Community News!

SLBS ‘Summer Days Out In Lincolnshire’ Raffle. NOW CLOSED.

June ’19

Enjoy the glorious sunshine this summer, by spending a day out at a local attraction near you.
The Summer Days Out raffle prizes are:
1st Prize – Family ticket for Belton House
2nd Prize – Family ticket for Burghley House
3rd Prize – Family ticket for Belvoir Castle
4th Prize – Family ticket for Grimsthorpe Castle
5th Prize – Family ticket for Lincolnshire Aviation Centre

In addition, many more days out in Lincolnshire are available to win such as spa days, local cinema and arts centre shows, Peckover House in Wisbech, Elton Hall & Gardens and more!
Tickets are £1 each and will be drawn on the 1st August.

Please contact the office on 01476 592775 for more information on taking part.

Summer Concert 2019 – Belvoir Wassailers.

June ’19

A massive thank you must be said to the fabulous Belvoir Wassailers and guest soloist, Ella Brooks for entertaining us on the 15th June. The Event raised a fantastic £1,474.25 and was enjoyed by all!

Chief Executive to step down.

April ’19

At the meeting of the Executive Committee of the Society on Monday the 1st of April 2019 it was mutually agreed that the current Chief Executive Officer would step down after 19 years in the post.

Malcolm has worked tirelessly for the last 19 years through good and bad times ensuring the charity meets it objectives to the highest standard. He has championed the needs of Blind and partially sighted people at a local and national level across the United Kingdom along with establishing the National support network for local charities now known as Visionary.

The executive have approved the appointment of Susan Swinburn, the current Operations Manager as the next Chief Executive Officer.
Susan has a wealth of knowledge and experience in the charitable sector and will be working side by side with the Committee and all of our stakeholders.
We would like to sincerely thank Malcolm for his dedication to the charity over the last 19 years and we are reassured that he will still be involved in the future development of the charity.
The committee and staff would like to sincerely thank you for your continued support.
Kind Regards
Mr Nigel Brocklebank
Chairman

Change to opening hours.

April ’19

As of the 1st of May 2019 our office opening hours will be Tuesday to Friday 8.30am to 5pm.
The out of hours messaging service will remain the same.

Exciting News from the Chief Executive

March ’19

Following on from the Annual General Meeting last July I have been working hard on converting our unincorporated Charity into a Charitable Incorporated Organisation.
Following many meetings with advisors, solicitors and some of our volunteers along with many back and forth communications with the Charity Commission we have finally been informed that our new organisation has been given full approval and we now have a new Charity number: 1182486.

My thanks to those individuals who have given me and the Society such valuable advice and support in making this change.

My thanks also must go to our staff team who have now begun the tedious task of ensuring every piece of correspondence has the correct charity number. How glad am I that we have one of the best small staff teams ever who are given such tremendous support from many willing volunteers.

Malcolm Swinburn, CEO

A huge thank you to Asda Grantham and the local community!

Feb ’19

A huge thank you must be said to the local community in Grantham for voting South Lincolnshire Blind Society in the Asda Green Token Scheme. Picture above shows Asda’s community Champion, Karen presenting the cheque for £500.00 during Socialeyes to our President Mr Geoffrey Caunt and Fleur one our regular members.

Be My Eyes App !

‘The Be My Eyes app allows volunteers to be eyes of the visually impaired. Be My Eyes, the award-winning app that has eased the lives of 113,000 blind people in 150 countries, is so successful it has more volunteers than it knows what to do with!

The idea is simple: a blind or visually impaired person needs help with a task. They make a live video call to a sighted volunteer, who can tell them if the milk has expired, check the label on their medication or help them find the cash they have dropped on the floor.

Tasks that the app has been able to help with have ranged from guiding someone out of a tunnel to checking a bride’s gown before she walked down the aisle.’

For more information on how it works and to get signed up ; https://www.bemyeyes.com/

The Seven Steps Initiative.

South Lincolnshire Blind Society is proud to have joined the Seven Steps initiative! The Seven Steps Programme is a much needed roadmap for anyone dealing with a visual diagnosis, which was launched by the sight loss charity Henshaws. The aim is to reach as many people as possible with quality information, advice and guidance.

Henshaws staff and service users worked together with Greater Manchester NHS to co-produce the Seven Steps, which has been supported on a national scale by Vision UK, and we’re pleased to be one of the partner organisations for the project. The guide can be displayed as posters, leaflets or boards in hospitals, clinics, and community hubs working with visually impaired people across the UK.

We’re hoping to spread the Seven Steps as far as possible by getting volunteers, members of the public, and businesses to share it – whether that’s displaying as posters, sharing on social media, etc. – to ensure that no one goes through sight loss alone. For more information on the initiative, or to share posters of your own, get in touch on 01476 592775.

Start collecting your used stamps!

Support us by collecting your used stamps both old and new and send them into our Grantham Office, which we can then trade in for cash!

Simply give us a call to request a pre- paid and addressed envelope and help us to raise some vital funds.

Making walking groups inclusive for people with impaired vision.

‘An anthropologist at the University of Sussex has contributed to a set of guidelines detailing best practice to make walking groups inclusive for those with impaired vision. Designed to support and enable those with impaired vision to take part in group walking activities, Dr Petty is hopeful that the guidance will give walking groups the tools to welcome walkers who have impaired vision, supporting opportunities for everyone to enjoy being outside in nature.
This guidance includes:

• Information on different types of sight impairments.
• How group walks can benefit people with sight impairments.
• How group walks can be made safe and welcoming for people with sight impairments.
• How your scheme can plan and set up a walk for people with sight impairments.’

For more information and to view the guidelines visit;  https://www.walkingforhealth.org.uk/sight-impairments

We’ve joined Lottery SK!

‘Lottery SK is an exciting lottery that raises money for good causes in South Kesteven. All good causes supported by the lottery will benefit the South Kesteven and its residents, tickets for the lottery cost just £1 per week. Each ticket has a 1 in 50 chance to win a prize each week, with a top prize of £25,000!’

10% of ticket costs go towards local good causes! For more information or to start supporting, visit https://www.lotterysk.co.uk/support/south-lincolnshire-blind-society.  

Good Luck!