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In this section you can view previous projects or activities just click one of the five items below to jump to that section
1 Jump to Reaching young people
2 Jump to Celebration of Learning and Achievement
3 Jump to BlindVoice UK Double Awards Success
5 Jump to Transporter Bridge Donation
Trustee Val Hydes spent an hour with 1st & 6th Fairfield Brownies in connection with their Disability Awareness Badge. The girls enjoyed learning about Braille and Moon and watched an informative video. They then joined in various games to do with sight loss, A thoroughly good time was had by all.
Celebration of Learning and Achievement
Stockton Central Library
Monday 11 th July 2005 11.00
Pictured: Rob Tucker of Angelfish Media receiving the Ann Kallagher Award given in recognition of his time and expertise in creating a professional website for BlindVoice UK
BlindVoice UK celebrated the success and achievements for Blind and Visually Impaired Learners who have received accreditation in ICT delivered in Partnership with Stockton 's Adult Education Service.
Adult Education Tutor Julia Jobling who has been instrumental in this success received one of the first George Glass Awards in appreciation for the outstanding support given by an individual in support of our organisation.
Manager Christine Durnion said "We have many reasons to celebrate this week we have been awarded 4 new funding opportunities in the last 2 weeks including £3,500 from Stockton Residents Neighbourhood Renewal Community Learning Chest, £5000 from Lloyds TSB, £5000 from Awards for All and £5000 from the Barclaycard/ Evening Gazette Awards. This has given our organisation more stability and created a new post and we are grateful to all that have contributed to this success. The awards to the visually impaired learners are really special as this is a huge achievement with some of the learners gaining a qualification for the first time in their lives. This was a special day for us all."
BlindVoice UK Double Awards Success report
BlindVoice UK's nominated Phillip Ward for The Evening Gazette Community Champions Awards for 2004. The catogory being the " Champion Youth Award".
Phillip has achieved so much since losing his sight at the age of 12. By sheer determination, hard work and the support of a loving family he is where he is today studying a history degree at Newcastle University.
The charity itself was nominated by councillor Ann Cains the catogory being "Best Community Group"
After a wait of several weeks we were pleased to receive the news that Phillip and BlindVoice UK had been short listed and invited to the all expenses paid Awards Ceremony held at The Thistle Hotel, Middlesbrough on Friday December 3rd 2004.
After enjoying a superb meal the awards ceremony began. for each of the 10 categories a 45second video was shown of the 3 finalist in each section.
Phillip was the third award of the evening, we so wanted him to win and waited for the words "and the winner is... Phillip Ward" the applause was so loud people were stranding up such a well deserved winner. he walked proudly down to recieve his award with his father, what a joy to see.
BlindVoice UK was the 6th award that evening we were waiting for those words again, listening, thinking, hoping and could not believe yes we had won as well, we were so excited.
We all enjoyed the rest of the night celebrating yet another success!!
A training course designed to teach sighted people to read and write Braille
This course is designed for staff from employers or service providers; staff and volunteers from organisations that provide assistance to the blind; family members, friends, neighbours and colleagues of blind people; and people whose own eyesight is beginning to cause them concern.
Why should people who can see learn Braille… ?
People who are blind and visually impaired have a legally, enforceable right to receive printed information in a format that they can read. So all employers and service providers will increasingly be asked to produce information in Braille. Staff with a basic knowledge of Braille will become increasingly useful to companies and their customers.
If you have visually impaired child knowledge of Braille will help you help your child with basic reading and homework. Using Braille around the home will encourage your child to learn to read and write more quickly.
If you live or work with a blind or visually impaired person, the ability to leave messages, phone numbers and so on in Braille is invaluable. And if the person is deaf and blind Braille may be the only effective means of communication
Friends and neighbours who are visually impaired will appreciate and enjoy receiving birthday and Christmas cards in Braille enabling them to read the messages independently.
If your own sight is fading and you fear that you may be faced with blindness you may wish to learn Braille while you can still see well enough to see the dots.
“Braille for the Sighted” training comes in three separate self-contained units. It is not necessary to complete all three units. Some students are satisfied after the beginner’s course. Some wish to continue to become completely fluent in Braille.
Details of beginners course are as follows:
· Two 10 week courses are planned to commence on 27th September 2004 and on 11th January 2005.
· By the end of the first course you will be able to read and write Grade 1 Braille, which is the Braille alphabet, and have made progress into Grade 2 Braille learning some word contractions and abbreviations to speed up reading and writing.
· You will be able to borrow a Perkins Brailling Machine for the duration of the course.
· You will also be taught how to prepare documents ready for transcription into Braille. In the modern office Braille can easily be produced with computers, special software and Braille printers, called embossers. Many organisations are now producing their information and correspondence in this way towards the end of the course you will be shown how all of this equipment works.
The course tutor is Linda Oliver who is blind. She has been teaching people to read and write Braille for many years. Linda has won the highest praise from her students who nominated her for a National Adult Tutor’s Award. By the imaginative use of exercises and student participation Linda has turned the course into a fun-filled learning experience that has been thoroughly enjoyed by all of those who have taken part.
Course Location: Portrack Community Centre, Portrack Lane, Stockton-on-Tees.
For more information on the introductory course or the advanced levels or to enrol on the course please contact:
Adult Education Office
Thornaby Flights Training Centre
The Old Airfield
Master Road
Thornaby
Stockton-on-Tees TS17 0BE
Tel. 01642 391551
Christine Durnion,
Communication Centre Manager Stockton Blind People’s Voice
27 Yarm Road, Stockton TS18 3NJ Tel. 01642 803590
E-mail: christine.durnion@blindvoice.co.uk
My Experience Crossing the Transporter Bridge for
BlindVoice UK Donation
On Saturday 11 th June 2005 I set out to cross the enormous Transporter Bridge. I was doing this to raise money for BlindVoice UK who help blind and visually impaired people.
The bridge is 200 feet high and over 500 feet wide. When I got to the bridge it seemed much higher than I thought. I didn't realise that you could look through the steps and see the river beneath my feet. As I climbed higher, the steps became steep ladders and you could still see the river below.
When I got to the top I could see the walkway between the 2 towers was also transparent. There was no solid floor beneath my feet. The river was still visible far, far below. It was a bit scary but I managed to cross from one side of the Tees to the other. The steps downward seemed steeper than before as I started to descend. After what seemed a long time I eventually got back to the ground.
This was a scary but exhilarating experience. Even better I raised over £170 for a cause I believed in. This was a morning well spent.