Grant from The National Lottery Community Fund
We regularly make applications for grants to fund our information and support projects and have recently been successful in securing £12,000 from The National Lottery Community Fund.
The National Lottery has generously decided to award us a grant to be used in regard to our Local Peer Support Groups, and volunteer training in order to train our facilitators and Talk and Support volunteers. Their support means we can accelerate our positive impact, and make sure that no one with inherited sight loss need feel alone.
Our most recent sight loss survey identified that 93% of people with inherited sight loss said they experienced negative psychological impacts related to their condition, with isolation being a key theme.
Our local peer support groups offer the opportunity to meet others affected by inherited sight loss to form friendships and make connections. This includes our national men’s peer support group, which was introduced after men told us that they were struggling; feeling alone and finding it difficult to open up about their feelings. The National Lottery Community Fund grant will support this and other existing groups and allow us to set up a much needed new parent support group.
Our Talk and Support service links people who may be feeling isolated or lonely with a trained volunteer with lived experience for regular informal chats. This service has seen a rise in demand and the grant will allow us to expand the service to meet the needs of more people.
Deputy Chief Executive, Paula McGrath said: “We are so grateful to The National Lottery Community Fund for providing this funding. We rely on these grants and the very generous support of individuals to be able to provide vital support to people living with inherited sight loss. The rarity of these conditions means we often hear that people have never met anyone with their condition before they connected to our charity.”