1Voice are very proud to announce that they have been highly commended in the Augmenta-tive and Alternative Communication (AAC) category at a recent awards ceremony. The 2017 Shine a Light Awards, run by Pearson in partner-ship with The Communication Trust, took place in London and was hosted by singer and theatre star Gareth Gates. The Shine a Light Awards is a national awards scheme that celebrates innova-tive work and excellent practice in supporting children and young people’s communication development. Angie McCormack, Chair of the Board of Trustees said: “Our trustees and volunteers are extremely proud that the work of 1Voice has been recognised in this way.” Chris Hall, Director of Clinical Assessment at Pearson, said: “Congratulations to 1Voice for its achievement. This parent-led charity is truly unique and innovative – there really is no other organisation out there that does what 1Voice does. They excel in making AAC fun and accessi-ble, giving greater independence to children with speech, language and communication needs.”

Speak Out

Shine a Light Awards 2016/17

Volume , Issue

Registered Charity No. 1141886

A world where the voice of every child and adult is listened to and heard,

however they communicate

Charlotte Seth — Highly Commended Finalist — Young Person of the Year

Congratulations to our member, eight-year-old Charlotte Seth, who was highly commended in the Young Person of the Year category at the awards ceremony for her dedication and commitment to developing not only her own communication skills but that of other local children. Char-lotte said: “I feel excited and happy.” We would like to tell you more about Charlotte’s achievements in a future issue.

Gregor Gilmour—Winner—Young Person of the Year

We are incredibly proud of our trustee, Gregor Gilmour, who won the Young Person of the Year Award. Since leaving full time education Gregor has mentored other young people who use AAC. He volunteers one day a week at Bridge College, Manchester, assisting in the sessions for communication aid users. He also works with Leeds

University to help educate and enlighten student nurses about AAC and volunteers at Manchester Metropolitan University on various AAC research projects. He also travels all over the North West to support young AAC users and even visits a mainstream school once a week to support an AAC user there, which he organised himself after meeting the teacher. Gregor said: “I am so happy to have won this award. It means a lot to me to be recognised for the work that I do. I would like to thank Angie McCormack… for nominating me and to say a big well done to all the other finalists.”

1Voice—Highly Commended Finalist—AAC Award

When you shop at over 4,000 top stores including Amazon, Expedia and John Lewis via Give as you Live, they'll turn a percentage of your spend into free funds for our charity! Simply sign up, search for the retailer and start shopping. Get started today! https://www.giveasyoulive.com/join/1voice-ct

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Branch, Pop-up & Member News

1voicelakesandbay@1voice.info FB: Lakes&Bay Closed group

The Lakes and Bay branch have been very busy organising a varied programme of activities.

In February the branch enjoyed a chat whilst enjoying pancakes and ice cream in a local Ice Cream Parlour. In April they had an interesting visit to the Lakeland Motor Museum and even got the chance to sit in some of the exhibits. This was followed by lunch and a good chat.

At the end of June members enjoyed a fun-packed weekend at Bendrigg Lodge. Activities included canoeing, caving, climbing, archery, tubing and the zip wire.

We would like to say a big thank you to the Charity, Give Them a Sporting Chance for generously funding the weekend and to Jennie Selby for recommending 1Voice Lakes & Bay to them.

1Voice South East 1Voice South East has been busy after a break (something to do with one of them being in Outer Mongolia!). A ‘Heroes and Zeros’ event was held in March where

members explored goodies and baddies from the world of books, films and TV with fun games, quizzes and activities. In June, members were invited to take part in ‘Adventures in Wonderland’, including an Alice in Wonderland themed drama workshop along with games and activities.

Will is a 1Voice Member who likes to create pieces of art. He agreed to tell us more about the process. How do you create your art?

I create my art by myself on my computer using a special joystick. How long does it take?

It takes up to 45 days to finish it all.

Do you share your art with others?

Sometimes I share with my friends and my music group’s members.

Will’s Art

1Voice North East Pop-up Event

In February, the branch, in conjunction with the Speech Therapy Society of Newcastle University,

organised a Comedy Workshop. AAC users were given the chance to work with some local comedi-ans to learn about improvisation comedy. The comedy group, Spontaneous Wrecks, then performed a fundraising event in the evening to raise money for 1Voice. The Event raised an amazing total of £455 and our thanks go to all those involved.

Dates for your Diary:

Please note that 1Voice Members are welcome at any 1Voice Event. 13 August 2017 1Voice Lancs Bowling Trip. 10 September 2017 1Voice 1Day at Communication Matters Conference, Leeds. Check the 1Voice website for details of upcoming events— www.1voice.info/events.

1Voice Lancs took a trip to Space in June. Members made the most of the sensory activi-ties on offer and then enjoyed having a chat in the café after-wards.

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Social Media

An Interview with….. In our regular feature we aim to interview one of our Members. This time it is Jodi Turner, a 1Voice Role Model. How old are you? 25

Where do you live? Hutton, near Preston, Lancashire

How do you communicate? I use a Smartbox Grid Pad with a head mouse.

What’s your favourite film or TV show? My favourite film is Paddington.

Who is your celebrity crush? Olly Murs

Who inspires you? Lisa Simpson of Lisa Simpson Inclusive Dance. She is non verbal and

uses the Simpson Board which she made to choreograph and run dance workshops. She showed

me it is possible for me to do this too.

What was your proudest moment? Performing on stage at the Royal Opera House in Covent

Garden, London.

Where is your favourite place in the world? Disneyland, Paris. I am still a Disney

Princess at heart.

What would you like to achieve in the next 5 years? I would like to be in supported

living. I would like to carry on dancing and performing. I would like to continue running dance workshops

enabling others, whatever their ability, to dance.

What’s your favourite song? Helen Quiller’s song, ‘The Moment has Gone’ because it reflects how I

feel.

What are your hobbies? Dance, drama, listening to music.

What is your worst habit? Have I got any bad habits?! Mum says it’s grinding my teeth and repeat-

ing myself over and over again in a loud voice!

If you could have any superpower what would it be? My magic wand would take away pain.

What is your favourite 1voice memory? Chocolate, banana, pizza! My first 1 Voice Weekend in

Blackpool in 2002. I had never met anyone else who used a communication aid until then. It was amazing.

What does 1Voice mean to you? I have made lots of 1 Voice friends who like me use a communica-tion aid so understand how we talk. We all get on so well together and I love meeting up with them. When I look back, 1Voice has given me confidence to use my communication aid and helped me find my voice.

Why not check out Helen Quiller’s work on You Tube—search for ‘Helen Quiller’.

Watch Banana, Pizza on the 1Voice You Tube Channel—subscribe at 1voicemovies.

Our Trustee, Megan Glynn has been busy updating our Pinterest boards. Search for 1voiceaac and take a look.

We have reached over a 1000 Facebook Page Likes. Thank you to everyone who has helped us reach this goal by liking and sharing our page—1VoiceCT.

1Voice 1Day 2017 The fourth annual 1Voice 1Day Event takes place on Sunday 10 September, prior to the start of the Communication Matters (CM) Conference. The theme for the day is ‘Around The World’. More information is on our website www.1voice.info/events.

You can register online at http://bit.ly/1V1D17

1Voice, The Apex, 2 Sheriffs Orchard, Coventry CV1 3PP. Phone: 07943 618525 Email: info@1voice.info

Contact :

Thank You

Speak Out Page 4

Kate’s Challenge All our Trustees work hard to support our mem-bers. However, Kate McCallum deserves a special mention. On the 1 January she set herself the challenge of walking a total of 999 miles and swimming 21 miles, the distance of Morecambe to Monaco, to raise funds for 1Voice! Kate hopes to reach the finish line at our national residential weekend at the end of July. As at 11 July, Kate has completed the swim-ming and had 60 miles of walking still to go.

To make a donation and support Kate with her challenge visit her fund-

raising page http://bit.ly/swimwalkchallenge. Thank you Kate!

1Voice relies entirely on voluntary donations and receives no government funding. Funds raised help us to put on events including the National Residential Weekend; to support our role models and volunteers; and to continue to expand our branch network.

Thank you to Margaret and Keith Makin for their very gener-ous donation of £6,250 (including Gift Aid), in memory of their daughter, Shelley Makin, a former 1Voice Member. Shelley attended a number of 1Voice events as a Role Model and loved every minute of them. She not only gained a huge amount of enjoyment and pleasure from attending events but also confidence and a sense of independence. Donations from Shelley’s funeral and the Pink Party held in her memory to-talled a further £65. Margaret and Keith say that there are two things that were closest to Shelley’s heart about 1Voice: the Role Model Programme and telling jokes. The Trustees have agreed to hold a joke competition at the National Resi-dential Weekend in Shelley’s memory. The large donation has been set aside for role model training in the future.

A big thank you to Ian Cope who completed the Manchester 10k, after an absence from the event of nearly 10 years! Ian chose to support 1Voice as the charity is helping his 12 year old daughter to find her voice using assisted communication. Ian raised over £660 pounds in donations which will be generously matched by his employ-er, HSBC. Thank you Ian.

Order your t-shirt, hoodie or badge 1Voice t-shirts, polos and hoodies can be ordered directly from Inch Embroi-dery. 1Voice benefits from 10% of all sales. Clothing is available in a variety of colours for both children and adults. To place your order go to http://bit.ly/InchEmb.

Find us at 1VoiceCT.

Follow us on Twitter @1VoiceAAC.

Thank you to Javed Moore who raised a wonderful £75 by organising a music event called ‘New Jav Swing’. Javed is passionate about RnB music and started DJ’ing in 2016. Javed has used a communication for about 20 years and says over the years that he has seen non-verbal people strug-gle to communicate their feelings and he wanted to support a charity that helps people use their communication aids more effectively.

A huge thank you to Jessie’s Fund for their generous donation of £1,750 to cover the costs of the musicians’ fees at our Sound of 1Voice National Residential Weekend 2017. Jessie’s Fund helps children with serious illness, complex needs, and communication difficulties through the therapeutic use of music.