Dennis Humble, the driving force behind EnviroAbility, the Ross-based charity set up to give everyone the opportunity to use and develop their own skills and interests is changing roles.

Dennis is handing over the reins as General Manager but will still be an active member of the group as he will become a Board member.

Dennis originally came to Ross in 1993, to work at the Ryefield Centre as part of the management team. He told the Ross Gazette that at that time it was run as a ‘locked door’ day centre for adults with learning disabilities or those with challenging behaviour.

He said they would arrive everyday and be given tasks to do while the staff just watched them. He said; “I wanted to change that, what was the point of getting someone to paint all day if they were not very good at it? I wanted to use their energy, and the energy of the people who supported them, to achieve something.”

It was his inspirational leadership that led to the setting up of Ryefield Projects which then evolved into EnviroAbility. Dennis wanted to offer the users of the Ryefield Centre the choice, and the means to develop their own interests.

Different ideas were put forward, some more successful than others, the recycling collection service was one of the group’s great successes. He said it was a real positive, as it provided work for people with disabilities and they were doing something constructive.

True to its original objective, today EnviroAbility has lots of different schemes running and is open to ideas from anyone. Dennis said “If you think you can do something, come along discuss it with us and we will do what we can. We can help people to realise that if they have an idea we can help make it happen.”

One recent example is Harvey Sayce, his family felt he needed to become more involved in the community. He has set up a sustainable business growing and supplying organic bird seed. The project called ‘Spread Our Wings’, involves other people in the same situation as Harvey, who has cerebral palsy, who want to develop their own life. Harvey is seeking funding to employ a member of staff to develop and expand the idea and is about a quarter of the way towards meeting his target. For more information watch his video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=vO9rgVQzxGs

Dennis has been moving away from full-time involvment with the charity for a little while so that people would be ble to see that the work of EnviroAbility would keep going even without him at the helm. He said there is a great young management team ready to take over as well as volunteers who keep putting in the hours. Dennis told the Ross Gazette “I want to make it clear that although I am retiring I am not disappearing, I still believe in everything EnviroAbility stands for and will carry on nurturing projects.

Antony Lowther told the Ross Gazette that Dennis has done more to change peoples’ perceptions of those with learning difficulties than anyone else he knows. He said “He showed us not to pat them on the head and speak to them like children but to give them a pat on the back for a job well done.”

Dennis also brings out the best in volunteers. He does not ask for people to come forward if they have specific skills or experience, rather he talks to the volunteers finds out their interest and skills and then works out ways to use them to benefit the charity.

There are many charities today which seek to help the environment and develop work opportunities for those with disabilities. Dennis said what is unique about EnviroAbility is its community ownership, even the name was suggested by members of the public. A competition was organised through the Ross Gazette and the suggestion was made that many projects help the environment and also focus on people’s abilities, so the name EnviroAbility was chosen.

Driven on by Dennis’s boundless enthusiasm and energy, there are numerous projects, Leisure Link is also becoming more popular and it is at one of their social evenings, at the Eagle Inn in Ross, on December 2nd, that Dennis will take his place as a Board member.

For more information about EnviroAbility’s work please go to: www.enviroability.org.uk.