E-Newsletter June 2024

Tuesday 16 July – 7pm to 8.30pm 

We encourage you to get involved and have your say on how we shape the future of our Young Adult’s Project moving forward.
Are you aged 18 to 30 and either living with an inherited retinal dystrophy or are a friend or family member? Then come and join us for our Retina UK Young Adults Summer Social.

Would you like to meet peers of a similar age to share tips, hints and information such as Further Education to Employment, Leaving Home to First-Time Buying as well as forming long term friendships?

If you are a young adult living with an IRD who are finding their feet in this crazy wide world, whether you have been losing your vision since childhood or have been recently diagnosed and you are interested in connecting with like-minded people, then this event would be perfect for you.

You asked us to move our Annual Conference north and we’ve done just that! Join us in central Manchester on Saturday, 28 September for what promises to be an uplifting and informative day, and the great news is it’s free to attend.

While we’d love you and your friends and family to join us in person, you can also register to watch the sessions live online.

We are still adding finishing touches to the programme, but it already includes the opportunity to:

• Hear Professor Graeme Black, consultant ophthalmologist and experienced researcher,  in conversation with Retina UK’s three new PhD students.
• Join us as we take a deep dive into the latest research into Inherited Sight Loss.
• Listen to our community explain how Retina UK’s peer support services have improved their health and wellbeing.
• Take part in our ever-popular research Q&A. Panel participants will include Professor Graeme Black and Dr Panos Sergouniotis.

So come along and spend the day with others living with inherited sight loss, chat to Retina UK’s friendly staff and volunteers and meet exhibitors from across the sight loss sector.

Our conference is always popular and in-person places are limited so register today at: RetinaUK.org.uk/annual-conference

The venue is the Pendulum Hotel (M1 3BB) located just a short walk from Manchester’s railway stations.

We hold a CPD-accredited Conference specifically for professionals. It’s free to attend and being held in central Manchester on Friday, 27 September, and also online.

View the packed programme and book your place at: RetinaUK.org.uk/prof-conf. In-person numbers are limited for this popular annual event so early registration is advised.

We’re so excited to announce the inaugural Retina UK Day! Save the date of Thursday, 10 October 2024 as we’ll be sharing more about this very special day in our summer edition of Look Forward, as well as on our website and social media pages. Register your interest today if you’d like to come together to support Retina UK this winter.

Join our Lived Experience Panel

Would you like to share your experiences of living with sight loss and take part in research-related activities? Sign up to Retina UK’s Lived Experience Panel, and we’ll email you whenever we hear about appropriate participation opportunities. Recent examples have included community representation on a biotechnology company’s Clinical Advisory Group, and an academic-led study of the brain’s response to vision loss. There is never any obligation to take part; you can simply ignore our email. Join at Join our Lived Experience Panel – Retina UK 

Win up to £25,000 and feel great about supporting people with inherited sight loss.
One ticket a week can support parents and young people navigating the challenges faced after diagnosis.

Three tickets a week can help support our crucial Helpline, supporting people with practical and emotional help.
Five tickets a week can help fund ground-breaking research, giving hope to people living with inherited sight loss.

“Thank you so much. You don’t realise how much it helped me to talk to someone who knows what I’m going through. I don’t feel alone anymore. You have given me a lot to think about in terms of what I can do in the future”.
Talk & Support service user

Just visit RetinaUK.org.uk/lottery or scan the QR Code and join the Retina UK Weekly Lottery.

Responsible gambling
To help you enjoy the fun, we’ve put together some information about gambling responsibly on the Retina UK website: RetinaUK.org.uk/lottery.

Berkshire
Tuesday 14 May – 7pm to 8pm – Online
Guest speaker Christine Cutts, Sight Loss Support Officer at Berkshire Vision.

London & South East
Saturday 18 May – 11am to 1pm – Online
Guest speaker Rory Field, CEO of Metro Blind Sport.

Belfast
Thursday 23 May – 10am – In-person
Come and join the Belfast Bumpers Group to ‘Dine out in Dublin’.

Merseyside Meet & Greet
Thursday 6 June – 7pm to 8pm – Online
Come and join us for an online meet & greet to relaunch the Merseyside peer support group.

Buckinghamshire Coffee Morning
Tuesday 18 June – 11.30am – In-person

West Midlands
Sunday 23 June – 1pm –  In-person
We are pleased to invite you to join group facilitator Perm Bhachu and the group for their next in-person meet up where we will be visiting the White Swan Country Pub & Restaurant to enjoy a delicious Sunday lunch.

Men’s Peer Support Group – Online – Tuesday 25 June – 7pm to 8pm – Come and join us for a catch up and experience some of our new virtual rooms at our Men’s Peer Support group where you can chat with old friends and make some new ones too.

National Peer Support Group Summer Meeting – Online – Wednesday 3 July – 7pm to 8pm – We are delighted to welcome British disability flying charity, Aerobility. Come and join us to hear about what tailored experiences they can offer to those who are blind or visually impaired, giving you the opportunity to pilot your own plane!

Manchester – Online – Thursday 11 July – 7pm to 8pm – We are pleased to invite you to join group facilitator Rachael Foley for our latest online meeting where we are delighted to welcome our guest speaker Azeem Amir, player for the England Blind Football Team.

London & South East – In-person – Saturday 27 July – 1pm – Come and join Bhavini, Kajal and the group for lunch at Vapiano Tower Bridge, Italian restaurant and visit to the Hayes Galleria.

Tyne & Wear in collaboration with Northern Alliance VIP’s  – In-person – Saturday 10 August – 1pm to 7pm – Please come and join us for a great day filled with fun and laughter where you will get to meet like-minded people and their partners as well as hearing from a range of wonderful speakers; from sight loss charities to scientists.

Come and join us for an in-person coffee morning in Aylesbury to relaunch the Buckinghamshire peer support group.