Name: Alan Bell
Company: North East Sensory Services (NESS)
Job title: Interim Chief Executive
Give us the elevator pitch for your business
Founded in 1879 under the name Grampian Society for the Blind, North East Sensory Services (NESS) is the second-oldest charity in Aberdeen.
We provide support services for people of all ages living with serious sight and/or hearing loss, helping them achieve greater levels of independence.
Who are your customers?
We support more than 6,250 people with sensory impairment and their families, of whom more than 2,200 live in Aberdeen. We also work in Aberdeenshire, Moray, Angus and Dundee.
NESS is the sector leader in Scotland for delivering joint sensory services, which is of particular benefit to elderly people, who often confront age-related, dual sensory loss.
What is the biggest challenge and opportunity your organisation is facing?
Like all charities, we rely on the kindness of individual donors and the time of volunteers to keep doing what we do. Some of our services, such as our social inclusion groups for the elderly and our Young Person’s Sensory Service (YPSS) for children and families, rely on fundraising.
We would love more individuals and organisations to get involved in our life-changing work, whether that’s by volunteering some of your time, becoming one of our cherished charity partners, or fundraising to support our vital services. We’d love to hear from you. For more information, email Colin Mathieson (colin.mathieson@nesensoryservices.org).
What is your word of advice for fellow Chamber members?
Accessibility helps everyone! We wish more businesses knew how to make their services more accessible for people with sensory loss, including websites and social media feeds.
This could be as simple as adding “alt text” to images, which describes in a sentence or two what they show, or including subtitles on your videos. Inclusivity matters – it shows you care and benefits your followers and customers.