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We were very sorry to hear that one of our volunteers, Margaret, had passed away recently and we want to express our deepest condolences to her friends and family.
She was one of SRSB’s longstanding volunteers. She had visited the centre every week for over 30 years. She quietly made a huge difference over those years, but never asked for any thanks or attention.
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Margaret began volunteering for us in our old building on Mappin Street after taking early retirement from teaching and started out by doing activities, craft and bingo. When we moved back to our newly refurbished building she continued to run a weekly Craft Group and hardly ever missed a session.
Margaret also regularly initiated fundraising activities, for example knitting Easter bunnies, Christmas decorations and making lavender bags.
She also encouraged local community groups to knit our Ellie mascot elephants so that we can sell these to raise funds.
Her enthusiasm and dedication never faltered, she constantly tried to keep our visually impaired clients engaged and busy with new ideas. When people are adapting to their sight loss, our groups encourage them to regain confidence and interest.
More recently she took on the role of a Tele-Friend keeping in touch with a group of clients who may be at risk of becoming socially isolated.
Over the past 30 years she has made a huge difference to many people with sight loss in Sheffield, and all in her own modest way. Without the support of people like Margaret, our charity would not be able to provide the range of activities that it does.
Just before the lockdown in 2020, we attended the Sheffield Star’s Women of Sheffield Award ceremony at the Kenwood Hotel, and we were delighted to hear that one of our nominees, Margaret, had been shortlisted.
Margaret didn’t win, but she had a fabulous night and had a lot of recognition for her work.
She will be missed and her support and kindness has meant a lot to many people.