Author: brownbooth

The fantastic volunteers at the Ferndown Blind Club, that dedicate their time to support over 40 visually impaired people by running the fortnightly social club, providing and organising transport, organising entertainment and holding a raffle are to be celebrated for their fantastic achievement of long standing voluntary service. 

Shelley Newman, the longest volunteer at the club, celebrated 30 years in February and was awarded a hotel stay, thanks to Room to Reward, and her Certificate of Long Service for her fantastic achievement and dedication to the Ferndown Blind Club. Read more about Shirley’s voluntary service here.

Other long standing volunteers, including; Beryl Balinas celebrating 25 years, Eric Collingwood celebrating 15 years and Elizabeth Holt celebrating 10 years were awarded their Certificate of Long Service by Jonathan Holyhead, CEO of Dorset Blind Association.

We’d like to thank all of our volunteers that dedicate their time to support visually impaired people across Dorset and celebrate their outstanding contribution to the local community. Our long standing volunteers are a vital part of Dorset Blind Association that are hugely appreciated by everyone at DBA.

Elizabeth Holt

Beryl Balinas

Eric Collingwood

On Sunday 12th May,  we invite owners of classic & sports cars, motorbikes and all types of motor vehicles to join this years exclusive Lulworth Castle Motor Show.

The show promises to be a fantastic day out for all, kicking off with a 20 mile classic and sports car tour across the Dorset countryside from the Lulworth Estate.  The car enthusiasts will take to the roads of Dorset at 10:30am before arriving back at the beautiful Castle showground, which will be open free of charge to the general public from 11:00am. Alongside the showground will be a family fun day offering stalls, live performances, kids fun area and a wide selection of catering options.

The impressive show is extremely exclusive, particularly being the only Motor Show held within Lulworth Castle grounds, making the event hugely popular among car owners and is always very quick to sell out. Last year, the fantastic event was attended by over 150 cars and 2000 general public attendees, raising a phenomenal £5000 for the charity.

Mrs Olivia Akam who drives A 1964 Morris Minor Convertible says, “This really is a splendid and well thought out event. We love that we can relax by our cars in such a beautiful setting. The run out for the Classics is through beautiful countryside and the event provides so much for so many… a great family day out and for a great cause. I look forward to polishing the car for this one!”

Do you own a classic, sports or other motor vehicle and would like to be part of the Dorset tour and showground display? Entry is only £10 per person which includes tour entry and route information, showground display, bacon roll and hot drink at registration, exclusive entry to Lulworth Castle plus one free raffle ticket. Registration is from 9:00am.

Be in with a chance to win a weekend test drive of the latest BMW, plus a tour for two around the Mini Factory in Oxford! Raffle tickets £1 each or £5 for a book of 5, to be purchased on the day. The raffle will be drawn at 3pm on Sunday 12th May. Terms and conditions apply.

Sponsorship opportunities are available for local businesses wanting to support the event and promote their services.

For more information about the Lulworth Castle Motor Show, please call 01202 712864, email fundraising@dorsetblind.org.uk or go to https://lulworthmotorshow19.eventbrite.co.uk to enter.

Shirley Newman, member of the Ferndown Blind Club committee, celebrates her 30th anniversary of volunteering at the club. Shirley is the first point of contact for many of the members that attend the club, volunteering her time to organise and welcome over 40 regular club attendees. Starting in February 1989 she has dedicated her time over the years, acting as treasurer, volunteer, organiser and now committee member, to support blind and visually impaired people in Ferndown. Shirley is hugely valued by Dorset Blind Association and the club members that she gives her time too and deserves recognition for her outstanding contribution to the community. We’d like to thank Shirley and celebrate her accomplishment.

Shirley began volunteering at the Ferndown Blind Club, after her Father lived with Glaucoma and attended a social club ran by Bournemouth Blind Society. Through a friend, Shirley began volunteering at the Ferndown Blind Club and got so much out of it that she stayed for a further thirty, fantastic years. Shirley has enjoyed volunteering her time to help members of the Ferndown club, she feels that they are a marvellous group of people and has made lifelong friends with the members, fellow volunteers as well as the staff at Dorset Blind Association.

We are teaming up with catering students at Bournemouth and Poole College to provide a unique Dining in The Dark experience at Escoffier Restaurant and Coastline Brassiere on Thursday 21st March. Our exclusive event is returning for its third year and offers an exciting opportunity to test the senses with an indulgent six-course meal in very low light conditions, which aims to simulate dining with a visual impairment.

Guests will be treated to a surprise six-course meal with the opportunity to enhance their dining experience by being completely blindfolded, to experience something near what it’s like for people with total sight loss.

The novel fundraiser was successful in its previous years, and has been brought back by Dorset Blind Association to celebrate its 100th year of serving the community.  

Gareth Owens, Community and Corporate Fundraiser said, ‘“Support from the local community is very important to us here at Dorset Blind Association and we are very grateful for the kind support of Bournemouth and Poole College and Escoffier Restaurant. Events like this give us a great chance to raise the profile of our charity within the local community, increasing the awareness of sight loss and also promoting fundraising opportunities.”

Tickets for this special event are £37.50 per person and should be booked in advance. Arrivals from 6:30pm to be seated by 7:00pm; the evening should finish by 9:30pm. Upon booking, please advise of any dietary requirements.

Book online now 

For more information or to book over the phone call Gareth on 01202 712864 or email gareth@dorsetblind.org.uk.

Is it your New Years resolution to volunteer for a local charity and give back to your community? Volunteering is a great way to increase confidence, happiness and attend social activities/outings.  Here at Dorset Blind Association, we are powered by over 400 loyal volunteers and we received a Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2017, recognising the hard work and dedication of all of our volunteers. You could be a part of this fantastic group of people and give back to your community today. We have a number of volunteering opportunities available, to suit everyone’s needs:

Fundraising Opportunities:

Could you help us at a supermarket or street collection across Dorset? Just give two hours of your time to fund raise for DBA. Contact Gareth on gareth@dorsetblind.org.uk for more information

Could you help at one of Fundraising Events? Help be a marshal at our Lulworth Castle Motor Show in May, or our Bright for Sight Night Run in Weymouth during April. Contact Helena@dorsetblind.org.uk for more information about our upcoming events and volunteering opportunities.

Call the fundraising team on 01202 712864 for more information

Volunteer Driving Opportunities:

We are seeking volunteer drivers to transport our visually impaired members to social clubs across Bournemouth and Poole. Contact Moira on 07709216797 or moira@dorsetblind.org.uk to offer your services.

Befriending Opportunities: 

Would you like to become a part of our befriending service and visit a visually impaired person in their home for just an hour a week? Contact Moira for home visiting opportunities across Bournemouth and Poole at Moira@dorsetblind.org.uk

 

Our Bright for Sight Night Run, sponsored by Friths Opticians, is set to light up Weymouth seafront on Saturday 13th April! Our well loved fun run that usually takes place along Boscombe seafront has become so successful, that we are expanding the event to become county wide. Discount offer of two entries for just £20 is available until 31st January, for our fun run along Weymouth Seafront. We hope you will join us in the first ever Bright for Sight Night Run in Weymouth!

The fun run is open to all ages and abilities, so bring along the whole family and walk, run or even skip along the route, wearing your brightest clothing, neon paint, glow sticks or even fairy lights and help make Weymouth’s first ever Bright for Sight Night Run the brightest run yet!

The night will begin with a Zumba warm up courtesy of local Zumba Heat Fitness Instructor Lou Sams, getting the runners pumped up and ready to glow! Entry is only £15 per person which includes an exclusive ‘Bright for Sight’ medal and a runners goody bag.  Group discount is available to groups of 4 or more at just £12 per person. The run will start at 8.30pm, with registration opening at 7:30pm.

Helena Sinclair, Events Fundraiser at Dorset Blind Association said: “We are extremely excited to bring the Bright for Sight Night Run to Weymouth, following on from its popularity in Boscombe. We hope that the event will raise additional support and vital awareness in the local community for sight loss and the ever growing need for our services.”

We are encouraging runners to raise sponsorship for their 5k or 10k challenge to support them in their 100th year. Commit to raising just £100 in sponsorship and enable 20 vulnerable people to be visited in their homes by our caring volunteers.

If you would like to enter the Bright for Sight Night Run in Weymouth, call 01202 712864 or enter online now!

We were delighted to be chosen to be Crossways Travel’s ‘Charity of the Year’ in 2018.  The local Coach Tour Operator, based near Dorchester, recently made a very generous donation of £2114.16 to us, raised with the help of their local customers. The company operating day excursions and Holiday Tours from Dorset, invited us along to their annual Christmas Party Lunch to present the cheque on Thursday 20th December.

Matthew Crocker, owner of Crossways Travel said, “We are delighted with the amount raised this year for the charity and we are pleased to see that Dorset Blind Association were very grateful for the generous support of our customers.”

Support from local businesses is very important to us here at Dorset Blind Association and we are very grateful for the kind support of Crossways Travel. Financial support is always greatly received as we don’t receive any government funding, but there is also the added exposure we get which helps to introduce us to more people who could benefit from our help. We always hope to be selected as businesses ‘Charity of the Year’ as it is a fantastic opportunity that greatly benefits us.