RNIB Scotland annual review 2013/14
Living with confidence
Contents
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Making every day better
About us
Our work in numbers
Being there
Supporting independent living
Creating an inclusive society
Stopping people losing their sight unnecessarily
Your support
A brief look at our finances
Thank you
How you can help
Contact us
Making every day better
This annual review marks the end of RNIB’s 2009/14 five-year
plan. It is impossible to sum up all of our successes, but here are
just some of those of which we are particularly proud in Scotland in
2013/14.
We held a landmark conference exploring the services available
for children and young people with sight loss. There probably has
not been anything similar in Scotland for more than a decade. We
tapped into a real groundswell of ambition among teachers, health
and social services professionals, taking stock of how we help
children and young people maximise their life chances, and asking
what we could do better. Our Haggeye youth forum, meanwhile,
went from strength to strength, this year embarking on a new and
innovative direction to bring together young and older people with
sight loss.
In September, we held our second “Technology for Life”
conference. This built even further on the success of the previous
year, and showcased many of the cutting edge developments that
are helping blind and partially sighted people worldwide to gain
more and more independence.
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We continued to campaign for the rights of those with sight loss
and were pleased to have persuaded one Scottish local authority
to reverse its decision to stop paying subscription fees to the RNIB
Talking Book Service. We continue to support parents and children
from early years to school and beyond, and to help adults find or
retain a foothold in the labour market.
But there is much more to do and we are determined to play our
part in RNIB’s new plan for 2014/19. This cements our
commitment to be there for even more people when they are
losing their sight.
When someone is losing their sight, we want them to receive the
help and support they need to come to terms with this potentially
devastating news and face the future with confidence. So this year
we have strived to consolidate and expand our Vision Support
Service in health board areas across Scotland.
Reductions to services and incomes continue to have a huge
impact on the lives of many people with sight loss, so it is more
important than ever that we reach as many of them as possible.
Our welfare rights service identified unclaimed entitlements for
blind and partially sighted people in Scotland alone amounting to
just over £1million.
This review highlights the difference we made in 2013/14.
Although the tough economic climate is having an impact on our
resources, we are proud that our hard work has led to many
achievements this year. These are only possible thanks to your
generous financial support. Each and every one of our supporters,
along with our dedicated staff and volunteers, is making every day
better for everyone affected by sight loss.
Ken Reid, Chair
John Legg, Director
About us
We’re the Royal National Institute of Blind People Scotland and
we’re here for everyone affected by sight loss. Whether you’re
losing your sight or you’re blind or partially sighted, our practical
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and emotional support can help you face the future with
confidence.
Our ambition is to make every day better for everyone affected by
sight loss: by being there when you are losing your sight,
supporting independent living, creating an inclusive society and
preventing sight loss.
We’re a charity, proud to be led by a strong and active
membership of blind and partially sighted people, who, along with
our trustees, give direction to our work.
Our work in numbers
 RNIB Scotland has over 800 members and 640 volunteers
 Our Vision Support Officers reach 1,300 people each year at
the point of diagnosis, providing emotional and practical support
 RNIB Scotland has over 190 employees working in 15 locations
 £6.6million has been invested to roll out the Eyecare Integration
Project, in which we are a partner, a high-speed electronic linkup between opticians and eye clinics, across which digital
images of eyes can be sent for faster, more in-depth scrutiny
 92 per cent of people who used our Vision Support Service said
it was the main factor that improved their independence and
quality of life
 Our income maximisation service in Scotland identified
£1,009,519 in unclaimed benefits and other entitlements
 Although around 36,000 people are formally registered, an
estimated 188,000 people live with significant sight loss in
Scotland
Being there
Every day in Scotland, 10 people begin to lose their sight. But only
a small percentage will be offered support and counselling, despite
the devastating impact it can have on people’s lives. And yet
without support, people can rapidly lose confidence, leading to
social isolation and potential mental health problems, often
manifested in feelings of depression, anger and confusion.
To help bridge this gap, we are busily working to establish Vision
Support Services in health board areas throughout Scotland to
help people come to terms with sight loss. These advise on what
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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. Much of this is help that NHS eye clinic staff will not
have the time or knowledge to offer patients themselves.
In 2013/14, we had Vision Support Services in place in Ayrshire,
Borders, Edinburgh and Lothians, Shetland and Tayside.
Scottish Health Secretary Alex Neil MSP launched our Ayrshire
Vision Support Service in June, established in partnership with
NHS Ayrshire & Arran and the three local authorities in the region.
He said: “This is a fantastic new service that provides practical and
emotional advice and support at an early stage, which is key to
ensuring people can live as independently as possible. It is also a
great example of how partnership working across local health,
social care and third sector service can ensure people receive
quicker access to the treatment, advice and support they need.”
A key part of our Vision Support Service is Looking Forward, a
four-week peer support programme to assist people to come to
terms with their sight loss by offering help and information. By
creating a supportive environment, Looking Forward allows people
to talk about problems and solutions with others who are
experiencing similar difficulties.
With the launch of the Scottish Government’s “See Hear” strategy
to meet the needs of people with a sensory impairment, we are
also working closely with other sensory loss organisations to
integrate services where this would be beneficial and embark on
joint ventures.
In June, for example, our Visual Impairment Learning Disability
(VILD) team joined up with Alzheimer Scotland to launch a new
booklet, “Dementia and Sight Loss”, explaining how to detect the
first signs that something may be wrong with someone’s vision.
We have already pioneered techniques to help diagnose “hidden”
sight loss among stroke victims and people with learning
disabilities. People with dementia may also suffer sight loss that
goes undetected, compounded by the fact that they are unable to
communicate it.
We also received £150,000 from the Scottish Government to
develop a “vision toolkit” that will help specialists identify potential
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sight problems in people with autism, in partnership with Scottish
Autism and Napier University. And in October, we joined up with
mental health charity Breathing Space to expand the out-of-hours
emotional support available to people living with sight loss.
Ian’s story
Ian is in his 50s and was a taxi driver in Ayr until he lost his sight
due to ischemic retinopathy.
“When you’re told that your sight won’t improve a
million things go through your mind. I didn’t know
what would happen with my job, money, my
mortgage. Will I go completely blind? I had hundreds
of questions and was getting frustrated about not
getting any satisfactory answers.
When I spoke with the Vision Support Officer I felt it
was a sign that things were starting to move in the
right direction. She talked for a couple of hours about
the support that was available. It was reassuring that
somebody was there to answer my questions.
If it wasn’t for RNIB Scotland I would be at a loss.”
Supporting independent living
Scottish sprint star Libby Clegg, who is registered blind, shared her
build up to the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow with
listeners to our award-winning Insight Radio station. Libby suffers
from Stargardt’s macular dystrophy, a deteriorating eye condition,
which means she only has slight peripheral vision in her left eye.
Libby discussed her training regime, her motivation, the obstacles
she faces, and her hopes and fears as the competition
approached, in an audio diary broadcast every two weeks.
“I’m delighted at the opportunity to share my thoughts,” she said.
“Insight Radio is a radio station that aims to inspire and influence
blind and partially-sighted people all around the UK and indeed the
world, and I hope my diary will encourage blind people to make as
much of their life as they can.”
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Insight received £24,396 from Scottish Natural Heritage to help
increase access to Scotland’s countryside by people with sight
loss and other disabilities. ‘Insight Outdoors’ began in April
exploring a mix of themes from rambling and audio descriptive
tours, to nature festivals, landscape history, and even a blind
wildlife photographer who captures stunning bird-images by
listening to the beat of their wings.
Insight also broadcast “Work Matters”, a series of programmes on
learning and employment for people with sight loss and other
disabilities. The series, supported by Standard Life, examined
everything from new and accessible IT learning opportunities to
how to format a CV and prepare for a job interview.
Working in a busy radio environment, of course, is an ideal
medium to bring out the skills needed in the workplace. Ten young
disadvantaged people from Glasgow received training certificates
from Insight after completing training in basic broadcasting skills,
such as interviewing for radio, planning content, editing audio and
studio recording techniques. The main focus was on confidencebuilding, communication and team work.
RNIB Scotland also presented leaving certificates to 16 people
who completed a training course to improve their chances in the
job-market. The participants, aged between 21 and 58 years, all
had different degrees of sight loss. Some had been blind since
birth; others lost sight later in their working lives. Some had never
worked before; others had a 20-year history of employment.
Today, new technology and the move towards a more inclusive
society means their employment prospects should be much wider.
Despite this, the actual unemployment statistics for working-age
people with sight loss, at 66 per cent, make grim reading. That’s
why we’ve taken a lead in helping people find work or retain the
jobs they had before losing their sight. We need to challenge the
false perceptions that too many employers have about what blind
and partially sighted people are capable of.
The pre-employment programme covered CV-writing, preparation
for job interviews and mock interviews, communication skills,
confidence-building workshops, technology presentations, and
visits to State Street, a local employer. One participant has already
got a job.
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Anneza Akbar, 22, from Edinburgh is blind in one eye and partially
sighted in the other. After completing the RNIB course she secured
a telecommunications job with a call centre. “I thought the course
was very useful,” Anneza said. “It focused on the skills you need to
get a job and didn’t dwell on the fact you have a disability and got
that balance right. There was a real sense of community on the
course and people caring for each other.”
Our Edinburgh and Lothians team provide a comprehensive range
of services including assessment and care management,
rehabilitation, low vision, vision support, volunteering, children’s
services, a resource centre and over 20 groups and activities. Its
income maximisation service worked with 142 clients and
generated income for clients totalling £373,249.
Meanwhile, across Scotland, our wider income maximisation
service worked with 297 clients and won an additional £636,270 in
total.
Elsewhere, we held three community safety events throughout
Ayrshire alongside Action on Hearing Loss Scotland, with
speakers from the police and fire service. People with sight or
hearing loss can be more vulnerable to accidents in the home and
outside. These events discussed home-safety checks, preparing a
fire-escape plan, and the free installation of smoke alarms.
Our Haggeye youth forum launched the first issue of its quarterly
magazine, “Haggazine” in September, written and edited by its
members. Haggeye also began an innovative new project to bring
together younger and older people living with sight loss. These
events were an opportunity for participants aged between 18 and
30 and 55-plus to learn from each other, to share ideas and
experiences.
The “Education, Respect, Awareness” initiative, funded by a Big
Lottery grant, kicked off in Dundee and was followed by three
further events in Inverness, Galashiels and Stirling. Participants
discussed new technology such as iPads and personal computers,
then the young Haggeye members ran a “Complaints to
Campaigns” workshop.
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At present, there are thought to be around 2,000 blind and partially
sighted children and young people in Scotland, although it is
believed many with partial sight remain undetected. Most attend
mainstream local authority primary and secondary schools.
Our Scottish National Conference on Children and Young People
in April attracted more than double the number of participants
expected, with over 200 people booking a place. Teachers, social
workers, occupational therapists, child psychologists and young
people all took part. The conference discussed what’s in place,
from early years development through to post-16 support.
Sarah’s story
Sarah Maclean has Leber’s amaurosis which left her with no
vision. She is studying English Literature and French at Glasgow
University.
“I found my school experience a full and engaging
one. I was fortunate enough to have an excellent
learning assistant, and so my work was transcribed
quickly and efficiently into braille. I was also given the
most up-to-date equipment which ensured that exams
and essays could be completed easily. I also had an
excellent mobility specialist.
However, I would say that school IT networks need to
review their security in order to allow devices such as
iPads, and particularly braille-notes, to operate on
them.”
Creating an inclusive society
A bicycle that uses ultrasonic sensors to detect obstacles in a
cyclist’s path was among the innovations on display at our highprofile Technology for Life conference in Glasgow in September,
exploring how new technology can transform the lives of blind and
partially sighted people.
Delegates at the two-day event, supported by Wolfson
Microelectronics, Optos and the Scottish Government, had a
chance to try the Ultra Bike, wear “smart-specs” that automatically
focus light on undamaged areas of the eye, and learn about a tool
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which diagnoses health problems just by scanning the retina in the
eye.
New technology has revolutionised the aids and adaptations that
visually impaired people now use for everyday living. Today,
thousands of products make living with sight loss easier and help
people remain independent. We want designers to keep thinking
about how to realise new technology’s potential to help blind and
partially sighted people be part of an inclusive society.
In August we launched our latest transcribed book on the opening
day of the Edinburgh International Book Festival, the world’s
biggest literary gathering.
The book was an audio and braille version of a short story
collection entitled “Elsewhere”. Several of the stories’ authors –
including Vivian French, James Robertson and Julia Donaldson –
were present. Many have had stories of theirs produced as RNIB
talking books by our transcription centre in Partick, in some cases
narrated by the authors themselves.
Nick Barley, director of the Edinburgh International Book Festival,
said: “The need to ensure that books are available to everyone in
society, including those who are blind or partially sighted, is a very
worthwhile message for us to help give a voice to.”
But we still need to persuade publishers to produce more books in
accessible formats. Too often, those accessible books that are
available commercially are expensive, abridged and released
years after mainstream publication.
To help highlight this shortage, Julia Donaldson also visited our
transcription centre to transcribe one of her favourite stories onto
audio-disc during Book Week Scotland in November. “The work
that RNIB does to ensure more books are made available to adults
and children with sight loss is tremendously important to me,” she
said.
As well as transcribing her own text into audio, we showed Julia
how we can turn one of the illustrations in her book into a tactile
diagram for young readers with sight loss to experience through
touch. During Book Week Scotland we invited members of the
public to bring along their own favourite poem, short story or
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passage from a book to the centre to transcribe into audio or
braille.
We welcomed a decision by Renfrewshire Council to help provide
audio books for people who are blind or partially sighted. We had
expressed concern the previous year when the council said it
would no longer pay subscription fees for its residents to our audio
and braille lending library. Many people with sight loss are elderly
and on low incomes, while those of working age experience high
unemployment levels. However, in May the council agreed to
reinstate the funding, a move we applauded.
While most people don’t think twice about what books are
available to them, the choice for blind and partially sighted readers
is very limited. And yet for many of these, often older and perhaps
living alone, reading is an absolute lifeline.
That’s why even the modest amounts of money involved here can
have a hugely beneficial impact.
It is vitally important that the voices of blind and partially sighted
people are heard in the corridors of power. With key policy areas
like health and social care devolved to the Scottish Parliament, we
have been able to help shape eyecare policy with the support of a
very effective Cross Party Group on Visual Impairment.
This has helped to ensure that £25.6million has been invested in
eye-health services in Scotland over the last five years.
In April, we transferred our surviving archive material from our
Lothians and Edinburgh section to Edinburgh University. The
collection paints an often grim picture of the harsh lives adults and
children with sight loss endured in Victorian and Edwardian
Edinburgh. Usually, they were dependent on subsistence work or
welfare relief.
The Edinburgh Society for Promoting Reading Amongst the Blind
on Moon’s System was formed in 1857. The Society changed its
name to The Society for the Welfare and Teaching of the Blind and
in 1995 to Visual Impairment Services South East Scotland. It
merged with RNIB Scotland in 2002.
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The most revealing item in the archive collection is a register of
blind people. Those helped were mainly classified as disabled from
working full-time and relied upon poor relief, charitable aid, and
supplementary earnings from such activities as hawking, knitting,
teaching or playing music, selling tea or keeping house.
With the collection now transferred to the Lothian Health Services
Archive at Edinburgh University’s Special Collections section, the
aim is to fully catalogue the material and make it available to
researchers.
Our Pathway project, based in Kirkcaldy, carries out specialist
vision assessments in Fife, as well as providing person-centred
support through a range of services, with the support of Fife
Council.
In December, Pathway celebrated Christmas with a short DVD, coproduced by people with both a learning disability and sight loss.
This featured service-users of the project’s Inclusive Music Group
performing a range of festive songs. Their families and carers were
invited to the launch. Anne McMillan, Pathway service manager,
said: “We never underestimate what our service-users can do –
and we are all delighted that we can take this opportunity to let
others recognise and enjoy their achievements too.”
Robert’s story
Robert Gourlay from Leven in Fife was helped by our Technology
Support Squad to transfer and synchronise data for speech
recognition tools, such as phone numbers and satellite navigation.
“The support I received has given me a greater
independence as I felt isolated before without voicerecognition sat nav. I now feel more included in my
community and with friends as I am able to contact
them easily and find my way around town.
I can’t sing the praises of the volunteer who helped
me highly enough. He was very thorough and capable
in the technical matters, an expert in fact.
He spent two hours with me and successfully
provided the required assistance.”
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Stopping people losing their sight
unnecessarily
The Scottish Vision Strategy was launched in 2008 as part of a
global initiative to push through some of the most ambitious eye
health targets ever set by developed countries.
Although Scotland remains a world leader in some aspects of
eyecare, the number of Scots who are blind or partially sighted is
projected to double over the next two decades. Already one in six
hospital appointments in some Scottish hospitals are for eye
problems.
To gauge the progress of this drive to eradicate preventable sight
loss in Scotland, we brought together over 100 eye health
specialists, government officials and sight loss charities in March.
Our conference discussed future priorities and developments in
eye healthcare, considered strategies to prevent sight loss, and
heard personal perspectives from blind and partially sighted
delegates.
And yet over 50 per cent of sight loss is avoidable. That’s why we
enthusiastically took part in RNIB’s “Spot the Signs” campaign to
challenge unnecessary sight loss, encourage regular eye checks
and promote the importance of timely access to vital treatment.
Alarmingly, over half of Scots surveyed (56 per cent) had never
heard of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the single
biggest cause of blindness in the country, according to a survey for
RNIB.
Almost the same proportion (52 per cent) said they wouldn’t visit
their GP or optician straightaway if they experienced blurry vision
or wavy lines, the first symptoms of the condition – even though
the “wet” form of AMD can destroy vision in as little as three
months if left untreated.
This lack of awareness is leaving people at risk of losing their
sight. Twelve per cent of those surveyed even thought AMD was a
condition that affected the brain, not the eyes. Smokers are two
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times more likely to develop the condition, but 58 per cent of Scots
didn’t think that stopping could reduce the risk of sight loss.
Some groups, however, can be more vulnerable to certain sight
loss conditions than others. At the Edinburgh Mela festival in
August, billed as Scotland’s biggest celebration of world music and
dance, we invited festival-goers to don special spectacles that
simulate different sight loss conditions and try their hand at a
number of activities, while blind and partially sighted volunteers
chopped and prepared food cooked on a hob at our stall, and
showed how tablets and iPhones can be used with accessible
software. But the event had a more serious message: the
importance of getting your eyes examined regularly.
It was a message we repeated in Glasgow, as part of our
Community Engagement Project. At an event we ran alongside
Diabetes UK Scotland and the Central Mosque in Glasgow, male
and female bilingual opticians were on hand to offer free eye
examinations. We hoped that providing easy access to bilingual
professionals and trained volunteers would encourage people to
adapt their lifestyles to look after their eyes and avoid diabetes and
its complications.
Scottish muslims attending the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca were
invited to a free one-day health event to prepare for it. A half-price
vaccination plus free eye examinations, diabetes risk assessment
and foot-care check were on offer at the Masjid Jamia Islamia
mosque in Glasgow.
We welcomed the decisions by the Scottish Medicines Consortium
(SMC) that the treatment Eylea has been accepted for NHS
patients with wet AMD, which requires fewer hospital visits.
The SMC also accepted Lucentis for the treatment of myopic CNV,
the growth of abnormal leaky blood vessels in the back of the eye
which causes severe vision loss after five years to approximately
90 per cent of affected patients. Lucentis was also accepted as a
treatment for people with macular oedema, a common eye
condition estimated to effect approximately 2,400 people each
year in Scotland.
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Annette’s story
Annette West has the sight loss condition macular degeneration
and runs her own cosmetics business. She is concerned that not
all sections of society fully appreciate the importance of getting
regular eye examinations.
“I’ve lived in Edinburgh for 28 years now but my family
came from Barbados. Some ethnic groups can be
more vulnerable to some sight-threatening conditions
so getting the eye health message across to them at
events like the Edinburgh Mela is very important. I lost
my sight when I was at university and couldn’t have
continued if it wasn’t for the help that RNIB Scotland
gave me.”
Your support
Suzanne’s leap of faith
RNIB Scotland worker Suzanne Geary knew that her fundraising
pledge to support us would definitely have strings attached! She
made her first ever parachute jump in June.
“I felt that if I was going to raise funds for charity, I
might as well do something spectacular!” says
Suzanne. “I did paragliding many years ago, and have
always toyed with the idea of taking it further and
doing a parachute jump.
Once I decided I would go for it and do a jump I
thought we might as well use the opportunity to raise
money for a good cause. As I work for RNIB Scotland,
I thought this the obvious choice to support the local
projects and services we run.
My own personal feelings about the jumping out of a
plane from 10,000ft swung wildly from very excited, to
apprehensive, to sheer terror!” Suzanne smiles... with
a shudder.
Neil’s dark sense of humour
We organised a stand-up comedy evening in Edinburgh in January
that took place in complete darkness. “Comedy in the Dark”
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featured Neil Skene, one of Scotland’s only blind comedians, and
a line-up of other top comics who all performed for free.
Neil, who is completely blind, had his first gig in his hometown of
Aberdeen and is now a regular on the local comedy circuit.
He said: “So much of comedy relies on facial
expressions and audience interaction, and I wondered
whether the other comedians would relax into the gig
like they normally would. For me, performing without
sight can be an advantage. I really focus on the
material and don’t try to pre-read the audience.”
A brief look at our finances
During 2013/14, £7,757,000 was spent on services for blind and
partially sighted people in Scotland.
These services were financed by a service income of £3,855,000
with a deficit of £3,902,000 being met by the RNIB group of
charities’ voluntary income.
We spent
RNIB Scotland focused expenditure on the following areas of work:
 Stopping people losing their sight unnecessarily: £417,000
 Supporting independent living: £6,901,000
 Creating an inclusive society: £417,000
 Governance costs: £22,000
 Total expenditure: £7,757,000
These figures are extracted from the full Trustees’ report and
financial statement for the year ending 31 March 2014, as audited
by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.
If you would like a copy of the full report, available in print, audio,
braille and by email, please contact our Helpline on 0303 123 9999
or email helpline@rnib.org.uk
Thank you
We’re honoured to have the support of some remarkable
individuals. We’re indebted to our Patron Her Majesty The Queen,
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and to our President Dame Gail Ronson DBE. We’re also indebted
to our Vice-Presidents:
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Sir John Beckwith CBE
The Rt Hon David Blunkett MP
Richard Brewster
Professor Ian Bruce CBE
Jeremy Bull
Dr Haruhisa Handa
Dr Euclid Herie
Lady Jarvis
Penny Lancaster-Stewart
Lord Low of Dalston CBE
Trevor Pears CMG
Sir Mike Rake
Dr Dermot Smurfit
Rod Stewart CBE
The Rt Hon Earl of Stockton
Sir Duncan Watson CBE
The Duke of Westminster KG, CB, CVO, OBE, TD, CD, DL
We’d like to say a heartfelt thank you to the many individuals,
companies and trusts that have supported us this year. Without
your support we could not have achieved what we have. We can’t
possibly name you all but here’s a list of those who have
contributed significantly to our cause:
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Aberdeenshire Council
Access LLP
Action on Hearing Loss Scotland
The Alliance
Alzheimer Scotland
AMINA
Asda Foundation
Awards for All
Awaz Radio
Big Lottery Fund Scotland
Bòrd Na Gàidhlig
British Polythene Industries
Cllr Robert Brown
Centre for Sensory Impaired People
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City of Edinburgh Council
City of Glasgow Council
Creative Scotland
Cross Party Group on Visual Impairment, Scottish Parliament
Dobbies Garden Centre
Dr Duncan Leeds Trust
East Ayrshire Council
East Dunbartonshire Council
East Lothian Council
eCom Scotland
Edinburgh College
Education Scotland
Ethnic Enable
European Commission
European Union of Supported Employment
Eyecare Scotland
Falkirk Council
Fife Carers Centre
Fife Council
Fife Society for the Blind
Forth Valley Sensory Centre
Gaelic Books Council
Glasgow Caledonian University
Glasgow Central Mosque
Glasgow 2014
Glaxo Smith Kline
Greater Glasgow & Clyde Health Board
Guide Dogs for the Blind
Ingeus
Jersey Employment Trust
Jobcentre Plus
Jobs and Business Glasgow
Learning Disability Alliance Scotland
Lindsays
Hanzala Malik MSP
Matthew Algie
Stuart McMillan MSP
Midlothian Council
Minority Ethnic Care Centre
NHS Ayrshire and Arran
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NHS Fife
NHS Forth Valley
NHS Grampian
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
NHS Lothian
NHS Tayside
North Ayrshire Council
Ocean Youth Trust Scotland
OFCOM
Optometry Scotland
Radio Ramadan
RAOB Glasgow and District
REACH Community Health Project
Dennis Robertson MSP
Royal Blind School
Saeed Siddiq Jamia Islamia Mosque
Anas Sarwar MSP
SAVIE (Scottish Association for Visual Impairment Education)
Scotland’s Colleges
Scottish Autism
Scottish Book Trust
Scottish Bowling
Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations
Scottish Government
Scottish Outdoor Education Centres
Scottish Parliament (Equality and Diversity Team)
Scottish Police Muslim Association
Scottish Power
Scottish Qualifications Authority
Scottish Sensory Centre
Scottish Union for Supported Employment
Scottish Vision and Stroke Network
Scottish Water
Shared Care Scotland
Shaw Trust
Shetland Islands Council
Skills Development Scotland
Soroptimist International of Perth
South Ayrshire Council
South Lanarkshire Council
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Springfield Cambridge Church
Standard Life
State Street Bank
Stirling Council
Stroke Association
Sunday Mail Centenary Fund
John Tudhope
VINCYP (Visual Impairment Network for Children and Young
People)
West Dumbarton CHCP – Learning Disability Team
West Dumbarton CHCP – Sensory Impairment Team
West Lothian Council
Wheatley Group
Wolfson Microelectronics
Humza Yousaf MSP
How you can help
Every day ten people in Scotland start to lose their sight. We need
your help to provide vital services for blind and partially sighted
people. Do something today and make a difference.
A brighter future
About a third of our work is supported by gifts in Wills so we are
hugely grateful to those people who have supported us in this way.
Every penny we are left is used wisely to provide a brighter future
and help blind and partially sighted people live their lives with
confidence. You don’t have to be wealthy to make a difference;
legacies of all sizes are vital to our work. If you’d like to know how
you can help in this way please call 0845 600 0313 or visit
rnib.org.uk/legacy
Campaign
Without active campaigners we’d never get changes made to
health, social care, employment and benefits. Join our campaigns
on issues that matter to blind and partially sighted people. Visit
rnib.org.uk/campaign
Volunteer
Without volunteers we couldn’t run our services. There are over
100 volunteering opportunities across the UK where you could
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make a real difference in your local community. Visit
rnib.org.uk/volunteer
Fundraise
Without financial support from donations and legacies we simply
couldn’t provide many of the products and services that help
people find their lives again. There are many ways you can show
your support, such as getting involved in RNIB Read, taking on a
challenge or making a one-off donation. Visit rnib.org.uk/fundraise
Contact us
Write to: RNIB Scotland, 12-14 Hillside Crescent, Edinburgh EH7
5EA.
Call: 0131 652 3140
Email: rnibscotland@rnib.org.uk
Visit: rnib.org.uk/Scotland
Follow us on social media:
 facebook.com/rnibscotland
 youtube.com/rnibuk
 twitter.com/rnibscotland
RNIB Helpline
If you, or someone you know, is living with sight loss, we’re here to
help. Call 0303 123 9999 from Monday to Friday between 8.45am
and 5.30pm or email helpline@rnib.org.uk
© RNIB Scotland January 2015 Registered charity number
SC044876
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