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
Administrative Assistant Wanted
25 hours per week part time, 6 months contract New Vacancy at Support 4 Sight!We have received special funding from the Future Jobs Fund for a new role.
This role is open to eligible people aged18-24 yrs old, resident of Essex and in receipt of job seeker’s allowance/unemployment benefit. For more information or to check your eligibility before applying, please call Madeleine (01799 523700) or contact Job Centre Plus (01279 693000).Ladies Circle Cheque Presentation to Support 4 Sight
On Thursday 10th December 2009,Fiona McCormick, Claire Croft and Katy Summerson, from the Ladies Circle , presented a cheque for £500 to Christine Marshall Funding Co-ordinator and Paul Atkins Resource Centre & Volunteer Manager at the Support 4 Sight Resource Centre. Are grateful thanks goes to the Ladies Circle.
Jodi Awards at the V & A Museum in Kensington
On Wednesday 2nd December 2009, Paul & Maddy were invited to attend the Jodi Awards at the V & A Museum in Kensington, London.
Duxford Imperial War Museum were shortlisted for an award in the category for the best Digital Access On Site. Several members and volunteers from Support 4 Sight took part in many visits to the IWM to give feedback and advice on their digital audible guide, as well as Braille and tactile markings and exhibits in the Airspace hanger.
The IWM were successful and came away with the award and asked me to pass on their grateful thanks to everyone who helped and took part in the project. Please see the photo below and thanks to everyone.
Cheque Presentation From the Lions Club Of Saffron Walden
On Thursday 12 November 2009, Graham Routledge (Support 4 Sight's Vice Chair), with his Guide Dog Vince, attended a cheque presentation at the Saffron Hotel in Saffron Walden, and collected a cheque for £1,000, which will go towards Support 4 Sight's funds.
The event was hosted by the Lions Club of Saffron Walden, who raised a total of £3,000 at their Michaelmas Fair held in the town on Saturday 12th September. The proceeds were split between 3 charities, Support 4 Sight, Crossroads and St Johns Ambulance. Our grateful thanks go to the Lions Club Of Saffron Walden for their very generous donation.
"Celebrate Your Senses"
Support 4 Sight is delighted that Specsavers, who has recently opened a branch in the town, have agreed to sponsor “Celebrate Your Senses Exhibition”. On Monday 7th October, at 10.00, Tania Jenkins from the local Specsavers branch presented a cheque to Paul Atkins (Centre & Volunteer Manager) at their Information & Equipment Centre at 2 & 4 George Street. Our grateful thanks go to Specsavers.
On Saturday 24th October 2009, Support 4 Sight held its Annual Exhibition in Saffron Walden Town Hall which was opened by the Saffron Walden Town Mayor Cllr Doug Perry. This year the event was held as part of the Charities 15th Anniversary celebrations.
Attending the exhibition, were National Charities such as Guide Dogs, RNIB, Suppliers of the latest technology to assist Visually Impaired People, Saffron Walden & Bishop's Stortford Talking Newspaper, Names in Braille, Guess what is on the Tactile Board, Aroma Theropy,Food Tasting , Scented Floral Displays, and not forgetting our Static Tandem Ride in the Market Square.
The day was put together to embrace and bring to the attention of everyone how we use our 5 Senses, something we all take for granted until we lose one or more of them.
If you would like to view pictures of the day's event, please follow the link to the photo gallery.
Coming Soon.
On Tuesday 10th November 2009, between 10 am and 2 pm, Optelec along with Dolphin Computer Access, will be at the Support 4 Sight Resource Centre to demonstrate some of the latest equipment and technology to assist Visually Impaired People to live a more independent life. For more information on these dates, please contact Paul on 01799 523700.
Also on Tuesday 10th November 2009, between 10 am and 4 pm, Action for the Blind Bus will be parked in the Market Square. Why not come along and meet the team from Action for the Blind and get some of those burning questions answered.
If they can't answer them, they will point you in the right direction to get the information you require. On board the bus will be the latest technology to assist Visually Impaired People.
We look forward to welcoming you to both of these events. For further information, please contact Paul on 01799 523700. If you get the Voice Mail, we will get back to you.
Support 4 Sight Open Day with Sight & Sound Technology
On Tuesday 04 August 2009, Support 4 Sight held an Open Day with Sight & Sound Technology.
On display was the latest technology demonstrated by Tony Fox. Our Service Users, Members and their carers were able to drop in and try for themselves a complete range of equipment such as:
The KReader Zoom Text Screen Reader/Magnifier Computer Software RUBY SAPPHIRE SARA.
If you would like more information about these products, please contact Paul at the Resource Centre 01799 523700 or follow the link below to the Sight & Sound Technology Website. If you would like to try some of these products for yourself, Sight & Sound Technology will be exhibiting at our Annual Exhibition in the Town Hall in Saffron Walden Market Square on Saturday 24th October 2009 between 10:30 am – 4 pm.
Pictures of Clare a Service User having a demonstration of some of the equipment.
Costcutter and Walkers Crisps Cheque Presentation
Support 4 Sight’s Resource Centre & Volunteer Manager Paul Atkins received a cheque today for £500, courtesy of Costcutters and Walkers Crisps.
Costcutters in Saffron Walden won a national competition as the monthly winner for the best in-store display of Walkers Crisps. In recognition of the award, Costcutters nominated Support 4 Sight to be the recipient of a charitable donation from Walkers.
Mr Muhammad Fiaz, Manager of Costcutters, presented the cheque to Paul Atkins of Support 4 Sight on Tuesday 11th August 2009, along with some representatives from Walkers Crisps and we are displaying two photographs of the presentation on the photo gallery. Thank you to Costcutters and Walkers Crisps.
From left to right: Paul Atkins (Support 4 Sight), Jeremy Rose (Walkers Regional Sales Manager), Russ Powell (Zone Manager East of England), Muhammad Fiaz (Costcutter) and Adrian Hammand (Sales Development Representative).
Family Fun Day
“Magic in their Eyes” - Family Fun Day at Support 4 Sight on Thursday 30th July 2009.
The old adage “never work with children and animals” was ignored by staff at Support 4 Sight, when we held a Family Fun Day at our Information Centre last week. The Charity, Support 4 Sight, held a Family Fun Day for local families on 30th July, with special quest appearances from the children’s entertainer, Mr Rainbow. We were so inundated by families that it was standing room only for parents, while children crowded around the popular magician for two 50 minutes shows. The day kicked off with fun activities for children, all of which were linked to eyes and sight loss. As well as the chance to meet Mr Rainbow, the children had the opportunity to meet guide-dogs, play with talking computers, write their names in Braille, play with toys for children with poor vision and enter a colouring competition. The colouring competition had been distributed to local schools and entries were displayed in the front window of the George Street centre. They were judged and the two winners of the colouring competition were Sophie Bloyce and Tillie Warner, whose pictures are being displayed in the front window of the charity’s Centre.
The aim of the fun day was to raise the profile of sight loss amongst local families and to grow awareness of the importance of Support 4 Sight’s work. The charity helps over 2700 local people with issues about sight loss and the event was sponsored by Heart Radio and Uttlesford District Council. In fact, Heart Radio’s mobile team (Heart Angels) were on hand to support the Fun day and they gave out free stickers and sweeties to children.
If you would like to see more pictures, please follow the link to the photo gallery.
Concert By Candlelight
Support 4 Sight hosted a spectacular evening to celebrate the launch of a special membership scheme. Entitled “Friends of Support 4 Sight” the scheme was launched at St Mark’s College in July at a concert entitled “Concert by Candlelight”. It marked the first occasion for local people to sign up to become an official “Friend”, which is open to anyone who donates at least £10 per annum to the charity. The evening also coincided with the announcement that Lady Braybrooke has agreed to become Support 4 Sight’s Patron. Support 4 Sight’s Concert by Candlelight was an “Eye-Opening” treat, as musicians Quintus Benziger and Ann Holloway with soprano Anita McKenzie-Mills delighted the audience. Lord & Lady Braybrooke, Lord Petre, the Lord Lieutenant of Essex (The Queen’s representative for the county), Cllr Alastair Walters (chair of Uttlesford District Council) and the Mayor of Saffron Walden Cllr Doug Perry were amongst the guests who enjoyed the musical recital. The audience revelled in the song choices, specially selected for Support 4 Sight, which contained a selection of pieces; the names of which included the words “Eye” or “See” such as “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” or were written by a blind composer. There was also an especially composed piece, written for Support 4 Sight by Quintus Benziger, celebrating the bi-centenary of Louis Braille. The new membership scheme is open to local people, who will receive invitations to future events and newsletters. Anyone interested in becoming a “Friend” of Support 4 Sight should contact Christine Marshall on 01799 523700 for information.
If you would like to see more pictures of the evening, please follow the link to our picture gallery.
New Kid on the Block
Alan Chamley has joined Support 4 Sight as Services Co-ordinator. Alan lives in Sawston, Cambridgeshire, having been brought up near Halstead. Alan is married with two sons, and has the eye condition Retinitis Pigmentosa. This does not stop him from enjoying many social activities such as cricket and ten pin bowling with other visually impaired people, watching football (favourite team is AFC Sudbury), playing steel pans, doing Pilates, and singing with the Whittlesford Community Gospel Choir. He even completed a 65 mile trek in the Sahara Desert in March this year, an event organized by the British RP Society to raise funds for research into the eye condition.
“I am really pleased to be working with – and for - everyone connected with Support 4 Sight, and am grateful for the welcome that I have received from you all”.
New Patron for Support 4 Sight
We are delighted to announce that Lady Braybrooke has agreed to be our Patron.
Volunteers News
I would like to say thanks to everyone who took part in the Volunteer Sponsored Walk and raised the fantastic sum of £703.50. Also well done to Geraldine and her merry band of supporters that assisted at the Hellions Bumpstead Village Fete raising the grand sum of £180. Our thanks also go to Andrew Streeter (Trustee) and Mark Pivac, (Member) not forgetting Blaze (Marks Guide Dog), for very kindly agreeing to open the Ashdon Mini Fete. Our share of the proceeds is estimated to be approximately £1,100.
We are celebrating our 15th Anniversary this year and Nicola Smith came up with a great idea to decorate the centre’s window to show how the year is being celebrated. Next time you are in the centre or passing, please take the time to have a look. Well done to Nicola and her assistants.
Musical Recital
On Sunday 22nd March at Radwinter Church, Quintus Benziger (piano and organ) and Tristan Stocks (baritone) gave a recital which raised £226 for Support 4 Sight. The music was varied, with pieces from Handel, Mendelssohn and Debussy among other composers. It was greatly enjoyed by everyone who attended. Our grateful thanks to Ann, Quintus and Tristan.
Shepreth Wildlife Park
On 22nd May fourteen members, volunteers and staff enjoyed an interesting day out at Shepreth Wildlife Park. This family run park, with its wide range of animals, birds and reptiles set in attractive surroundings near Royston, provided plenty of opportunity to walk round spotting some exotic creatures such as tigers, mountain lions, meerkats and lemurs. One of the highlights of the day was the chance to hold an owl (see picture).
Read House, Frinton-on-Sea
On Friday, 26th June 09, 25 members, 5 volunteers and 2 staff headed off to the Essex coast, for the annual visit to Read House, Frinton on Sea.
Our hosts, Essex Blind Charity, once again provided lunch of fish and chips followed by spotted dick.
The weather was pleasant, and much less dramatic than the thunderstorms occurring in Saffron Walden at lunchtime. Though a little hazy whilst we were walking, we enjoyed a very pleasant time along the sea front or sitting in the neat, pretty gardens of Reed House. We then tucked into a delicious cream tea, before heading back to base.
Our special thanks go to Pat Arnold and to the volunteers – Nicola Smith, Madelaine Debnam, June Bruniges and Jane McKie - who gave up such a long day to help, and without whose presence this event could not have run so smoothly and effectively.
Our Annual General Meeting
Our AGM took place on Wednesday 1st July at 11.30 am at Uttlesford District Council’s Committee Room. The formal part of the meeting was taken up with reports on the past year from our Chairman, Iris Evans, Director Madeleine Cassidy and, with Trustee Pat Arnold giving the financial report for 2008-2009 on behalf of Treasurer, Martin Ormondroyd. We were also delighted to learn that Miriam Hardwick had been welcomed as a new Trustee. The members present voted unanimously to re-elect Iris Evans as Chairman, Graham Routledge as Vice-Chairman, and the remaining Trustees, namely Martin Ormondroyd (Treasurer), Sue Schneider (Clerk), Andrew Streeter, Pat Arnold and Sabira Ladha. We are profoundly grateful to our Trustees for their continued support.
There followed an interesting 20 minute talk by Gary Raynor, the Development Manager at Telecare, Essex County Council. Gary explained and demonstrated equipment used for safety in the home, such as smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, pendant alarms, and devices that trigger an alarm when the wearer moves from upright to a prone position, thus detecting whether the wearer has had a fall.
Charity Sponsored – 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.
Support for Carers on Tuesday 24th March.
Do you know someone that needs help coping with sight loss, click HERE for more information.
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 Morning photos.
News Archive
News items from previous years.