortable with the status quo
and we are always thinking of ways to change processes,
perspectives, and opinions, hopefully for the better. Without
change, we cant continue to provide a superior service.

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3. Pursue Growth and Learning

We are committed to S-T-R-E-T-C-H-I-N-G ourselves both
professionally and organisationally. We recognise that we wont
always "get it right, but thats the challenge we gladly accept. The
only way we can solve new problems that arise is by learning and
growing to meet them head-on.
4. Build Open and Honest Relationships with Communication

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We believe in fairness and transparency, we are an open book in all

our work. Our honesty when interacting with others leads to strong
relationships built on trust and faith. We can use these strong
relationships to accomplish so much more than we could otherwise.
Its not easy getting there! We always act with integrity, compassion
and loyalty, and we are a good listener. At the end of the day its
not what we say or do, but how we make people feel that matters
the most.
5. Do More With Less
We are always seeking new ways to make Galloways more efficient
and improve our services. There is always room for improvement,
and we always feel a sense of urgency when making those
improvements. We want not only to provide great service for blind
and partially sighted people but provide the greatest service in our
sector! We set and exceed our own high standards for getting more
done with the same or even fewer resources than before.
6. Be Passionate and Determined
What keeps us going? Its passion for our work and our culture.
Were inspired because we believe in what we are doing and the
people we work alongside. We dont take thatll never work for an
answer. We have a positive and optimistic attitude as we aim to
inspire everyone around us.

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> Making our aspirations a reality

The very act of actually seeing the world around us is an
astonishing thing, taken for granted by many. While sight loss can
occur at any age, it occurs most often among mature adults. Like
any other major life event, vision loss can bring feelings of
loneliness, helplessness, anxiety, and depression. We are committed
to working with blind and partially sighted people to realise their
potential through our many programmes of activities and support.

Working together: Service delivery is guided by our commitment to

involve blind and partially sighted people in service design and
delivery. We remain focused on our identified core services and
ensure that we clearly promote what we do as widely as possible,
creating more opportunities for blind and partially sighted people to
access our support.

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Working as part of a team: We will continue to work with partner

organisations to ensure that visually impaired people have access to
services within their own communities.

Working with the community: We will further develop our incredibly

successful volunteer programme and we will use this invaluable area
to support all aspects of our services and fundraising.
Working in challenging times: We have recognised that at a time of
economic downturn, services for blind and partially sighted will
reduce even further. Galloways is committed to ensuring that blind
and partially sighted people have a voice and opportunities the
sighted world takes for granted. not what we say or do, but how we
make people feel that matters the most.

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SIGHT IS THE SENSE WE FEAR LOSING THE MOST

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> Tackling the devastation of sight loss

People say that out of all the senses, sight is the one they most fear
losing. We bring about changes for people who are already living
with a visual impairment or who develop eye conditions that cannot
be avoided. At Galloways we are committed to reducing the effects
of sight loss by reducing the feeling of isolation, loneliness and
desperation. We support people to remain independent as long as
possible through a range of services.

Reaching people as early as possible

We will build on our existing work with the first point of access for
people affected by sight loss hospitals, rehabilitation officers, GPs
and Optometric services. We will bridge the gap between clinical
services and everyday living.

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Coping with the emotional effects of sight loss

We will develop new ways to support people to come to terms with
the emotional impact of sight loss. Our services will always be
designed and delivered with the individual at the heart of all we do.
Reducing isolation and loneliness
We will reach even more blind and partially sighted people by
listening and designing new and innovative services. We will also
continue to deliver services that provide information, advice and new
experiences for blind and partially sighted people.
Health and wellbeing
We will build on our highly successful information days by providing
information, advice and guidance on all aspects of a persons life.
Our services encourage both physical and mental wellbeing and we
will ensure the individual is at the centre of all our work.

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Equipment and information

We will build on the exemplar service we provide through Lancashire
Vision; providing people with information, advice and guidance on
daily living aids, equipment and information technology.

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> Challenging perceptions

We have a long and proud history of enabling people to challenge
their own perceptions of sight loss through many innovative
opportunities. Our ambition is to enable blind and partially sighted
people to take back the control many feel they have lost and to
aspire to a new future.

Building confidence and self esteem

We will provide a supportive and listening environment where we
can enable blind and partially sighted people to take back control of
their own lives. We will also reach more people with our innovative
outdoor pursuits programme aimed at providing new experiences
and rebuilding confidence and self-esteem.

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Holidays and breaks

We will continue to provide help and support to access our wide
range of days away, short breaks and holidays. Linking people with
new friends and providing new experiences.
Clubs and social groups
We will build on the success of our associated groups and clubs
providing a variety of opportunities for blind and partially sighted
people across Lancashire and Sefton.
Information and entertainment
We will reach more people through our audio service enabling them to
listen to specialised publications and local news as well as our own
Galloways Eye. Through our newsletter, website and social media
platforms we will embrace every opportunity to keep people informed.

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> Our commitment for the future

The Society has a history spanning generations, to be precise 147
years. We are committed to working with blind and partially sighted
people and this means we have to look to the future.
Our commitment is to ensure that Galloways does not stand still
but understands the challenges facing blind and partially sighted
people now and in the future.

Challenging economic times

We will continue to develop our existing diverse range of income
streams to ensure the risks to Galloways are minimised. We will also
develop new fundraising opportunities and focus on the key
fundraising areas that generate the greatest income.

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Extending our reach

We will remain focused on reaching even more blind and partially
sighted people by promoting the work of Galloways across
Lancashire and Sefton. This requires us to be creative in the way we
communicate and embrace new technologies that can assist us to
reach future generations.
Embracing change
We will ensure that we are looking to future challenges facing blind
and partially sighted people so that we can provide cutting edge
advice and guidance rather than only providing reactive support.
Recognising diverse communities
We will work with all sections of the community to ensure equal
access to our services and support.

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> Galloways a listening organisation

Almost everybody working in the voluntary sector agrees that there is
always room for improvement. But it can be hard to know how to
improve and where to focus our efforts. The things we find particularly
problematic may not be the things that matter most to the people we
support. The solutions we find may make life much easier for us, but
are they helpful to blind and partially sighted people?
Listening to the people we serve has to be a routine part of what we do
on a daily basis. We are committed to ensuring that we listen and use
the valuable feedback we receive to shape our services now and in the
future. We can learn from the people we support to help us understand
the many challenges facing blind and partially sighted people.
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We are committed to actively encouraging feedback whether it is a

challenge, idea or suggestion to ensure we have a balanced view which
will enable us to continuously improve.

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However we need you to talk to us and help us to make a difference to

even more lives.

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Talk

face to face to our team at any of our offices

01772 744148
enquiries@galloways.org.uk

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> The Galloways Way

V
STRATEGIC AIMS

(What we will do 2015-2018)

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SUPPORTING AIMS
(Internal aims 2015-2018)

We will develop our work in 4

key areas

We will strengthen our

:organisation by:

1. Ensure that every visually

impaired persons voice is heard

1. Developing our partnerships

with other organisations

2. Provide a pro-active approach

of support and advice

2. Diversifying funding to provide

flexibility

3. Provide opportunities for

visually impaired people to
develop new skills

3. Widely communicating impact,

learning and outcomes

4. Champion the needs of visually

impaired people in society

4. Improving efficiency to use

resources to the best effect.

PHILOSOPHY/FRAMEWORK
(How we wish to work)

We are an organisation led by visually impaired people for visually

impaired people; we exist to serve this community and recognise that
it is made up of individuals requiring support, advice and guidance
specific to their individual needs. Everything we do is based on the
wider needs and wants of the visually impaired community which in
turn controls our direction and purpose.

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> The Measure of our Success

ccessful
u
s
e
r
a
e
w
w
o
s to kn
In order for u
bjectives.
o
l
u
f
g
in
n
a
e
clear and m
t
e
s
o
t
e
v
a
h
we

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Preventative services are vital to support people to adapt to living

with their sight loss, however, the support is not just relevant at the
point of sight loss, and should be available if there is a change to an
individuals circumstances. We will refocus and place a higher
emphasis on our services which reach people early in their sight loss
journey. This is why we aim to reach 600 people at the point of
diagnosis through our hospital based services and actively refer to
our information and advice service.

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Through our Talking Newspaper Service we will provide 60,000

publications to socially isolated people living in Lancashire, Sefton
and beyond.

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advice
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id
v
o
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p
l
il
w
This year we
cal people
lo
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0
,2
1
o
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& guidan

The provision of equipment and accompanying high quality advice is

critical for blind and partially sighted people. That is why we will
provide general advice and guidance to 1,200 blind and partially
sighted people living in Lancashire and Sefton.
Our social activities are a lifeline enabling blind and partially sighted
people to leave their own homes and enjoy social activities the sighted
population take for granted. We will provide 2000 hours of support at
our sites and in community settings.
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Galloways volunteers are amazing and enable us to provide more

support than our finances allow. We aim to build on the incredible
55,000 volunteer hours we currently receive and raise this to 60,500.

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We will provide even more opportunities to help people affected by

sight loss to rebuild their lives through our activities, education,
holidays and outdoor pursuits programmes. To do this we will provide
1,000 hours of varied activities.
General information advice and guidance is at the heart of all our
services. If we are not able to help, our intention is not to just signpost
people but to actively support people to engage with the other service
providers. We aim to provide 5,400 hours of information, advice and
guidance based on the need of the individual.
In order for us to achieve our aspiration to reach more people affected
by sight loss we have to increase our fundraising income. We aim to
increase our total fundraising income from 418,333 in 2014/15 to
579,500 in the budget for financial year 2015/16

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INCOME &
EXPENDITURE
GALLOWAYS & LANCASHIRE
VISION SERVICES TO 31.03.2014

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INCOME
TOTAL INCOME TO 31.03.14 896,991

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416,000

133,000

153,000

195,000

Fundraising
Income

Income Generating
Activities

Charitable
Activities

Investment
Income

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EXPENDITURE
TOTAL EXPENDITURE TO 31.03.14 1,003,409

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731,000

125,000

107,000

40,000

Charitable
Activities

Low Vision
Services

Fundraising
Costs

Governance &
Investment Management