Blind clubs and group get-togethers run by many of the GLFB Member Charities provide a stimulating environment in which blind and partially sighted members can make new friends, share common problems and engage in a whole range of activities.
The Kingston upon Thames Association for the Blind Social Eyes Club, for example, includes exercise and quizzes, but more importantly, the club has encouraged creativity and with the help of a talented instructor, the group has worked on a variety of artistic projects including making beaded mirrors, decorated mugs and plant pots, cards, weaving and even silk screen paintings.
The club more recently produced a set of self-portraits modelled in clay and finished with golden paint which have been exhibited at the Kingston Museum.
‘I have been a client of Sutton Association for the Blind for many years and am so grateful for all they do. As well as being visually impaired, I am also a carer for my wife and by being able to attend various group sessions it makes life much more pleasurable and less isolating. We are brought in by taxi, sit with friends we have made since joining the groups, and have a good old chat and a cup of tea!
I am so grateful to all the staff and volunteers for all their support, hard work and dedication in helping to run such life-changing services. They make you feel that life is not just contained within four walls and that life is worth living.
The costs involved for running the services, groups plus taxi transport could not take place without the generosity of GLFB.’
