Author: brownbooth

An account from our Trustee Sam Cole talking about her inspirational fight to achieve Digital Display and Audible Announcement at bus stops across West Dorset.

“It is so lovely to meet up with other groups in the county.  Our Social Eyes Weymouth meet roughly once a year with our equally young at heart mates in Poole and Bournemouth.   It is a fun social event, we exchange personal experiences, our coping strategies and so, so much more. One of the members Chris is up to date with apps,  I am good at law and entitlement, some people have great ideas how to fund-raise, some people want to get a mini break with like minded people, or a new friend who is “ in the same boat”. At one of these get togethers a couple of years back, I learned that in Bournemouth & Poole our colleagues had lovely grey key fobs for the digital bus displays. I asked about these and learned that their local council provide people with poor vision a key fob, which when pressed and pointed at the new digital bus displays will speak out loud exactly what it says on the visual display.  Well – I was astounded. I was astonished. In the whole of West Dorset, we have never been told about them, ever knew they even existed. This made me question, why? Why do West Dorset not have these? Why are our displays audio functions switched off?

I first called Dorset Blind Association and they informed me that they did not know why this was the case, but when last they tried to find out they were told that the Council did not provide key fobs for audible announcement.   So, I asked Dorset Blind Association to type a letter with my name on to ask Dorset County Council why we cannot access the audio described bus timetables, unfortunately Dorset Blind were unable to provide assistance with this particular issue. So I did some research and I rang Guide Dogs UK whom told me that it is breaking the law to not provide the service. I then called RNIB who were able to provide a basic letter with part of the accessibility law printed within, to show the West Dorset Council why they had to provide the audio information by law,  as presently they were breaking the law of the Accessibility Act 2010. So I used this letter and I collected twenty names and addresses of people at Social Eyes Weymouth to prove at least twenty people wanted this just in Weymouth. I had to chat carefully and politely at length over several months negotiating the case with the Transport Team. It was tiring and frustrating, so eventually I also called two Weymouth Councillors to get involved.

After months of sheer persistence – we got there.  An engineer has been down to Weymouth & Portland with equipment to gradually switch our units back on.

What a big difference this service will make for elderly or visually impaired in this area. The new service allows people to take their key fob to a bus stop which has a digital display. Then all they need to do is press the two buttons simultaneously to switch on,  press one button to hear the name of the bus stop and present time and the other button to hear the next bus that is due, and other bus numbers and times. I love it. I have never been able to access the information before which usually meant myself and guide dog could be sat in a bus stop up to half hour. So this service is extremely useful.’’

Well done to Sam for achieving this amazing service in West Dorset that can be used by our members and elderly or visually impaired citizens of West Dorset.

If you want to use this service in your area, please call Dorset Community Transport Information Line, to speak to Amanda Evans on (01305) 224518 as you may be entitled to this service.

Summer is officially here! What better way to enjoy the long summer days than to get yourself out in the fresh air with your friends and family and set yourselves a challenge! We have a great range of challenge events coming up this summer, something for all ages and abilities. Support our 100th Anniversary by signing up today, or make a donation to support someone elses challenge.

To read more click here.

We have had a very busy month here at DBA, hosting a huge variety of fundraising events around the county; from a music night in Bournemouth to our annual motor show at Lulworth Castle and our virtual race night in Weymouth to an Adele Tribute at The Sandford Pub!

Take a read to find out more about what we have been up to, how success our annual Motor Show was and what exciting things we have coming up, click here.

We are celebrating our 100th Anniversary this year, returning to Lulworth Castle on Sunday 13th May with our annual motor show and family fun day. A fantastic family day out not to be missed, with entertainment for all ages! The Castle Showground will be open to the general public from 12:00pm – 4:00pm and is free entry, however Lulworth parking charges will apply.

 

Take a wonder around the motor display, showcasing over 100 vehicles set in front of the beautiful castle; classics to motorbikes, modified cars to retro campervans, plus the exclusive appearance of the Aston Martin Vanquish S Red Arrows car (otherwise known as the Aston Martin Red 10). The showground will offer a variety of artisan stalls selling local produce and handmade goods, with catering available all afternoon provided by Dorset Catering Services and live entertainment from local groups. Let your children enjoy activities in our kids area, with a bouncy castle, face painting, stalls and a visit from Peppa Pig.

Katy Renault attended the event last year with her family and said, ‘We all had a great day out at the Motor Show and the sun was shining! We really enjoyed wandering around the showground and looking at all the fantastic cars on display. We will definitely be back again in 2018 and look forward to being part of the charities centenary celebrations.’

Lulworth Estate kindly offer the use of the Castle grounds to Dorset Blind Association for our annual Motor Show, the only one that is held at Lulworth, as the owner James Weld is the current president of our charity. Dorset Blind Association are very thankful to all the sponsors who have made this event possible, especially Imerys and Humphries Kirk solicitors who are the main event sponsors.

Simon Cross, partner at Humphries Kirk, commented: “We’re proud to be supporting Dorset Blind Association at the Lulworth Castle Motor Show this year, it’s a great event for families to come along to and see some classic cars as well as enjoying the magnificent surroundings of the castle. We’d also like to wish the charity all the best for celebrating its 100th anniversary this year – a marvellous achievement for a local organisation.”

The need for our services are ever increasing and with the number of people living with visual impairment due to hit 35,000 in Dorset alone, the demand is high. We hope to receive additional support with fundraising during our centenary, as well as the chance to raise vital awareness in the local community for sight loss. Currently we support over 1000 visually impaired people every month which is powered by 300+ volunteers.

To mark our Centenary, we are holding a campaign throughout the year encouraging individuals or groups to be a member of The 100 Club. They are looking for 100 kind people to raise £100 by carrying out a fundraising activity or by making a donation. For more information or to set up your fundraising page click here.

 

As the weather is finally starting to brighten up, we look forward to our fun-fueled motor show at Lulworth Castle as we gear up and head full throttle into a busy summer of fundraising!

Don’t forget about the new GDPR Legislation which comes into place in May! We need you to re-register here if you want to stay up to date and receive our future newsletters. We have so many exciting things for you to look forward to and being signed up is the best way to be kept in the loop. Read more here

 

It’s our 100th anniversary! For a century we’ve been helping visually impaired people across Dorset, now supporting over 1000 people each month, but there is still more people we need to help. It’s a big year for us and we want as many of our loyal supporters to be involved as possible, from being part of The 100 Club to joining our celebratory events! Read more here