Surrey Association for Visual Impairment. Making a visible difference in Surrey.
What's New at SAVI
COUNCIL STAFF GIVE SAVI THE CHANGING ROOMS TREATMENT
Employees from Surrey County Council (SCC) swapped pens for paintbrushes last week in order to bring a dash of colour to the training room of the Surrey Association for Visual Impairment (SAVI).SAVI’s training room in Fetcham plays a vital role in helping healthcare professionals get up to speed with the latest developments on increasing awareness about the needs of people throughout the county who are blind or visually impaired.
Staff from SCC’s mid-Surrey area office chose to give up their valuable time to create a more professional and welcoming environment for people attending SAVI training courses.
Senior Service Support Assistant for Services and Families, Angie Edwards, said: “We are always keen to show our support for Surrey-based organisations and we felt that SAVI could benefit from our painting and decorating skills. It’s fantastic to know that our efforts will eventually contribute to improving the lives of visually impaired people.”
SAVI Chief Executive, Lance Clarke, added: “We can’t thank the SCC team enough for all their hard work in helping us create the right professional environment in which healthcare professionals can learn and benefit from the training we offer.
“The timing of this make-over is just right as we have just launched our new IT training programme to enable visually impaired adults to make the most of computers and other technology.”
The makeover has been kindly sponsored by Akzonobel ICI Paints. The paint was specially selected with advice from Trevor Steele and Sheridan Barclay from the Akzonobel Colour Studio on the best combination of colours to suit the special needs of visually impaired people.
SAVI Mistletoe Ball Success
On Saturday the 12th December the Surrey Association for Visual Impairment held its inaugural Mistletoe Ball at Tyrrells Wood Golf Club near Leatherhead. Over 100 guests attended the event enjoying an evening of wining and dining and dancing to the sounds of the Revelations band.
The evening’s entertainment also included a prize raffle and Silent Auction. Among the highlights of the auction were a signed Chelsea Football which raised £175 and a case of Kaiserbach cutlery which made £150.
The Ball was generously sponsored by ExxonMobil plc whilst donations were also received from Barclays PLC and Uk Tickets. All told, the Ball raised over £4200 for the charity.
The charity’s chief executive, Lance Clarke, said: “We were absolutely thrilled with the Ball and are extremely grateful to everyone who supported it. Our aim is make it an annual event in Surrey’s social calendar.”
SAVI Annual Meeting
The Surrey Association for Visual Impairment held its Annual Meeting for Subscribing Members on 13 October 2009 in the Leatherhead Leisure Centre. 
Over one hundred members enjoyed a varied day of presentations and workshops, as well as being able to view displays of crafts and equipment. The president of SAVI, Mrs Sarah Goad, Lord Lieutenant of Surrey chaired the meeting.
Our keynote speaker, Stephen Remington the CEO of Action for Blind People outlined their partnership with RNIB. This was obviously of great interest to members who asked Mr Remington lots of questions.
We also enjoyed a talk from Mr Peter Clifford of the South Woking Team Ministry who spoke about the work of his Woking based mission in Morocco, helping to support blind and partially sighted adults and children. SAVI members were enthralled when he explained that there were no services for the blind at all in the country and outlined what the Mission had achieved. Mrs Val Clarke said, “It is so good to learn about the fine work that a Surrey-based charity does for people in Morocco. We get such great services here in Surrey and it kind of puts things into perspective. We are so lucky.”
Lance Clarke said, “We are working hard to raise our profile to even more people in Surrey and it’s great to hear such warm praise from those who receive our services. But we do know that there are many more people in Surrey to whom we could give advice and service who need to know more about us.”
Touching the past - telling stories of our heritage through the language of our senses
SAVI was recently was involved in the groundbreaking Surrey Heritage Tactile Book Competition in which museums, galleries and heritage organisations took up the challenge to turn part of their collection into a tactile book.
For a visually impaired child, being able to feel, hear or even smell their way through a story can heighten the experience and understanding.
Where was the cats’ tea party? Who was the mushroom man? And how exactly do you get rid of a witch? These are just some of Surrey’s true stories recreated as sensory books for visually impaired children this summer.
The winners were announced in a special awards ceremony attended by Steven Dodd the Woking Mayor’s Consort and Peter Milton, Head of Cultural Services, Surrey County Council. The first prize winning organisation received a prize of £200 from Surrey Museums Consultative Committee (SMCC) who coordinated and funded the project, in association with Surrey Heritage. They were:
1st prize – Brooklands Museum for ‘Aircraft Structures’
2nd prize – Guildford Museum for ‘Princess Eleanor’s Special Day’
3rd prize – Surrey Heritage for ‘The Witch’s Bottle’
The books will tour a number of Waterstones booksellers and libraries around the county before returning to their own heritage organisation in the new year.
SAVI Open Day
SAVI opened its doors to health and social care staff to showcase its work on 23 September 2009. The Open Day was a chance for agencies who provide other services in the county to meet people who have a visual impairment and learn how it impacts on their lives as well as finding out more about what SAVI provides on behalf of Surrey County Council.
One of the visually impaired speakers, Kristina, who has been visually impaired since a stroke some years ago said, “It was so good to meet with other visually impaired people and to feel that I was doing something to raise the profile of SAVI, without whom my life would have been so different. I moved to Surrey from another county and was put in touch with SAVI. Until then I had been virtually a prisoner in my own home and I wondered where my life was going. SAVI introduced me to life again and now, after support and training, I take my own son to school. This daily task is something everybody takes for granted but for me it was a giant step and I feel so proud about that. I feel like I fit in rather than feeling like an outsider. ”
The programme for the day comprised briefings and displays by SAVI staff and a chance for service users to talk to people from other agencies. One of the many visitors to SAVI, Nikki Medcalf, Community Support Worker, Runnymeade Social Care Team said, “It was an amazing insight into the work that you (SAVI) do, fantastic, emotive and interesting. There was lots of helpful information and insights from visually impaired people. I would love to do the SAVI one day course on sighted guide training.”
Judy Wilson, Advisory Teacher from Surrey County Council said, “We already have an established partnership that I value tremendously, the presentation by the Combined Sight and Hearing Loss team was very good. The visit to the Resource Centre was very good too and there was lots of useful and up to date information with a chance to ask questions.”
During the day, SAVI captured the experiences of a number of people who had lost their sight to illustrate the real effect of sight loss. The videos will be a powerful tool for SAVI to show other service providers and agencies the underlying need for thorough and timely intervention at the earliest possible stage and good quality emotional support. Take a look at the videos here.
Brave visually impaired youngsters go Paragliding
Last weekend, six daredevil visually impaired young people from Surrey climbed up Mount Caburn on the South Downs just east of Lewis, and then jumped off again.
The weather gods were kind and the first to climb up in the thermals to over 1000 feet above the A27 below was Joshua, the smallest of the group at 11 years old. Josh couldn’t see the view, but that didn’t seem to matter. Once he’d got the feel of the glider, he was able to take control for a while, with the instructor in the back seat keeping a careful watch for other aircraft!
With increasing wind it was soon time to land and fly with someone a bit heavier to make the glider go faster. So for the next few hours, everyone got their turn in the front seat to experience flying alongside kestrels, swallows, buzzards, gulls and briefly with a peregrine falcon, a local aerial superstar capable of 240 mph! For added adrenaline, some of the gang experienced some high-g aerobatics including wing-overs and spiral dives on the way back down, before calming down again to make a soft landing.
Thirteen year old Dylan said: “I enjoyed the day immensely, the thrill of jumping off the steep hill, which I didn't like climbing up, was amazing. The best part was flying at 750ft with the circling buzzard which gave me a sense of freedom and the experience of flying as a bird”.
This experience was made affordable by Flyability (a disability initiative of British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association) who generously provided a grant of £60.00 per head. SAVI’s additional contribution made for a cheap day out for all concerned.
If you want to find out more about SAVI’s events contact Stella Black on 01372 377701 or email sblack@sa-vi.org.uk
The Cenotaph – An Ear Witness Account
In November 2008 one of SAVI’s members attended the Remembrance Day Ceremony at the Cenotaph in Whitehall and documented his day in the form of an ear witness account, as opposed to an eye witness account – being blind. The article was so good that it was featured by the Kent Association for the Blind in their newsletter and SAVI are also now offering their readers the chance to experience the sights and sounds conjured in Roy’s moving and descriptive account. Follow this link to experience the ceremony yourself
As an ex-serviceman and member of St Dunstan’s, Roy has received much support from them including guidance on using computers and the talking software that he now uses and used to write this article. As a St Dunstaner, Roy was entitled to attend the Cenotaph and duly took his place among the veterans.
Beautiful Merrow Lane Gardens Open
On Sunday 19th July keen gardeners in Merrow Lane Burpham opened their gardens once again to help raise £1,400 for Surrey Association for Visual Impairment.
The weather held off for around 200 people who came along to enjoy the sights, scents and sounds of summer. Each garden has it's own unique design and history behind it's creation. Visitors also had the chance to purchase donated plants, homemade jams and bric-a-brac.
“The gardens were an absolute delight and SAVI is so grateful to all the owners, their families and helpers
for all their hard work” said Lisa Holder, Head of Fundraising. “It was really fantastic to see so many people enjoying the gardens, not to mention the Pimms and cream teas!”
Plants for sale were donated by Longacre Garden Centre, Wyevale Garden Centre, Elm Nursery and Clandon Park Garden Centre. We also had gift vouchers from Secrett's Garden Centre, Squires Garden Centre, Johnson’s Wax and Sainsbury's.
New look SAVI Reception
Thanks to Akzonobel ICI Paints SAVI now has a freshly painted reception and visitor area in our Rentwood offices. The paint was specially selected with advice from Trevor Steele and Sheridan Barclay from the Akzonobel Colour Studio on the best combination of colours to suit the special needs of visually impaired people. The redecoration led to other initiatives such as obtaining furniture from Thales Aerospace and enhancing SAVI's display of Resource Centre equipment.
SAVI first 5-a-side Challenge success
SAVI held its inaugural 5 a side football tournament on May bank holiday Sunday at Goals Soccer Centre in Tolworth. Twelve teams representing companies and clubs throughout the region took part in the event which was sponsored by Atkins and Watson Wyatt.
The final was a closely fought contest between teams from Warren Mead FC and the Surrey Police with Warren Mead just coming out on top 4-3.
The charity’s chief executive, Lance Clarke said: “We are extremely grateful to everyone who took part in the tournament and our generous sponsors. Our aim is to build on this and stage other tournaments and fundraising events aimed at Surrey’s youth.”
The charity’s next tournament will be on 2nd August at Goals Tolworth. Team entry will be £35. For further information contact Mike Coffey: Email mcoffey@sa-vi.org or tel 01372 377701
Raise your Glasses for Louis Braille!
It is 200 years since the birth of Louis Braille, the man who invented Braille. He developed the system after an accident and infection left him blind in both eyes. Today, Surrey Association for Visual Impairment (SAVI) are celebrating Louis’ Birthday with a ‘Raise Your Glasses’ Event at Parkroom Restaurant in Guildford College.Special guests include SAVI President and Lord Lieutenant of Surrey Mrs Sarah Goad, SAVI Vice President Sir Richard Thornton, Cllr Pauline Searle the Deputy Mayor of Guildford, Cllr Derrick Burt, Chairman of Mole Valley and Valerie Arnold, Chairman of Surrey WI. Tony Tobin, Surrey’s own celebrity chef, has provided us with a special cocktail recipe for the occasion so we can toast Louis in style!One of the many services that Surrey Association for Visual Impairment (SAVI) provides is teaching Braille via a network of communication classes across the county of Surrey. These classes offer a lifeline to the partially sighted, opening the door to wider communication and increased confidence as well as giving people an opportunity to exchange experiences and make new friends.You can help SAVI to celebrate Louis Braille’s bicentenary by holding your own ‘Raise your Glasses’ event and help raise funds to support! Say ‘cheers’ in the style of your choice - BBQ, Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Supper, Picnic, Champagne reception! To get involved and to receive a fundraising pack which includes Tony Tobin’s special cocktail recipe call Carol on 01372 377701 x 307.
VIP’s Attend the Theatre
On Saturday, twelve visually impaired children and their families attended an audio-described showing of Peter Pan at The Epsom Playhouse. The event was organised by Surrey Association for Visual Impairment (SAVI) and the theatre’s manager Trevor Mitchell.
The children were able to go back stage and meet the stars before the show where they felt costumes, hair and props. They even chatted to some of the cast including Peter Pan, Captain Hook and Mr. Smee - a real treat. During the headsets provided a running commentary of the events on stage enabling everyone to enjoy all aspects of the pantomime including the audience participation which was incredibly loud.
Ashley (in the photo) and his family are keen supporters of SAVI’s Children’s Recreation Project, and over the past year have attended many events including Outdoor Pursuits and Climbing, Ice Skating, Horse Riding.
Of the project they say, ‘As a family of two visually impaired children we feel really lucky to have such a proactive service in our local area. Stella Black who coordinates these exciting opportunities for SAVI is truly wonderful. She has arranged some amazing experiences for our sons, which all the family have enjoyed. Ashley loved the pantomime and cannot wait for next years! We are looking forward to many more events over the coming year.’
If you would like to know more, please contact the Project’s Coordinator Stella Black on 01372 377701 or email: sblack@sa-vi.org.uk
The Provincial Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons of Surrey donate £5,000 to SAVI's volunteering programme
SAVI were delighted to welcome members of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons of Surrey who have been raising funds to help with our volunteering programme. Ray Hussey, David Wilmot and Gerry Phillips enjoyed a tour of the resource centre in Fetcham and met up with two volunteers, Liz Licence who helps on reception and Barry Almond who is a volunteer driver. The picture shows Lance Clarke (our CEO) relieving Mr Hussey of the £5,000!
Your shopping basket is empty
The Difference Made Visible
Sight Loss
Learn about the most common eye conditions that can cause visual impairment.
Macular Disease
Cataract
Diabetic Retinopathy
Glaucoma
