Archive News

Happy Birthday to Us

On the 21st May 2008, we celebrated the 1st anniversary of the opening of the One Stop Shop. We invited clients, partners, local dignitaries and anyone else who liked the idea of a bit of a do to join us!

We were able to tell our guests what an eventful and busy year we have had.

Photos from the day are available on our photobucket gallery. You can see them by clicking this link.

Goodbye Karen,........ hello Lynne and Irene!

We are sorry to say goodbye to Karen Jess, who worked with us for 9 months as our administration assistant. Lured by the promise of ice cream and holiday fun, she has gone to work at Haven Holiday Park in their reception. We all wish her the best of luck for the future!

As they say, when one door closes, another two open!! We welcome to our staff, Lynne Campbell, who had previously worked as our Project Assistant, and now takes over the role of Administration Assistant, and Irene Moledina, an experienced Benefit Advisor who will be volunteering with us every Tuesday and helping to deal with our client caseload.

The One Stop "Charity" Shop

We will be taking over the Maybole Charity Shop for a week in August to raise funds for the project. If you are having a clear out, or would like to volunteer to help staff the shop, please let us know. If you would like to donate something , you can hand it in to us at School Vennel.

Mobile Phone Fun

We recently held our first session for retired people to learn how to send a text message on their mobile phones. Over two afternoon sessions, we showed particpants how to send and receive SMS or text messages on 10 phones, which were donated to us by communications company "3". Everyone seemed to enjoy the sessions, and might even have learned something! If you would like to take part in our next workshop, give us a ring and ask about our "Rolling Stones" sessions.

Jock Barr

It is with much sadness that we tell you of the death of Jock Barr, a very important part of the MOSS steering committee. Jock founded Over the Rainbow, which is one of our partner organisations, as well as doing years of work for the community as a volunteer. You can see more about Jock, and his life on the Maybole Website.

Helen Wray, of the Scottish Community Foundation said, "Jock played a key role in what is a very successful steering group. His years of experience in volunteering in the community and his experience as a valued member of the Over the Rainbow project helped him play an important part in the success of the Fair Share Trust One Stop Shop Project, and his humour and presence will be greatly missed. "

New Staff at MOSS

We are pleased to welcome Mel Balfour and Lynne Campbell to the staff.

Mel (left) will be working part time as our Support Worker, giving advice and guidance to MOSS clients, and the other part of her week will be spent working with Maybole and District Seniors Forum as their Development Worker, enhancing opportunities for senior citizens in the North Carrick area.

Lynne (right) is our Project Assistant, and has joined us for 3 months to work with Mel developing activities and services for seniors in the area.

Goodbye Agnes

We are sorry to tell you that Agnes McGill, our support worker, is leaving for pastures new. Not content with the relaxed pace of life in MOSS, she is going to work at HMP Kilmarnock as a prison officer. We wish her good luck!

Newsletter

In an attempt to keep everyone up to date with new services and facilities at MOSS, we are going to be publishing a quarterly newsletter. You can view the 1st edition by clicking this link. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to be able to see it.

Men's Group

The next meeting of the Men's Group is on Wednesday, 14th November at 10 am in Over the Rainbow. All new members are very welcome.

MOSS Gets Wheels.....

In partnership with Ayr Shopmobility, MOSS is now able to offer a manual wheelchair for hire to members of the public. There is a deposit fee of £25, which is returnable, and a daily hire charge of £5, or £20 for a week. To find out more, or to book the chair, come and see us at MOSS.

Pub Games...Without the Pub!

If you're a man living in North Carrick and you're looking for something to pass a few hours now and again, why not come to our pub games afternoon? Show off your scrabble skills or your demon card playing at Over the Rainbow on Monday 17th September from 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm.

Agnes will be on hand to answer any questions you may have about benefits or citizens advice, and Mary Jeans will be providing expert guidance on how to improve your lifestyle and live better, happiers and longer.

There are prizes to be won, and refreshments will be provided, so you only need to bring yourself!

 

 

Men Only Afternoon - 27th August 2007

This afternoon, MOSS hosted an information afternoon for men in the North Carrick area. The session was to find out if men in the area would like to know more about healthy eating and living, training, social opportunities and anything else which might be of interest.

Agnes was joined by Mary Jeans, Public Health Nurse and Audrey Scott from WorkAble. They had a lively discussion with participants about what the important issues are for local men.

The follow up from this afternoon will be a regular group arrangement to talk about the issues identified this afternoon and potential links to Maybole Men's Health Forum.

Press Release 20th August 07

Members of the Carrick Visually Impaired Persons Support Group (Carrick VIPS) and Girvan Visually Impaired Club visited the Forth Valley Sensory Centre in Falkirk last week (13th August). The trip, organised by Maybole One Stop Shop was to give them the chance to try a range of devices designed to enhance the lives of people with a form of sensory imparment. They ranged from talking tape measures and spirit levels to a gizmo that hangs over a cup and beeps when you pour liquid in it to a particular level.

The group agreed that the trip was worthwhile, and the staff at the centre in Falkirk were extremely helpful and knowlegeable. They also managed a quick visit to the Falkirk wheel en route to the Centre.

The Carrick VIPS now plan to apply for funding, with support from MOSS, for a range of equipment that will be available to visually impaired people in the area.

Members of the Carrick VIPS and Girvan Visually Impaired Club

 

 

Press Release 26th July 07

Maybole One Stop Shop has just signed an agreement with the Department for Work and Pensions which means that residents of Maybole and the surrounding villages can apply for a range of benefits directly from our offices.

If you want to apply for:

• Attendance Allowance (for 65 years and over)
• Bereavement Payment (60 – 65 years)
• Carer’s Allowance
• Disability Living Allowance
• Incapacity Benefit (60-65 years)
• Pension Credit
• State Pension
• Winter Fuel Payment

- you can now pick up the forms, get help completing them and have your documents verified without having to send away originals.

We can do an estimate calculation for you to find out what you are entitled to.

Even if you have savings or a private pension, you may be entitled to pension credit, or if you are a carer, you may not receive extra payment, but official recognition can mean that you would be entitled to housing or council tax benefit.

One client, who only received a state pension, now gets an extra £25 a week after applying for pension credit. If that could make a difference to you, it’s worth applying.

Our office in School Vennel, Maybole is open Monday – Wednesday, 9-5, Thursday 9-7 and Friday 9-4. If you are not able to come to the office, you can phone us on 01655 884032 or email: onestopshop@may-tag.com

Maybole One Stop Shop is a partnership between May-Tag Ltd, Over the Rainbow and Maybole and District Seniors Forum and funded by the Big Lottery Fund Fair Share Trust Programme administered through the Scottish Community Foundation.

 

100 Clients Milestone at Maybole One Stop Shop

Maybole One Stop Shop has registered over 100 clients, less than 4 weeks after opening its doors. The project, which is a partnership between May-Tag, Over the Rainbow, and Maybole and District Seniors Forum, and funded by the Fair Share Lottery Trust, offers advice and information on to anyone living in Maybole and the surrounding villages.

Services include welfare benefit checks, “what if” scenarios for people whose circumstances are changing and in need of information about how their finances will be affected, citizens’ advice, internet access (including wi-fi), health information, support for senior citizens, a “free” telephone service to access support agencies and private meeting space for outreach services.

We can also offer access to a wide range of support agencies who are using our premises to deliver their services in the area. At the moment these include North Ayr Resource Centre, who provide assistance with benefit and employment issues; Housing Aid, who provide support to anyone in rented accommodation with tenancy issues; Women’s Aid, providing support to anyone dealing with domestic violence and associated issues; Smoking Cessation, offering a range of methods and support for giving up smoking; Trading Standards, helping with practical ways to deal with debt.

The list of agencies is constantly expanding, so please drop in to find out what else if available, or if you think we can help you.

The staff are currently developing a range of other services, including becoming a virtual pensions office, meaning that clients will be able to make claims for Pension Credits and Disability Living Allowance directly from our offices and will not have to send original documents away in the mail, methods of assisting visually impaired computer users, information about the digital television switchover and dedicated support for senior citizens in the area.

 

Press Release – 15th May 07

An exciting new project is due to open at School Vennel in Maybole on Monday (21st May).

Maybole One Stop Shop will provide access to a variety of outreach services, welfare benefit checks, consumer advice, health information, support for senior citizens and a free phone service for clients to contact support agencies.

The project will carry a wide range of information, ranging from what support you can receive if you are retired to finding out the routes of walking paths around the area.

As well as this, we can offer meeting space, private interview rooms for appointments, wireless internet access and office services.

Our services are available to anyone living in the North Carrick area.

Maybole One Stop Shop is a partnership between May-Tag Ltd, Over the Rainbow and Maybole and District Seniors Forum. It is funded by the Big Lottery Fund Fair Share Trust Programme administered through the Scottish Community Foundation.

A range of activities illustrating the project’s services will be on offer on Tuesday, 22nd May from 10 am – 4 pm, with an official launch taking place at 11:30 am where light refreshments will be available.

Why not drop in and have a look around? Have a chat to the friendly staff, Gillian Anderson, Agnes McGill and Cathie Barr to find out if there is anything Maybole One Stop Shop can help you with.