Press Release issued: 5 December 2012.
An Ayrshire-wide plea for funds to help people come to terms with losing their sight is being launched today with an upfront donation of £10,000.
The Ayrshire Vision Appeal is aiming to raise £150,000 to maintain a service run by sight loss charity RNIB Scotland at Ayr hospital and Crosshouse Hospital in Kilmarnock.
The service provides emotional support for people newly diagnosed with sight-threatening conditions. It also offers practical advice and information on a range of aids and services to help maintain independence and reduce loneliness and isolation.
But the service, which began in August last year, now needs funding to continue its vital work. The Ayrshire Vision Appeal is being launched this evening in the Mercure Hotel in Ayr, where pharmaceutical giant Glaxo Smith Kline will hand over a donation of £10,000 from its GSK Irvine 2012 Community Development Fund towards the appeal.
John Legg, director of RNIB Scotland who will speak at tonight's launch, said: "We estimate there are around 4,900 blind and partially sighted people with a registered visual impairment in the Ayrshire and Arran health board region, and a further 20,000 with significant sight loss.
"But without our service, only a tiny percentage will be offered support and counselling, despite the enormous impact sight loss can have on people's lives. That's why RNIB Scotland is so anxious to maintain this service for Ayrshire.
"As well as helping people come to terms with what can be a devastating diagnosis, our staff can also advise on what aids and adjustments can make life easier, help people to retain their job or re-train for new work, and explain what benefits are available.
"Since our Vision Support Service opened, we have helped hundreds of people at the point of diagnosis. But there are many more who will need our help in the future. We desperately need the help of local people and businesses to raise £150,000 to continue funding this service. By supporting the Ayrshire Vision Appeal, you can help blind and partially sighted people rebuild lives devastated by sight loss."
Presenting the £10,000 cheque on behalf of Glaxo Smith Kline, Cammy Mitchell, engineering director at the firm's Irvine plant, said: "I am very proud to have the opportunity to make the very first donation to the RNIB Scotland's Ayrshire Vision Appeal. It is wonderful to be able to support organisations such as RNIB Scotland who have such an impressive dedication to improving the health and lives of people living in our community. I would encourage others to support this appeal and help make a real difference to those living with sight loss across the whole of Ayrshire."
You can support the Ayrshire Vision Appeal through your work, school, university, church, club or with your friends. Elma Magowan, local RNIB Scotland fundraiser, can give you tips and ideas as well as explain how you can make the most of your donation through Gift Aid and matched giving.
If you can you spare just a few hours every now and then, the appeal also needs volunteers to help with events, local activities, collections and talks to local groups.
For more information contact Elma Magowan, call 01294 21 53 38, e.mail fundraising@rnib.org.uk, or visit www.rnib.org.uk/ayrshireappeal.
Case Study
Hazel McFarlane from Troon has lived with a degenerative sight condition all her life. In June 2007 she attended the eye clinic as an emergency case. She said: "I had known for some time that one day I would become totally blind. I tried to prepare for it, but now I had to digest this news in a busy public waiting area in the clinic. My mind started racing through all the things that I would have to deal with and in seconds dozens of questions had turned into total panic."
Hazel used this experience, which is unfortunately very common, to help develop RNIB Scotland's Vision Support Service in Ayrshire and Arran so that others can now have the privacy, specialist support, a listening ear and the guidance to come to terms with living with sight loss. This proved to be a turning point for her. "I now have a determination and many strategies that help me deal with everyday life," she said. "I enjoy other ways to 'see' my son, through conversation and hugs; I have found ways to continue my love of cooking; and I feel liberated when I run with my running club."