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Award Finals for Alisha

Congratulations to our wonderful volunteer – Alisha, who has made the finals of the #SerioulsySocial awards.

Alisha brings never-ending joy and enthusiasm volunteering in our libraries, and we are thrilled to reveal that she has made it to the finals of the national Seriously Social Awards.

Hosted by Community Leisure UK, the awards shine a light on the social impact made by charitable trusts up and down the country.

Alisha has made the finals in the Outstanding Volunteer category for the contribution she has made in the development and launch of Cleethorpes Library’s new Sensory Room.

Alisha officially opened the calm, multi-sensory space in July this year after playing a crucial role in supporting library staff to select equipment for the room and renovate the space to appeal to other neurodiverse children and adults.

Alisha is 19 and has learning difficulties. She began volunteering in libraries in January 2024 through an arrangement with Linkage College.

Alisha was initially shy and very nervous, but with the support of her tutors and by working with members of the library team, she is now thriving. Volunteering weekly, Alisha supports many of our children and adult social groups.

Alisha is now an advocate for the library’s sensory room and tells lots of people about the wonderful space now available for families with children or young adults with sensory needs.

The Sensory Room has only been open a short time but is making a real difference to Lincs Inspire’s customers.

Anna Brader, operations manager at Lincs Inspire Libraries, said:

We are so proud of Alisha and how much she has grown in confidence since she started volunteering with us.

“When she first came to us, she was so quiet and shy that we wondered how she would cope, but she rose to the challenge and is such a big part of the library team these days that we find ourselves looking forward to Wednesday mornings, just so we can spend time with her.

“She is not only loved by us, but also by all the members of the groups that she helps with.

“Alisha is amazing and her input into the sensory room really helped us to ensure that the space was right for the users and her never ending joy and enthusiasm when using the room and equipment has really helped her grow and thrive in the library environment.”

Great experience for my little one exploring the room and enjoying all the resources. Booked to visit again already.

Matthew

A fantastic space! Both my children aged 8 months and 3 years were kept busy with all the wonderful resources. I’ll definitely be bringing them back to play.

Sophie

Fantastic resources and lovely space. We enjoyed it.

Felicity

A lovely space for the children. Lots to do. Played with everything

Kerrie

We support Lincs Inspire’s Sensory Shake, Rattle and Read weekly play session for children with hearing and vision needs. Little ones who may not manage the whole of this session can withdrawer to the Sensory Room and then re-join when and if they want. We are so delighted to be in partnership with Lincs Inspire who are going the extra mile to make their service inclusive.

Debra Gregoryjones

The first week of Shake, Rattle and Read, Ralph struggled to engage with the singing and dancing as he had not yet got his hearing aids. However, the second week we attended Ralph was joining in with all the actions and singing! It was so lovely to see and share this with other parents with children with hearing loss. There were tears shed!

Leah

Laura Jervis, Alisha’s coach from Linkage college, said:

“Since starting work experience with the amazing Cleethorpes library team, Alisha has gone from strength to strength. She is excited to go to work and loves telling people about her day.

“Alisha has been able to use her skills and experiences at work towards all aspects of college, for example her English qualification, where she has talked about work in her speaking and listening units.

“She was instantly made to feel part of the team which eased any anxieties and helped boost her confidence. This confidence has continued to grow, Alisha is now independent at work, only needing to be dropped off and collected.

“Alisha helping out with setting the sensory room up has been very beneficial to both the library and Alisha, Alisha has been able to trial equipment and feedback what works and what could be different.

“When going to work or even work is mentioned to Alisha, she has a massive smile on her face and is always willing to share her stories and experiences.

“Alisha has a sense of responsibility and is very proud of her achievements, as are her parents and the staff that work alongside Alisha at Linkage. Being asked to open the new sensory room was a wonderful opportunity for Alisha and she has enjoyed telling key people about this.”

Alisha has now graduated from Linkage College and had the confidence to go up on stage to accept her graduation award. Something her tutors would never have expected to see!

Another important award ceremony now beckons for Alisha. The Seriously Social awards ceremony takes place at the Lowry, Manchester on Wednesday 13th November, which is being hosted by 400m Olympian Sally Gunnell OBE.

We wish Alisha all the luck in the final – she is already a winner in our eyes!

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