Suffolk Sight

Just over a week to until the Festive Treats concert! A huge thanks to the Ipswich Hospital Band who are raising money for Suffolk Sight at their upcoming concert on Saturday 7th December. Concert details: Saturday 7th December 2024 19:30 St Peter's by the Waterfront, St Peter's Church, College Street, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP4 1BF Join the Ipswich Hospital Band and Ipswich Hospital Community Choir for an evening of Festive Treats this Christmas at St Peter’s by the Waterfront! The profits of the concert will be donated to Suffolk Sight, and we will also have the chance to do a raffle throughout the evening. Tickets are £10 in advance and £12 on the door and are available online: https://buff.ly/4fMsYhD

If you need a break from the Christmas shopping we have the perfect solution! Why not take an audio described tour of Christchurch Mansion? Colchester City Council and Ipswich Borough Council want every visitor to get the most out of their time at the mansion. "Our audio described events have been created with visually impaired visitors in mind, but can be enjoyed by anyone. Where we have available staff, our team will try and accommodate on-the-day requests for audio described tours or object handling sessions, but to guarantee the full experience we strongly recommend booking in advance" Click on the link below to find out more: https://lnkd.in/eQ9-vVRs

We recently promoted a special concert taking place with renowned multi-instrumentalist Baluji Shrivastav OBE. Baluji is an Indian multi-instrumentalist who was blinded at eight months old and has become one of the world’s leading composers and sitar players. Some of our beneficiaries and trustees went to the concert and had the chance to find out more about the instruments. They said "It was fascinating! We were very privileged to get a pre performance introduction to Baluji Shrivastav and the drummer, see the instruments and have them explained" Photos shows the performance with Baluji Shrivastav OBE on sitar, accompanied on tabla by Yousuf Ali Khan on the stage. There is also a lady dressed in a traditional red flamenco dress. The photos also show our members having the opportunity to touch and feel the instruments.

We'd like to take this opportunity to introduce Game Day Vision CIC This fantastic initiative has been created by Andrew Birch, who has Stargardts disease. Andrew says "I was diagnosed with my eye condition in my mid 20s and up until then was able to drive and would quite regularly attend events by myself. In the last 10 years my eye condition has worsened and therefore have lost confidence in attending events like sports matches on my own and therefore prefer to go with somebody who is fully sighted" The link below shows a video of Andrew talking about how sighted guide volunteers can make an incredible difference, and offer someone with a visual impairment a fantastic day out. You can still support your favourite team! If you would like to find out more about becoming a volunteer, or would like to arrange to go to a sporting event with a guide, please get in touch with Andrew. Email andrew@gamedayvision.org.uk

We're delighted that Cohere Arts will be offering a Festive Singing Workshop on Wednesday 4th December at the Sudbury Quaker Meeting House, Friars Street, Sudbury, CO10 6AA Join us for some festive cheer between 11am-1pm Free to attend, no booking required. For more information please email coherearts@gmail.com

A huge thanks to Co-op customers who raised money for Suffolk Sight! We received an amazing second donation of £1795.98! This will help to support our Telephone Counselling Service, which was set up to offer professional counselling to people struggling to come to terms with losing their sight. Graphic shows a party popper that has been pulled to celebrate. The wording says " Thank you Co-op members for choosing us as your local cause"

Lots going on in Stowmarket this Sunday! Come along and find us at Red Gables - we'll have a tombola and craft items for sale. Image shows a map of the area from the John Peel Centre outdoor live music, St Mays and St Peters Church xmas tree festival, town centre stalls, the Mix up to Red Gables.

Calling All Adult Women and Men with Sight Loss RNIB want to hear your experiences of getting around, personal safety, employment, family, and relationships. They want to improve the support available to blind and partially sighted people across the UK and to focus on what matters to you, please complete the Autumn 2024 survey via the link below: https://lnkd.in/eAiDgQa6 The survey is open until 20 December 2024. If you are unable to complete an online survey and have not already registered to get involved, please call RNIB Helpline on 0303 123 9999. Our advisors will complete a registration form with you, so we call you to ask survey questions about future topics. Thank you.

Today is Charles Bonnet Syndrome Awareness Day Charles Bonnet syndrome (CBS) affects people with partial or total vision loss, causing them to experience visual hallucinations. These hallucinations can range from simple patterns to vivid scenes, such as faces, animals, or landscapes. People with CBS are usually aware that these images aren’t real and the hallucinations don’t involve other senses like sound, smell, or touch. The link below takes you to the RNIB website for more information At Suffolk Sight we have recently set up a CBS support group with our beneficiaries. If you would like more information please get in touch: Call 01284 748800 Email: info@suffolksight.org.uk

Following another fantastic performance last Saturday, Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell are off to Blackpool this weekend! They'll be performing an American Smooth to "Jump" by Paul Anka, and we can't wait! Chris spoke about his experience of living with retinitis pigmentosa saying he wanted to take part in BBC Strictly Come Dancing to show people that more is possible than you would think 👏 You can catch up on all of the past routines on BBC iPlayer with the option of audio description too. https://lnkd.in/e6RwhUXA