Hi, my name is Michelle. I am twenty-seven years old and living with sight loss. A year ago I gave birth to my beautiful son and having him is the best thing ever. On my journey of self discovery about my sight loss I have been contacting many organisations looking for support and I have discovered many amazing sources of help.
However, I feel there is something missing. I would love to organise a local younger persons group.
If you are a younger person living with sight loss in the Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre area and would like to get invovled then please contact the Low Vision Centre on 01253 362696 who will pass on your details on to me.
The first meeting of our support group for those whose vision has been affected by stroke takes place at 2:00pm on Thursday 17th March in the Low Vision Centre, Bosworth Place, Blackpool, FY4 1SH. If you would like to attend or would like to be kept informed of how the support group develops then please call Mel or Linda on 01253 362696.
The next meeting of the Macular Disease Support Group takes place at 2pm in the Sharples Hall, Bosworth Place, Blackpool, FY4 1SH on Thursday 24th March. This meeting will take the form of a ‘Come and Meet Each Other’ event and afternoon tea will be served at a nominal cost of £2 paid on the day. If you would like to attend or would like further details about the Support Group then please call Judith on 01253 362696
Launch of Caregivers at Home
A new venture is launched this month by N-Vision, the local Blind Society. The new service, Caregivers at Home, provides specialist home support to enable and encourage independence and well-being. N-Vision staff have been trained to the highest standards with a specialist understanding of the practical difficulties of reduced vision.
The services Caregivers at Home offers include shopping, cleaning, changing beds, laundry, ironing, garden maintenance, basic home maintenance, sitting service and reading correspondence.
Elaine Wright, Care Services Manager, who is heading up this new service along with Mike Maunder, Customer Services Manager, explained “We realised that many of our clients needed additional support in their own homes and after some market research we identified what services they most needed.” Together Elaine and Mike have over 35 years in the field of care. Mike went on to explain that staff would “provide services with skill, patience and courtesy, respect clients’ home and belongings, keep clients fully involved with their personal requirements and respect their right to privacy and confidentiality”.
Elaine concluded by saying “If you are interested in receiving any of our services, or would just like more information, please give us a call on [01253] 403091 to discuss your individual needs”.
Kevin Winkley, Chief Executive of N-Vision, added “We are very proud of the work that our dedicated team have put in to be able to offer this specialist service. This has been a year in the planning. We appreciate that there is competition out there but our specialist staff are highly trained and able to reassure clients that what they offer is more than just a valuable service – it’s the key to maintaining independence and dignity”.
Thanks to all those who attended our Black and White Centenary Ball on Friday 12 November 2010 which was held at Blackpool Football Club. It was a great venue and the staff looked after us so well on the night. Everyone stuck to our Black and White theme with all the ladies out in their best frocks and the gents well groomed and suited. The evening got off to a great start with David Kennedy, flautist, playing as everyone arrived and enjoyed a glass of bucks fizz. The compere for the night was Paul Guard who not only made sure that the evening ran smoothly but also sang so beautifully – he was a fantastic entertainer and a great auctioneer too!
We were very lucky to have some special guests on the night and we are assured that the Mayor and Mayoress of Blackpool, the Mayor of Fylde and guest, Chris Oades and the Mayor and Mayoress of Wyre and their wives all enjoyed themselves. In addition local MP Gordon Marsden made time in his busy schedule to join us as did Councillors Peter and Maxine Callow and Councillor Lily Henderson, former Trustee of the Society and former Chairman of our Employment Support Sub-Committee. And last but not least we were delighted that Jimmy Arnfield and his wife Ann were able to come along and add their support particularly as Jimmy had officially launched our Centenary Year, way back in January 2010.
Of course the main aim of the Ball was to formally mark the end of our Centenary Year and to raise money for, and draw attention to, our Centenary Appeal to build a new Low Vision Centre for local visually impaired people. Thanks to the generosity of those who came along on the night, those who bought raffle tickets and those who bid for items in the auction – we raised over £4600.00 after all costs had been deducted. We are of course extremely grateful to everyone who donated raffle and auction prizes – too numerous to mention – as without their support we would not have raised so much.
Our final thanks have to go to Margaret Gough, Vice-Chairman of the Society, who spent many months organising this fantastic event.
At the end of our Centenary Year we have raised £47,156.00 so still a long way to go before we can start laying any bricks for our new Low Vision Centre. If you would like to make a donation to the appeal please give Patt Trow a call on [01253] 362688.
Centenary Appeal Update
Our Centenary Appeal to raise funds to build a new Low Vision Centre for local visually impaired people was officially launched on 8 January 2010 and we are pleased to announce that it’s going well but we still need your help. So far we have sold 4715 ‘bricks’ at £10.00 per brick [£47,156,], which is fantastic, but we still have a long way to go to reach our target of £1.5 million! Kevin Winkley, Chief Executive, said “We hope that the local community, organisations and businesses will support our appeal as we see this as a vital development in order to ensure that we are able to provide suitable meaningful services for local visually impaired people.”
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