In Summer 2023 we were awarded £8,295 from the VOLA Consortium, as part of the the Digital Connectivity for Local Community Facilities Project. VOLA has been appointed by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA) to manage the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in the local area, and we were very grateful to them for awarding MSDP with this funding.

The grant went towards upgrading the IT equipment in our computer room at Wirral Society of the Blind and Partially Sighted, where MSDP are co-located. The improvements have helped improve IT access for our communities with sight and hearing loss, and as part of the project we will be providing six newly refurbished computers and a BrailleNote Touch, which will help to improve IT access for Deaf-Blind people and people with sight loss in the local community.

The next stage of the project is to begin a programme of IT training for our community. We are still seeking funding to cover the costs of freelance BSL interpreters, but hope to begin shortly.

In August 2023 were very pleased to welcome Stuart McGory from VOLA to MSDP, and during his visit he had the opportunity to speak to Deaf Community member Sharon Edwards about why she wants to improve her IT skills.

You can watch the video of Stuart and Sharon on the MSDP website: https://www.msdp.org.uk/msdp-awarded-funding-from-vola/