The latest edition of the supporter newsletter, Insight

Insight
3
Issue Three
Autumn 2015
In this edition of Insight you
will find:
• News of how your donations
have helped to fund local blind
welfare services
• The positive and lasting difference
your support is making to the lives
of people dealing with sight loss
• Legacies: leaving a gift of a lifetime
How you’re helping
our member charities
to change lives
BlindAid
In this edition we take a look at some of the ways each of the
blind welfare charities we support help visually impaired people
to live happier and more independent lives. Each of these charities
remains largely dependent on funds from the GLFB to help
make their work possible. Likewise we depend on you and other
kind people like you to enable us to provide the vital resources
necessary in support of a comprehensive and relevant number of
services for those with sight loss, and in need.
Finally to make a difference now, and for many decades to come
please do consider whether you might be able to leave something
in your Will to the GLFB. If you haven’t already done so you will
find information about gifts in Wills on page seven. Whatever
pledge you may feel able to make please be assured that it will be
used to help to underpin our important work with those people
who are blind or partially sighted in the years ahead.
Thank you so much for all your help.
BlindAid provides a variety of services
to improve the lives of visually impaired
people across the 12 inner London
boroughs and the City of London.
“
“
Welcome to your Autumn edition of Insight. I hope you find it
inspiring to learn more about how your support is helping blind
and partially sighted people across London.
Isolation affects many visually impaired
groups, especially older people with
additional mobility issues, which is why
BlindAid’s home visiting service is such
a lifeline. The charity recently increased
its team of carefully trained and vetted
home visitors to 14, and more than 500
people now benefit from the service on
a regular basis.
Imagine the difference it makes to a
housebound person with sight loss to
have a friendly visitor help with a range
of practicalities like reading letters and
documents, as well as taking the time to
chat over a cup of tea.
CLARITY – Employment for
Blind People
Established in 1854, CLARITY provides
skills training and employment
opportunities for people with a visual
impairment and/ or other disabilities.
With employment rates for disabled
people of working age being significantly
lower than the national average, the
support CLARITY provides is
invaluable – as people like Robert
will testify.
Robert’s sight has deteriorated over
many years since childhood. By the time
he was 13 he was struggling to read, and
by the time he was 38 he was regularly
bumping into things. Today, he is left with
only a small amount of peripheral vision.
His sight loss has affected his life in so
many ways, including leading to the loss
of three jobs.
Robert had been unemployed for
six years when, thankfully, he joined
CLARITY. They trained Robert to work
at their London factory, which produces
a range of cleaning products and
toiletries. Being able to use and develop
his skills in the workplace has helped him
restore his confidence and sense
of wellbeing.
“I suffer from anxiety and
depression so visits are very
important and it’s nice that
someone cares.”
Cass Edwards
Chief Executive
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GLFB Newsletter Autumn 2015
BlindAid home visit service user
CLARITY
employee
©CLARITY
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Croydon Vision
Croydon Vision offers a range of services
to enable blind and partially sighted
people to get the practical and emotional
support they need in their day to day lives,
and to enjoy hobbies and social activities.
The GLFB is helping to fund the charity’s
Afro-Caribbean Glaucoma Project, which
provides information on why people of
Afro-Caribbean descent are at increased
risk of the eye condition glaucoma, and
what they need to do about it. To help get
the programme off the ground, the GLFB
has provided £24,000.
Croydon Vision has also launched a
course called ‘Finding Your Feet’ for
people who have recently lost their sight,
or whose sight is deteriorating.
KAB (Kingston Upon Thames
Association for the Blind)
KAB runs a variety of projects for blind
and partially sighted people including an
Eye Buddy home visiting service, a lunch
club regularly providing nutritious food
and company to more than 30 people and
a Talking Newspaper.
The charity also provides grants to visually
impaired people in need.
“I am so grateful to all the
staff and volunteers for all
their support, hard work and
dedication in helping to run
such life-changing services. They
make you feel that life is not just
contained within four walls and
that life is worth living.”
KAB service user
©MAB
It’s estimated that there are more
than 80,000 visually impaired people
living in the area served by MAB,
which is why its life-transforming
services are in such demand.
In July of this year the charity
launched a Mobile Advice Unit to
bring expert support to visually
impaired people in the community,
in accessible venues like hospitals
and supermarkets. The mobile unit
provides information about specialist
equipment and eye health. The charity
is also working with Moorfields Eye
Hospital on plans to use the vehicle
for low vision assessments, to help
reduce assessment waiting times.
Mobile Advice Unit
MAB has also recently launched an employment course, to help visually impaired job
seekers with online job hunting, CV writing and interview techniques. It has already
helped several people on the road to new careers and greater independence.
Merton Vision
SeeAbility
Merton Vision celebrates its 50th anniversary this year!
SeeAbility enriches the lives of people who have sight loss and other conditions such
as autism, brain injury and learning disabilities. The charity runs supported living and
residential care facilities, as well as providing support to disabled people in the local
community and in their own homes.
Since 1965, the charity has been helping visually impaired people live fuller, more
independent lives. It currently reaches blind and partially sighted people of all ages
through a range of projects including rehabilitation programmes, a resource information
centre and opportunities to enjoy social and educational activities.
To mark its special anniversary, the charity held a number of open days to raise awareness
of its services and enable like-minded people to meet and mingle.
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MAB (Middlesex
Association for the Blind)
GLFB Newsletter Autumn 2015
Earlier this year, SeeAbility recruited an information technology tutor to give service
users IT training to help them increase their independence and confidence. Access to
suitable high and low tech devices and SeeAbility’s specialist support helps guard against
isolation and dependency. Sometimes small adjustments can make a huge difference,
opening up a whole range of new opportunities.
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Sight for Surrey
Established in the 1920s to help people
who lost their sight during the
First World War, Sight for Surrey
currently provides a range of support to
children and adults living with sight loss.
This includes rehabilitation programmes,
training to help improve mobility and
communication skills, and information
and guidance on employment and
assistive technology.
©Sutton Vision
Meeting individual needs through
rehabilitation and support services
Sutton Vision
Sutton Vision works to ensure visual
impairment isn’t a barrier to enjoying an
independent and fulfilling life. Its projects
include a rehabilitation service, a home
visiting service and providing advice on
aids and adaptations that make living
with sight loss easier.
The charity recently stepped in when
a 93-year-old man with sight problems
was left homeless following his landlord’s
decision to sell the flat he lived in.
Sutton Vision staff liaised with various
organisations to help the man secure
accommodation through a local housing
association. By supporting this gentleman
through a potentially distressing time
and working to help ensure a positive
outcome, the charity made a huge
difference to his wellbeing.
Over the past 18 months, the GLFB has
helped to fund Sight for Surrey’s network
of outreach co-ordinators, meaning more
blind and partially sighted people can
benefit from much-needed practical and
emotional support.
“Without Sight for Surrey I
had no hope, no future… they
changed my life completely.”
Sight for Surrey service user
GLFB Newsletter Autumn 2015
People who left a gift in their Will to the GLFB in the past are playing a
significant part in the lives of people dealing with sight loss.
Although some of these supporters may have passed on, their foresight in
leaving a legacy is making a real and lasting difference to visually impaired
children and adults today. This is because gifts left in Wills are helping to
provide services that reduce the isolation sight loss so often brings, enabling
people to live much happier, more fulfilling and independent lives.
Isn’t that the kind of legacy we would all love to leave?
Please accept our heartfelt thanks if you have already remembered the work
of the GLFB in your Will.
If you haven’t already done so, please do consider whether you could support
our work in this very special way once you have made provision for your loved
ones. All legacies, be they large or small, help to change lives.
©Sight for Surrey
Breaking
down
barriers
with all age
groups
If you would like more information about gifts in Wills, please contact
Raj Bhayani on telephone number 020 7620 4918 or by writing to him at the
address below:
©Sight for Surrey
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HELP US BUILD A BRIGHTER FUTURE
Greater London Fund for the Blind, Sir John Mills House, 12 Whitehorse Mews,
37 Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7QD.
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Doorstep fundraising team
Our team of door to door
fundraisers would like to say a big
‘Thank you!’ to everyone who
opened their door to them and
took the time to learn more about
the charity and start up a new
regular gift to the GLFB!
Thank you for supporting the
Greater London Fund for
the Blind. Our work is only
made possible because of
committed friends like you.
Greater London Fund for the Blind
Sir John Mills House
12 Whitehorse Mews
37 Westminster Bridge Road
London SE1 7QD
Registered Charity No. 1074958
Every donation you make
means another blind or
partially sighted person has
an increased chance of a
better quality of life.