NESS, originally established in Aberdeen in 1879, supports over 6,250 people living with serious sight and/or hearing loss across North East Scotland. With bases in Dundee, Aberdeen and Elgin, its mission is to help those with serious sensory loss gain greater independence.

The Young People’s Sensory Service (YPSS) within NESS, supports children and young people with serious sight and/or hearing loss in Dundee and Angus, helping them grow in confidence, gain independence, and develop social and life skills.

The donation from Springfield, who are building high quality homes at Dykes of Gray village in Dundee, made it possible for YPSS to take a group of 10 youngsters from Dundee on their very first residential activity weekend.

Over the course of three days at Cairngorm Activities in the heart of the Cairngorms National Park, the group aged 13 to 17 years old, took part in everything from canoeing to archery to a tree top golf course. Most importantly, the weekend encouraged those supported by YPSS to get outside, make friends, and challenge themselves, all in a supportive and safe environment.

Springfield managing director, Andy Curran, said: “The invaluable work NESS does to support those with sensory loss across North East Scotland is inspirational.

“It was heartening to hear how much the young people enjoyed the weekend and that many gained a greater sense of independence. We understand the importance of these experiences in building social skills and confidence and, with developments across Scotland, we’re proud to support NESS and their YPSS initiative.”

Diana Daneels, YPSS co-ordinator, NESS, said: “We are extremely grateful for Springfield’s generous donation. We had such a wonderful time on the Cairngorms trip, the young people loved it and didn’t want to go home at the end.

“Experiences like these are invaluable for helping young people with sensory loss discover the beauty of independence. The activities we did were very challenging and some of them were initially doubtful of their own abilities, but when they realised they could do it after all, the joy on their faces made all the hard work worthwhile.”