News
Insights Summer 2023
Hello and welcome to the Summer edition of Insights, Guide Dogs SA/NT’s client newsletter. We hope you enjoy keeping up to date on what’s happening at Guide Dogs SA/NT and reading the wonderful stories and tips for our community.
In This Newsletter
Guide Dogs and Adelaide Fringe
Connected Together
Meditating Through Art
Congratulations Antony!
What’s On? Upcoming Events
These Puppies Will Change Lives
October School Holiday Sessions
Client Spotlight: Jack Braun
Guide Dogs Christmas Office Hours
Guide Dogs and Adelaide Fringe
Guide Dogs SA/NT is pleased to join the Adelaide Fringe as an Access Partner again in 2024. The Adelaide Fringe values being inclusive and welcoming, and is committed to ensuring that artists and audiences of all abilities can make the most of their program. Guide Dogs SA/NT is assisting with this mission by providing Human Guide Training to staff and volunteers, enabling them to be a Human Guide to confidently and safely guide someone with low vision or blindness.
The Adelaide Fringe 2024 Program is out now and shows are available to book by clicking the link below.
Connected Together
Connected Together is a national program which aims to support the growth of peer led networks and community activities inclusive of arts and culture, sport and recreation and social and community participation for people with low vision or blindness their carers, family members or support networks.
Funded by the Information, Linkages and Capacity Building (ILC) grant Program, Department of Social Services, Australian Government, the program commenced in June 2021, with recent extension of the program to June 2024.
Since the program commenced, Connected Together has supported 51 peer groups across Australia, representing over 2,300 people living with low vision or blindness, and enabled participation of over 3000 people in inclusive activities such as adaptive sports try-outs, peer meetups, accessible arts and cultural activities, health and wellbeing classes, audiobook clubs and online digital literacy.
If you would like to find out more about the peer groups and the Connected Together project you can visit Catch UP where you will find several peer group stories in addition to a community directory. The community directory provides information on the contacts and details of peer groups in your area. Due to the increased number of peer groups involved in the Connected Together Project – we are currently updating the community directory with the new edition available in the New Year.
For more information, please reach out to Simon Wong at simon.wong@guidedogs.org.au
Meditating Through Art
72-year-old Guide Dogs client, Trevor, is full of life and a great inspiration to many in the Guide Dogs community. Trevor loves coffee, exploring places, meeting new people, and creating art. He is also a regular attendee of our Social Happy Hour.
Trevor notes that life with vision loss is challenging, but he feels good within himself and enjoys his life.
For Trevor, art is like meditation. Touching the paints and playing with colours taken him back to his childhood. Painting is a tactile experience for Trevor and he tries to portray places he has been or ideas he has through his paintings.
We were excited to see some of Trevor’s recent artworks. You can see one in the image below.
Congratulations Antony!
Congratulations to our client, Antony, who recently received an award from the Australian Society for Music Education (ASME). Antony received second place in ASME Section N: Sequenced, Rock/Pop Instrumental Year 7-12 or up to age 18.
Well done Antony for this achievement!
Would you like to be included in our next newsletter? Please contact Salina on (08) 8203 8347 or email Salina.Shrestha@guidedogs.org.au, or contact Simon on (08) 8203 8334 or email Simon.Wong@guidedogs.org.au and share what you have been up to.
Upcoming Events
Lunch on the Lawns
Her Excellency, the Honourable Frances Adamson AC, Governor of South Australia and Patron of Guide Dogs SA/NT, along with Mr Bunten, invites you to Lunch On The Lawns.
Lunch On The Lawns encourages members of the public to visit the Government House gardens, bring a picnic lunch, spread out a rug or unfold a camping chair and enjoy the surroundings, while listening to a community band or orchestra.
These free events are held on the first Friday of the month from 12pm to 2pm. Dates for 2024 are 5th January, 2nd February, 1st March, and 3rd May.
On the same dates, free garden tours of the Government House grounds, hosted by the Friends of the Botanic Gardens, will run from 10:45am to 11:45am. Registrations are required for these guided tours – phone (08) 8203 9800 to register.
Social Happy Hour – To a new beginning: Resolutions
Fri 19 January 2024 11:00am
Join us for an uplifting session designed to set the tone for the year ahead. Engage in ice-breaking activities, reflect on personal and professional goals, and immerse yourself in a guided meditation for a positive start to the new year.
You will also hear moving stories from our regular social happy hour attendee and client Trevor Harwood about his highs and lows as a Veteran and how he faces life after vision loss with a positive outlook.
Audio Described tour of Tarnanthi 2023 Exhibition
The Art Gallery of South Australia, the Tarnanthi Festival returns in 2023 to showcase the latest contemporary works by hundreds of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists from across the continent.
Until 6 January 2024, you can take a guided tour of Tarnanthi with audio description.
These Puppies Will Change Lives
We were recently excited to welcome the NOP Training Group to Guide Dogs SA/NT! These 12 adorable puppies will hopefully grow up to become lifechanging Guide or Assistance Dogs.
Before our puppies can become life-changing companions, they undergo extensive training with our expert staff. The process of a puppy becoming a working dog takes more than two years and costs over $50,000. Once our puppies have completed their training, they support someone living with low vision, blindness, or other specialised needs.
University student Emily has been supported by Guide Dogs SA/NT for several years and was recently matched with her first Guide Dog, Tanner.
“There are not enough words to articulate how Tanner has changed my life,” Emily explains.
“Tanner is all I have ever wanted and so much more. Not only does he help me navigate, but he makes me feel safe when I am traveling somewhere alone as a woman with a disability. He is simultaneously my best friend, my baby, and the love of my life. I can’t imagine my life without him.”
Click the button below to learn more.
October School Holiday Sessions
During the October school holidays, we welcomed eight students from regional South Australia and metro Adelaide to participate in our School Holiday Program.
Students participated in a range of activities, some of which focused on a musical theme and others helped to further develop orientation and mobility skills. On Day 1, students enjoyed a drumming workshop with Rhythm Culture, found objects in a scavenger hunt in the Adelaide Central Market, and participated in a tour of the Old Treasury Building. On Day 2, the students learnt about musicality and music production, before finishing the program with an obstacle course at Challenge Hill.
The students all had a great time learning new skills and working together on different tasks.
Client Spotlight: Jack Braun
We recently received some great feedback from Jack, one of our clients in the Northern Territory. Jack had very limited supports in place and was reluctant to use a cane in the community. With a new Support Coordinator, Jack was able to utilise Occupational Therapy and Orientation & Mobility supports through Guide Dogs SA/NT.
Jack now has a cane which features colours of the Aboriginal flag – red, yellow, and black. He is now happy to be using his cane in public and has been working on learning new cane skills and walking independently.
We pleased to see the progress Jack has made and look forward to seeing what else he achieves with our team.
Guide Dogs Christmas Office Hours
The Guide Dogs SA/NT office will be closed from 5pm on Friday 22 December 2023 and will reopen at 8:30am on Tuesday 2 January 2024.
We hope you enjoy a happy and safe festive season with your loved ones.
