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Current Appeal
My name is Tammie and I’m writing to tell you how Bedford has helped me to completely change my life.
I came to Bedford ten years ago because I knew they had jobs for people with a disability. What I didn’t realise then was that being part of Bedford is about so much more than having a job. Bedford has become a part of me - it’s part of everybody here.
I work in the packaging team and I’ve learnt loads of stuff to help me in my job but more importantly I’ve made more friends than I could have ever imagined and they mean the world to me. Thank you for supporting the Bedford Foundation and making this possible.
I’ve also done heaps of training – things that help me every day, things that people without a disability might take for granted. Last year I took part in Bedford’s ‘Literacy and Numeracy’ programme because writing is something I’ve always found really difficult.
The sessions were good fun and our teacher explained things in a way that made sure everybody understood. We did lots of different things, learning skills that you might never really think about – like how to use a bus timetable, read a menu, or follow a recipe.
Before I did the course I couldn’t write very well at all. My handwriting was so messy. It was really rough and wiggly – sometimes not even I could understand it! I always tried to avoid filling in forms, but when I had to, I really worried that people wouldn’t be able to understand what I was trying to say.
Since finishing the programme, my writing is a hundred times better. Writing isn’t something that stresses me out anymore and my hands don’t shake using a pen like they used to.
Improving my writing has made a huge difference to my life. For the first time I was able to write a special message in my best friend Jacinta’s birthday card. She knew how much that meant to me and told me she would treasure it. That made me so happy - it really was the best feeling in the world.
Using money is so much easier now too. I used to have no idea which coins or notes I needed to use. When I was in a shop, I would worry that I hadn’t paid enough, or even used the wrong notes and paid too much. Now I know how to work out how much things cost and which coins or notes I need to use. It’s great going shopping and knowing that I don’t need to worry about that anymore.
Without Bedford I wouldn’t have been able to write this letter to you today. But I’m not the only person at Bedford who needs a little bit of extra help to learn everyday skills. Each year around 40 of us have the chance to do the ‘Literacy and Numeracy’ course – by supporting the Bedford Foundation you can make sure that more people than ever can do this course this year and become more independent like me.
Thank you again for helping me to read and write.
Tammie Alchin
