Charities - blind and visually impaired

‘Knowledge is power’ is a well-known adage. It sums up the work of our charity, for the knowledge we help to acquire through research, and spread through teaching and publications, is a powerful way of preventing blindness. Scientific research has led to many breakthroughs in the diagnosis and treatment of the conditions that cause blindness, but there is still a great deal we do not understand.

Calibre Audio Library is a subscription-free lending service that provides recorded books for people with visual impairment including readers with dyslexia and other disabilities which prevent them reading print.

Legacies are fundamental to why Henshaws is here today. Our foundation is embedded in the generosity of Manchester based businessman, Thomas Henshaw whose £20,000 legacy in 1873 began over 170 years of support for blind and visually impaired people of all ages.

Jewish Blind & Disabled is unique as it is the only charity in the community providing purpose built mobility apartments to people of all ages who are physically disabled or vision impaired. We currently have six apartment blocks across North London and are delighted to announce that building work is now well under way on our latest development in Bushey Heath, Hertfordshire. This will provide an additional 39 state-of-the-art mobility apartments for people with a real and urgent need plus two apartments for resident on site house managers.

Listening Books is a UK charity providing thousands of fantastic audiobooks on three easily accessible formats: downloads, internet streaming and MP3 CDs. We have some 17,000 members and our service is available to anyone who has a disability or illness which makes it difficult to hold a book, turn its pages, or read in the usual way. The library caters for both adults and children. We provide audiobooks for leisure and we support the National Curriculum from Key Stage 2 to A-Level. All of our titles are either commercially sourced or recorded in our own digital studios.

As a result of losing their sight, every year thousands of people lose their confidence, their jobs, their friends and their place in the community. For over 175 years the Metropolitan Society for the Blind has been helping people overcome the devastating effects of permanent sight loss.

The Centre, which opened in 1986, meets a national need for increased research into eye disabilities and diseases and the prevention of blindness. The Centre is based in the Bristol Eye Hospital and there is a branch covering Yorkshire based in St James’s Hospital in Leeds. Research is also supported in an increasing number of establishments throughout the United Kingdom.

National Talking Newspapers and Magazines (now part of the RNIB Group) provides over 200 popular and specialist publications in audio and digital format to those unable to read the printed word.
Legacies and donations are vital to enable National Talking Newspapers/and Magazines to continue its important, unique work.

NRSB is a local charity, which aims to promote greater independence for vision impaired people of all ages throughout Nottinghamshire by providing support, advice, information and rehabilitative activities.

Sense is the leading national UK charity working with children and adults who are both deaf and blind. We support deafblind children and adults their families, carers and professionals working in the field of deafblindness
We provide:

• Early assessments, advice and support for deafblind children and their families
• Week long holidays and respite care
• Learning and employment opportunities for deafblind adults
• Specialist accommodation for deafblind people
• Support and services for people who become deafblind in later life

Vision Aid Overseas aims to transform access to quality eye care in developing countries. 670 million people -10% of the world’s population - are unnecessarily visually impaired because they do not have spectacles.
This is due to the significant lack of eye care services available in low and middle income countries.
For people affected, the consequences can be disadvantage and disability. Parents are unable to work and provide for their families, children are unable to go to school and grandparents miss out on seeing their grandchildren grow up.