Lines are now open for mini abseil

Come and take part in a mini abseiling event down 12.5 metre training towers at Llangefni Fire Station’s on 13th April! If you can’t make the 13th we are also holding the same event on 27th April 2013 at Llandudno Fire Station.

Llangefni Fire Station in North Wales

The abseil are particularly aimed at the younger adventurers out there who would like to test their head for heights, but are also open to adults!

The abseils are in aid of Blind Veterans UK which manages the Diana Gubbay Trust which helps support men and women who have served in the emergency services and suffered severe sight loss while on duty.

How to register? You will need to register in advance and pay a £10 registration fee. You will then be required to raise a minimum sponsorship of £40. All of those who manage to raise £50 or more will be awarded a prize of goodies! Call Victoria Beech, Regional Fundraiser, on 01492 864574 / 07860 526488 or email victoria.beech@blindveterans.org.uk.

Or you can download a version of the registration form.

How we marked Dignity Action Day

Dignity Action Day took place on 1st February 2013 as a nationwide event.

Our Dignity Action Day bunting.

It’is an annual opportunity for health & social care workers, and members of the public to uphold people’s rights to dignity and provide a truly memorable day for people who use care services.

Blind Veterans UK staff and members in the lounge at Brighton.

Led by the National Dignity Council, Dignity Champions form part of a nationwide network of over 40,000 individuals and organisations who work to put dignity and respect at the heart of UK care services to enable a positive experience of care. Our Dignity Champion is Christine Carlton who organised an event to mark this special occasion at our centre in Brighton. Members and staff were keen to be involved, so we organised a special cake & coffee morning, which included delicious homemade biscuits. Members and staff gathered in the centre’s lounge and enjoyed the cake made especially for the occasion.

Our Dignity Action Day cake, which was delicious!

Thank you to all those who took part in Dignity Action Day at Blind Veterans UK.

Charity concert at The Clarendon Centre, Brighton

This is an exciting charity concert to showcase some of Brighton’s most talented musicians. It’s being held at the Church of Christ the King, The Clarendon Centre, Brighton on Friday 29th March in aid of Blind Veterans UK.

Sounds Like Brighton will feature upcoming local musicians

Sounds Like Brighton 2013 will present a snapshot of some of the best music in Brighton in 2013. From classical to jazz, alternative to folk, it will be an evening celebrating the diverse, creative and vibrant music of our city. Musicians are yet to been revealed but all performers will be emerging talented musicians Brighton& Hove.

Church of Christ the King regularly gathers over 1300 people for their Sunday services. The church has various projects serving the city including those that feed the homeless and a project called Friends First which helps to rehabilitate people who have been involved in drug and alcohol abuse.

Jazz trio The Cloggz performing at Sounds Like Brighton 2012

The concert will start at 7pm and is free to all guests, though donations towards the charity will be welcome. No pre-booking is required.

The Clarendon Centre is in New England Street, Brighton which is a short walk from the station, and with car parking nearby. The concert will start at 7pm (doors open 6.30pm), and the bar will be open for refreshments.

The concert is organized by the leadership team of Church of Christ the King. For more info go to the church website. Alternatively email Maddy Carr atMaddy.carr@blindveterans.org.uk.

BBC Flog It: Jan and Joe donate money to Blind Veterans UK

Parents of Blind Veterans UK member, Jan and Joe take part in BBC’s Flog It and announce they will be donating some of their earnings to Blind Veterans UK!

Remembrance concert at St Edward the Confessor church

Come along on Saturday 10th November at 7pm to St Edward the Confessor church in Dringhouses, York.

Enjoy a concert in music and words for the season of remembrance.

The Occasion Choir will be singing and celebrity TV presenter Geoff Druett is guest reader. Tickets £7.50 which includes light refreshments. For more information about St Edward the Confessor church visit their website.

Ex-Soldier temporarily blinded raises money for Blind Veterans UK

A former soldier who was temporarily blinded following a series of accidents, has decided to raise money in aid of Blind Veterans UK, in acknowledgment of the important work we do in providing a lifetime’s practical and emotional support to blind veterans.

Ian Slack is a former soldier and keen rugby player. He is raising money for Blind Veterans UK at the final three rugby matches he takes part in before he retires from the sport that he can no longer play, given the potential danger it poses to his eyesight.

Ian’s excellent career as an Army Officer in the Royal Engineers was suddenly cut short when an accident in 1997 saw him completely lose the sight in his right eye and have to be medically discharged from duty. Some years later Ian suffered further eyesight problems when a rare eye infection caused him to temporarily lose the sight in his other eye. For a period of weeks Ian knew what it was to suffer from blindness. Ian eventually recovered and now is determined to raise funds for blind and vision impaired veterans throughout the UK.

Speaking about his fundraising challenge aptly named ‘Finally Seen Sense’, Ian said: “I cannot put into words what being blind for a time was like. It was an extremely isolating and unsettling experience, which has most certainly left its mark.

“The things that I found most helpful during this time were the smaller, perhaps more straight forward things – the technological gadgets that allowed me to see the computer screen better by magnifying it and hear my messages by having them dictated to me.

“I really regret that I have to retire from playing rugby which I have been passionate about for nearly 40 years. Raising money for Blind Veterans UK at my final three matches will be a great way to end this on a high.”

To help Ian fundraise for Blind Veterans UK please visit: www.justgiving.com/ianslack

Mexborough Cadets complete Blind Veterans UK Cadet and Youth Challenge

Blind Veterans UK recently held the annual Cadet and Youth Challenge during which a group of enthusiastic cadets from Mexborough took part.

The competition consisted of completing 13.1 miles in whichever way the competitors wanted. Blind Veterans UK encouraged the teams to think up the most inventive ways of completing the distance.

The Mexborough cadets raised a fantastic £350 for blind ex-Service men and women, and they were awarded certificates for completing the 13.1 miles by bike ride from Sprotborough and Pollington.

Simon Brown a member of Blind Veterans UK, who was shot in the head whilst saving the lives of six comrades in Basra Iraq, presented the cadets their certificates. Simon is a strong supporter of the challenge and now works as a motivational speaker for Blind Veterans UK.

Simon says; “it is an excellent way of getting young people together to raise money in aid of charity, and really understand where money raised will go. Blind Veterans UK is very grateful to the Mexborough Army Cadet Force for organising a very innovative and successful Cadet and Youth Challenge.”

Andrew Nickson RAFVR (T) a Flight Lieutenant and adult volunteer of the year has been taking part in the Cadet and Youth Challenge since it was launched in 2007. Andrew says; “We have had a fantastic time taking part in Blind Veterans UK’s Cadet and Youth Challenge Competition. It has given us all the opportunity to meet some great people from the charity as well as to learn about all that it does”.

Blind Veterans UK honour World Sight Day

Today, at the Blind Veterans UK Llandudno centre school children met with some of Blind Veterans UK’s members and asked them about how being blind and vision impaired has impacted on their lives. They also gained firsthand experience of completing an obstacle course blindfolded, with a friend acting as a sighted guide to help them through it.

World Sight Day takes place on the second Thursday of October annually and aims to raise awareness of blindness, vision impairment and the rehabilitation of the vision impaired across the world. At Blind Veterans UK we believe that no one who’s served our country should battle blindness alone and that’s why 20 children aged between 10 and 11 from St Elfod Primary School in Abergele are taking part to support blinded ex-Service men and women. We hope they will gain understanding of the needs and challenges faced by our members.

If you’re going to be nearby Llandudno today, look out for the balloons that the children will be holding. Each balloon shares a story that the children and blind veterans have written about blindness and what they have learnt from it.

Mark Lovatt, our Llandudno centre manager said; “World Sight Day is an excellent way of raising awareness about the challenges faced by people who are blind and visually impaired, and the work which goes into providing rehabilitation for them. We try where possible to bring our oldest and youngest generations together and the children taking part on Thursday will gain firsthand experience of what it is like to need a guide when walking, and this experience will really open their eyes to some of the day to day challenges faced by people who are blind and visually impaired”.

Please come along to support our members and the children of St Elfod Primary School today in Llandudno. This is a superb community event which will help raise awareness of the challenges blind and vision impaired people face.

Royal Parks Half Marathon – cheering volunteers needed!

Calling all our Blind Veterans cheerers!

Cheerers are needed to come along and support our Blind Veterans UK runners in this year’s Royal Parks race, taking place on Sunday 7 October from 11am – 2pm.

Just bring your enthusiasm and a big strong voice and we will arm you with flags, hand clappers and balloons to cheer on our runners.

Get in touch with Jackson if you’d like to get involved! Jackson.medlow@blindveterans.org.uk or call 0207 616 7927

Roll up! Roll up! for the Vintage Carnival

Roll up! Roll up! We are all getting excited for the Vintage Carnival taking place in the grounds of our Blind Veterans UK centre in Brighton on 8 September.

There will be assault courses, fairground games, artefacts from Newhaven Fort, vintage frocks, bric a brac, classic cars, beer tent and stalls galore! Free for everyone, it promises to be a day of vintage fun for all the family.

The carnival will be formally opened at 11.30am by newly appointed Chief Executive of Brighton and Hove Albion FC, Paul Barber, and there will be entertainment throughout the day including performances by Kas – the new forces sweetheart, Dave Master’s big band and Disco Stu, plus a cheerleading and dance workshop by the Gully’s Girls.

Want to get involved? We are always after volunteers to help run games, manage stalls, serve refreshments and help sell raffle tickets! For all those avid bakers out there, we are also looking for volunteers to help bake cakes, make jams, marmalades and chutneys prior to the event. If this sounds like your kind of thing then get in touch at ovingdeanfundraising@blindveterans.org.uk

We look forward to seeing you there!