From fixing iPads to meeting Royalty - RNIB volunteers take trip to Windsor for State visit
RNIB volunteers Simon Holt and Jonathan Abro with Jo Keller and representatives from Guide Dogs at the reception held at Windsor to celebrate the importance of volunteering.
Two volunteers with sight loss visited Windsor earlier this month (Thursday, 4 December) to meet a Royal request and to explain how volunteering can bring communities together.
Jonathan Abro and Simon Holt, who both volunteer for RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People), were part of the reception team who shone a light on the tireless work of volunteers as they met HM The King and the President of Germany at an event at Windsor Castle.
The event marked an opportunity for Germany to explore the success of a volunteering initiative launched in Britain two years ago.
On the Bank Holiday Monday of the Coronation in May 2023, more than 7 million people joined in the Big Help Out while double that number tucked in at the inaugural Big Lunch across the UK as part of the new monarch’s focus on recognising the contribution of volunteers to British life.
Talking tech
Jonathan Abro, from London, who has retinitis pigmentosa and was part of RNIB’s team at the event, said: “What a privilege it is to be able to represent RNIB at this prestigious event at Windsor Castle.
“My volunteering role at RNIB includes providing tech support for other blind and partially sighted people to use their devices, which I do both in person and remotely. I love to travel and have even been recording my ongoing adventures for broadcast on RNIB Connect Radio, as well as speaking at awareness raising events.
“For me, volunteering with RNIB is all about trying to make a positive difference for other blind and partially sighted people.”
Simon's story
Simon, who is from Oxford, said: "Volunteering with RNIB has given me leadership, advocacy, and team working skills that I have been able to use in the rest of my life, allowing me to fulfil my potential both at work and lead a more empowered, independent life.
"It was great to be able to share this with HRH King Charles and great to have our voice heard by our Head of State and the President of Germany too."
A victory for volunteering
Last year, volunteers like Jonathan and Simon supported thousands of other people living with sight loss. Last year, 2,100 blind and partially sighted people were supported through RNIB telephone groups and more than £300,000 was collected through Sooty collection boxes in sites around the UK.
Jo Keller, Head of Volunteering Strategy and Innovation at RNIB, said: “We were so excited to be invited to join this event celebrating the incredible scope of the work that volunteers do for so many charities including RNIB. We are elated that Jonathan and Simon were able to join us and share first-hand the benefits of volunteering they have experienced. RNIB volunteers have been involved in the Big Help Out from its inception and what better way to build excitement for next June’s event than with a Royal visit.”
Shout-out to the Big Help Out
At the event, the President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier learnt more about the power of volunteering by hearing directly from volunteers telling their stories at the event, which was part of a packed programme for the three-day state visit hosted by the King and Queen. The visit, which began on Wednesday, is the first by a German Head of State to the UK this century.
RNIB representatives were on the health and disability station within the function room alongside Guide Dogs for the Blind with guide dog puppies and their volunteer trainers. A volunteer from British Red Cross was also on hand to talk about their involvement in the last two editions of the Big Help Out.
After a successful event last year, the Big Help Out returns as part of Volunteers Week in June 2026. Sharing enthusiasm for the power of volunteering, Germany will be holding its own special volunteering day on 26 May 2026.
The Big Help Out is supported by 36 of the largest volunteering charities in the UK who come together in ‘Shaping the Future with Volunteering’ and the event demonstrates how volunteering is open to all and a way of bringing communities together as well as promoting the physical and mental wellbeing of the volunteers themselves.
His Majesty King Charles III is RNIB’s patron, following on from his mother her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, who served as the charity’s patron for 70 years until her death in 2022.
