Support 4 Sight Home Page
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A Brief Introduction
Support 4 Sight, originally named Saffron Sight, was
established in 1994 to give support, help and advice to visually
impaired people and their carers.
We changed our name in July 2007, when we expanded our
geographical boundaries, allowing us to help an even larger number of
blind and partially sighted people in West Essex and the surrounding
areas.
From our centre in Saffron Walden, we provide information on equipment
that can help visually impaired people maintain their
independence. Visitors are always welcome at our centre in George
Street in Saffron Walden, Mondays to Fridays (9:30am - 2:30pm), to
browse the equipment and try for themselves.
News
CHARITY SPONSORED ABSEIL – SUNDAY 3RD MAY
Support 4 Sight’s Director, Madeleine Cassidy and Chairman, Iris Evans, are undertaking a Sponsored Abseil down Harlow Water Tower on Sunday 3rd May – a distance of 110 feet! This event is organised by Harlow Rotary Club and is an annual event which is very successful. Hundreds of organisation and charities have raised money this way.
So far Madeleine and Iris have been sponsored over £700 but they are hoping to raise at least £1,000 for Support 4 Sight. Sponsorship forms have been circulated to members, family and friends, and visitors to the centre have been asked to contribute. Letters have been sent to all local shops asking for their help with sponsorship.
Charity Director, Madeleine Cassidy admitted to being somewhat nervous about the undertaking:
“When the abseil was mentioned to me, I thought “No problem! But to be truthful, now that the date is drawing closer, I’m getting much more nervous! After all, 110 feet is a long way down!”
Funds are needed to run our centre in Saffron Walden and to provide home visits to people who are losing their sight and becoming blind.
Charity Ball
The Charity Ball was a great success.
The centre staff were all in their best finery. To see other photos from the night please click HERE.
Award winning local charities put Saffron Walden in the spotlight.
Saffron Walden featured prominently at the recent High Sheriff’s Awards, thanks to Support 4 Sight. During a special ceremony, the High Sheriff of Essex, Mrs Sarah Courage, met with almost 50 community groups, including Support 4 Sight and awarded certificates and grants towards their projects.
Support 4 Sight were among the community projects, charities and individuals from the whole county of Essex to receive awards from the High Sheriff of Essex, to fund projects that make Essex communities safer from crime.
Madeleine Cassidy, Director of Support 4 Sight, collected their cheque for £500, alongside volunteer Peter Whitehead. The charity is delighted that the High Sheriff Awards recognised the importance of Support 4 Sight’s home visiting scheme to local visually impaired people. Our volunteers conduct many home visits to visually impaired people and can give advice on ways of coping with sight loss. Our Volunteer, Peter Whitehead, received an individual award for his five years of voluntary work for the charity.
Following the awards at the event, Madeleine Cassidy and Peter Whitehead met the Mayor and Mayoress of Saffron Walden, Cllr Mike Hibbs and Cllr Hillary Shibata, who congratulated both groups on their success and their work in local communities.
Force Ten Company Demo day, Tuesday 17th March.
Come and see the the largest and smallest magnifiers on the UK market, click HERE to see their poster.
Support for Carers on Tuesday 24th March.
Do you know someone that needs help coping with sight loss, click HERE for more information.
Trip to Scotsdales
Ten members and five volunteers went on a shopping trip to Scotsdales on Monday 24th November and enjoyed a delicious Christmas lunch. There were lots of lovely gifts and Christmas goodies for sale and we had plenty of time to look round. Thank you to Nicola Smith, Sue Winterbottom and Pat Arnold for driving our members.
Celebration Evening
Approximately 30 staff, volunteers and trustees attended the Celebration Evening on Thursday 27th November at the Resource Centre. This marked the first anniversary of our move to George Street from our premises in Central Arcade. A selection of canapés was served as well as mince pies and other goodies, and a delicious cake made by Carol Routledge. Many thanks to all those who helped make the evening a success by preparing, cooking and serving refreshments.
Charity Ball – Tickets Selling Fast!
To celebrate 15 years of the charity, we are holding a grand fund raising ball at Saffron Walden Golf Club on Saturday 7th March 2009 from 7.00 pm to 12 midnight. Ticket includes dinner, speaker, auction, music, dancing and
prizes and costs £45 per person. Tables are for 8 to 10 people. Please contact Christine Marshall for tickets or more information.
A Kind Donation
In November the Charity Committee of Saffron Walden Golf Club awarded Support 4 Sight with a cheque for £1,295. The funds will be used to update our computer suite with speech and magnifying software and to improve our computer training classes. Thank you so much.
Fundraising Charity Fair
This event, organized for us by Carmen and Peter Heap, at Ugley Village Hall on 25th September, was very successful and raised a total of £1,051.20. There were lots of lovely stalls selling jewellery, clothes, cards, toiletries and beauty products. Support 4 Sight volunteers ran a cake stall and served coffees and teas and raised £130.45, which was a fantastic result!
Visit to Great Bardfield Vineyard
A party of 12 Members and Volunteers went to Great Bardfield Vineyard on Monday 29th September. We were very lucky to have had a sunny and warm day, and were treated first of all to a talk about the Vineyard by the owner, Mr Jordan. He then took us on a tour of the Vineyard and told us about the process of wine making. We then visited the Barn which was built in the 1500’s while Anne of Cleves lived there. Afterwards we had a wine tasting of 4 of the different wines produced by the Vineyard and that was followed by a delicious lunch.
It was a most enjoyable day and some of us bought a bottle (or two) of wine to remind us of our visit.
“Sensational” Exhibition
Our exhibition on Tuesday 28th October at the Town Hall was a very successful event, with 11 suppliers taking part, plus displays from Talking Newspapers and Guide Dogs. Cheffins Estate Agents and Auctioneers kindly gave us £500 in sponsorship, and we raised money on the cake stall, raffle and refreshments.
The exhibition was opened by Cllr Mark Lemon, Chairman of Uttlesford District Council and Cllr Mike Hibbs, Mayor of Saffron Walden.
We had a good number of visitors, particularly in the morning and our profit for the day was a fantastic £1,016.25. Grateful thanks must go to all those who helped on the day, or baked cakes, or donated raffle prizes.
Sponsored Bike Ride at Grafham Water – 1st November
Our riders did a grand job on their bike ride and have raised in excess of £1,000 in sponsorship. The riders on the 3 tandems were Paul with Viv Tree, Graham Routledge with Des Plummer and Mark Pivac with his son, David. We were grateful to have Colin Ward and Nigel Malcolm as pilots, and helpers on the day were Carol Malcolm, Christine Marshall, Sally Southwick and John Martin. The ride started at 9.45 am and finished at 3.15 pm. Paul says a big thank you to all those who sponsored him and also to Philly Hamilton who gave up her day to drive the horse box containing the 3 tandems to Grafham Water.
Trip to Bury St Edmunds
On Friday 27th June, nine of our members plus carers and volunteers went to visit the Abbey Gardens at Bury St Edmunds. We were very lucky to have had a warm and sunny day and the gardens were looking fantastic! The sensory garden was at its best with lavenders, roses and other plants smelling wonderful. Many thanks to the volunteers (Geraldine Brown, Pat Arnold, Liz Marson and her friend Reg) for their help on the day. (And well done to Jane for her first successful trip!)
Musical Treat at Coffee Morning
At the coffee morning on 24th June, we were entertained by the Duck End Duo, who played the piano and clarinet. They brought with them 2 singers, who gave us a selection of songs from the shows and popular songs such as “The Lambeth Walk”.
This was such a success that they have been booked to sing and play at the Christmas coffee morning on Tuesday 16th December.
Frinton
A wonderful day was had by all when we visited Frinton-on-Sea on 30 July. Two minibuses and one car loaded with members and volunteers set off from Saffron Walden about 9.30 am. After a warm welcome at Read House, operated by Essex Blind Charity, we were served a delicious fish & chip lunch followed by dessert. Afterwards we walked along the esplanade and went for a paddle in the sea. We certainly worked up an appetite for our cream tea & scones in the afternoon.
It was a long and enjoyable day out for members and their appreciation was evident from the comments we received. It would not have been possible to take them without the volunteers who gave up their whole day to accompany us.
Staff & Volunteer Dinner 28th July
This evening was enjoyed by 20 volunteers who had a delicious dinner at the Coach and Horses pub in Newport. Paul was presented with a card specially made by Geraldine and a mug to recognize his 5 years with Support 4 Sight as Resource Centre Manager.
Tesco Collection
We have broken a record! At the recent Tesco 2 day store collection we raised an ENORMOUS £915.35!!!
Video Spec Ltd
On 23rd September the supplier demonstrated Eezee readers, Combi readers, cctvs and tv-enhancing spectacles and some of their very latest technology. The Open Day ran from 10am to 2pm and despite the rain, we had 12 VIPs that visited the open day for a demonstration and trial of the products. The supplier was very impressed and mentioned that he would like to come again next year.
If you are interested in reading more about these outings and events or would like to take part or volunteer please follow the links to our Sightline and Volunteer News pages.
St Valentine’s Open Morning for Families
And who said “never work with animals and children?” It simply isn’t true! We had a great experience with both, when we held an Open Morning for children and their families on St Valentine’s Day at our Centre in George Street. The event was launched some weeks earlier with a colouring competition, which was distributed to local schools and children were asked to colour in and name a Guide Dog. The aim of the day was to raise awareness of the help available to youngsters with sight problems and show the children and their family members and friends around the Centre.
Half Term week provided a good opportunity for the children and parents to visit us and we showed a range of educational sensory and tactile toys. Volunteers also demonstrated the talking computer software and arranged tactile guessing games. The children and their parents were introduced to Roza and Ingrid, two Guide Dogs, who regularly visit the centre with their owners.
As part of the morning’s events, several of the children had their names produced in Braille to take home and it was good to see so many youngsters showing a keen interest in the subject of low vision. Squash and biscuits were enjoyed by all the children and the morning was great fun with the volunteers and staff enjoying the event every bit as much as the visitors.
The winners of Best Colouring Competition were Georgia Dorrian aged 9 and Dillon Lewis age 6. The winners for Best Names were Harvey Stevens aged 4 (with “Seymour”) and Ciara Bailey aged 5 (with “Specs”). The winning entrants can be seen displayed on our front window.
Click here to see other Open Day photos.
News Archive
News items from previous years.
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