Hello and Welcome to Sight Life

May brought a warm and welcome mini heatwave to Rhondda Cynon Taf, as well as its’ fair share of rain, for another busy month of activities for our members.
Our Young at Heart social group made the most of the first day of the heatwave with a lovely visit to Llanishen & Lisvane Reservoir. Joined by Val and a few Cardiff members, the group enjoyed a leisurely walk followed by a picnic lunch in the glorious sunshine.
We were also pleased to continue our partnership with Valleys Steps, who delivered the second session in their wellbeing series, focusing on the ‘Five Steps to Good Mental Health and Wellbeing’. The session explored the importance of connecting with others, staying active, learning new things, taking notice, and giving back. It was insightful, engaging, and very well received.
Across our other RCT groups, there was plenty happening too. Our Pontyclun group welcomed guest speaker Nick James from South Wales Police’s Hate Crime and Disability Team for an informative discussion. In Pontypridd, our VIP group enjoyed interactive stories and quizzes, while the Treorchy group took part in a lively session on food and nutrition, complete with a fresh fruit and veg tombola.
Our Aberdare Visionaries group enjoyed a wonderful visit from the Cynon Valley Museum team, who delivered a brilliant handling session with a selection of fascinating artefacts. Members had the chance to explore items such as an old washboard, a tin bath, a traditional rocking horse, coal mining memorabilia, and a collection of historic coins. Members loved revisiting the past and exploring the area’s rich heritage.
Member Rita said, “thank you for such a wonderful meeting we all really enjoyed it and found it so interesting, and it brought back lovely memories for the group”.
Members are already looking forward to their visit to the Museum in October.
Our Young at Heart social group had a fantastic day out exploring Pontypridd ’s annual Art Trail, beginning at Pontypridd Museum and making their way through Calon Taf in Ynysangharad park, Penuel Lane Church, the Market, Clwb y Bont, and several other venues, taking in the impressive final year projects created by the Creative Arts students.
A standout moment was the stunning silk installation crafted by Sight Life members in April at Meadow Street Community Gardens with its bold colours and beautiful reflections of Pontypridd. An absolute highlight!
To support Dementia Awareness Week, we attended the Dementia Hubs and Gadget Loan sessions at both Aberdare and Treorchy libraries, where we provided information to the public about sight loss and the services available across RCT, as well as deliver a talk at the Canolfan Cwmaman Warm Hub and Bingo Group, helping raise awareness of sight loss and strengthen understanding within the community.
Did you know that we have groups in Pontypridd, Aberdare, Pontyclun, Treorchy and a Young at Heart group?
For more information about services and groups in Rhondda Cynon Taff, please contact Carys Groves on 07753 305631 or email [email protected]
#GoSightLife

Last week we welcomed a group of guest volunteers from Stantec UK Ltd to our Pedal Power cycling session Pedal Power Cardiff.
Thankfully we had lovely weather and the team piloted side by side bikes and rode as a group around Bute Park. Our regular volunteers were there as usual to assist and support the members.

The members enjoyed meeting the new volunteers and extra circuits of the park too.

The Stantec team enjoyed their experience and hopefully we will welcome them again to our cycling session or to other activities.
Thank you to all involved, and to Pedal Power Cardiff for assisting with the session.

If your company or business has community volunteering hours and would like to micro volunteer with us, please get in touch. It is a great way to support our work and fun for your team too.

Contact [email protected] or call 02920 398 900.
#GoSightLife!

Pictures of the Pedal Power session with Stantec UK LTD