PRESIDENT’S APPEAL 2010

Dear Friends and Supporters,

The Dolphin Society assists elderly and disabled owner/occupiers in and around Bristol to retain their independence and quality of life are illustrated in the following ways:

Home security

We have installed Tunstall alarm units to 600 home telephone landlines in recent years. Participants wear as a small pendant alarm.  If assistance is required, a single button is pressed, which initiates dial-up to an on-call operator. A sensitive microphone and a powerful loudspeaker enable a conversation to take place.

Hardship Fund

Hardship Deserving individuals, having fallen through the net of statutory provision, have been helped by our £15,000 hardship fund for disabled adaptations and heating repairs, in partnership with Bristol Care and Repair, whom we awarded a similar grant last year to buy a new van for their trades people and repair materials.

Stair Lifts

A stair lift may be the only way that a disabled person regains access to the upper floor of their house. As units can cost £5,000, we retain ownership in partnership with Bristol Charities. On occasions, they are recovered, serviced and re-issued.

Shopping

In pursuance of our longstanding interest, and in partnership with Bristol Age Concern, we help those who can no longer go to the shops by themselves.

Day Centres

We give pump-prime funding to assist day centres in providing community support for elderly residents, including hot lunches, classes, activities and events. We have periodically provided grants to the Trinity, St Philips and Upper Horfield Community Trusts, and recently contributed to the cost of a community bus in Congresbury.

Contacts

The first port of call for assistance is our new administrator, Mrs June Moody, who has a wide experience of the Bristol charity sector. Our visitor volunteers and partner organisations undertake domiciliary assessments with a friendly approach and an experienced eye.

Our former administrator, Mrs Maureen Nicholls has retired after 18 years service. All of us involved in the charity, beneficiaries, supporters, visitors and officers, pay tribute to her sympathetic approach, hard work and wise counsel.

The accompanying pages give further examples of the ways in which we fulfil our charitable mission. I hope that you like what we do and are moved to support this year’s appeal. If possible, your donation should reach us by Colston Day, 13 November.

Yours sincerely,

Jos Moule