Bright for Sight Walk

Yesterday morning, Henshaws held a Bright for Sight dog-friendly walk at Heaton Park in Manchester!

Registration began at 10:30am with the 3 mile walk starting at 11am. £200 was raised altogether from the event, and prizes were won by the best-dressed canines; including toys and treats from Pets at Home. Well done to Alba and Lynx for dressing in adorable brightly-coloured costumes and winning some great prizes!

After the judging of costumes, it was time for the walk to begin! The route itself was sign-posted incase the convoy broke into smaller groups and we walked through scenic woodland passing a garden centre, golf course, bowl green, children's park, paddock of horses, lake and Heaton Hall.

You can help raise funds to Bright for Sight by visiting the Henshaws JustGiving page here or texting HBFS14 and the amount you wish to donate to 70070!

Bright for Sight 2014

Wear Bright, Bake Bright, Create Bright!

It's October 9th which marks the start of Bright for Sight 2014!

Bright for Sight is Henshaws Society for Blind People's biggest and brightest annual fundraising campaign, helping to raise vital funds in order to support people affected by sight loss and other disabilities. Bright for Sight is taking place on October 9th, 2014, which is World Sight Day. I would urge anyone and everyone to get involved with Bright for Sight to raise as much money as possible for Henshaws and to help make a difference to the lives of people like me.

There are lots of ways to get involved with Bright for Sight! Whether you decide to Wear Bright or Bake Bright, the fundraising part is really simple. Bright for Sight can be done at school, work or with friends - it's entirely up to you! To register your interest and to order your BFS fundraising pack, please click here.

Send pictures of your activities to brightforsight@henshaws.org.uk or share them through Henshaws' social media websites at Facebook and Twitter using the hashtag #BFS. The best ones will be shared with the Henshaws online community!

My Fundraising Project!

Over the past few months, I have been very busy working on my secret Bright for Sight fundraising project. I can now finally reveal that I have been creating Bright for Sight Bunnies and Bright for Sight Bracelets, to be sold at the Manchester Resource Centre over the course of the next week.

The bunnies are available in 7 colours; green, yellow, baby pink, hot pink, red, purple and blue, and retail at £5 each. The bracelets are of a fishtail design, made from various loom bands, in combinations such as pink and purple, green and yellow, orange and blue, red and yellow, pink and blue - and even rainbow gradients!

The idea for my project was constructed last year during the previous Bright for Sight event. Service users, volunteers and staff were wearing bright and baking bright - but I noticed a lack of crafted items to help raise money and provide a commemorative, keep-sake item to remind people of the money they donated to Henshaws.

I wanted my items to be very colourful, to tie in with the Bright For Sight theme and I conducted a survey earlier this year to service users who partake in the groups that I attend to determine the most popular colours, price and animal shape. Aftter the initial research was carried out, it was time to construct a prototype to use as the foundation for all of my crocheted creations!

The bracelets were created over the summer, after I fell in love with the looming craze and discovered how tactile a craft it can be when they are made on the fingers. It's easy to keep track of the bands being used and fun to play with all kinds of colour combinations; from pastel, to neon, to mis-matched! These retail at 50p each.

Bright for Sight Film: #NoMirrorMakeUp Challenge!

I was very kindly asked to take part in a #NoMirrorMakeUp Challenge earlier this September to raise awareness of visual impairment and the barriers that are faced on a day-to-day basis with simple tasks, such as applying make-up, where sight is taken for granted.

As I only have 10% central vision in my left eye, and a little bit of light perception in the other, I cannot see my own reflection clearly enough in a mirror and have to apply my make-up in the tactile way of just using my hands and feeling around to make sure I've covered all of the main areas. I label my make-up using the RNIB PENfriend, an electronic voice-lebelling device, and arrange my products on a flat surface in the order that they will be used so I can keep track.

The challenge is designed to draw attention to how vision can be taken for granted and how difficult a barrier it can be when you can't see your own progress in a task that relies heavily on sight.

You can view the finished result of my video below!

You too can take part in the #NoMirrorMakeUp Challenge!

Simply grab your camera and set to record, apply your make-up without using a mirror, upload to your social media websites with the hashtag #NoMirrorMakeUp and then donate either online or via text by texting HSBP14 with the amount you wish to donate to 70070.

You can read more about the Bright for Sight campaign, as well as stories from the service users who have benefitted from the fundraising event, by visiting the official website here!

Henshaws Vision Newsletter: Issue 8

The newest issue of the Henshaws Vision newsletter was released this week, and I feature in it quite a few times! The newsletter comprises of the latest news, information and events across all of the Henshaws services as well as stories from the service users themselves.

You Said It...

One of my tweets is featured in the 'You said it…' section of the newsletter, promoting a special project that I filmed with Henshaws and Reason Digital to promote the Bright for sight campaign through a No Mirror Makeup Challenge! You can read more about the challenge below!

The #nomirrormakeup Challenge!

Are you bored of the #nomakeupselfie and #icebucketchallenge? Do you want to help raise awareness and funds for people affected by blindness or other disabilities? Then take part in the #nomirrormakeup challenge! To raise awareness of what people with a visual impairment face every day, we ask you to do your make-up without looking in a mirror and film yourself taking part or take a selfie at the end to show everyone the results!

Watch the film on our website to find out more about the #nomirrormakeup Challenge and don't forget to donate!

Artists Create Artwork to Celebrate 150th Year of John Lewis

Henshaws was invited by John Lewis to produce artwork to be displayed on the Community Art Wall in their Trafford Centre store to celebrate the 150th year or the retail outlet.

Artwork was produced by individual service users and groups at Henshaws who all have a visual impairment or disability. The Parent & Toddler group created a finger painting of a fish and kimberley Burrows, a service user in Manchester, created a composition of her 'favourite things about John Lewis'.

Art Makers from Henshaws Arts & Crafts Centre in Knaresborough produced three pieces of colourful artwork, which followed a nature theme that included a butterfly, a vase of flowers and a print of the inside of a cabbage. The Arts 5 Crafts group in Manchester also created a tactile cupcake collage, which was even sprinkled with hundreds and thousands!

Glen Lockett, Head of Fundraising said: "We were thrilled to be asked by John Lewis to get involved with their Community Art Wall. We have such talented service users here that it is great to show off the artwork they can produce."

Sausage Run

On Saturday July 12th over 25 motorbike riders, including two Henshaws service users, took part in the Sausage Run to raise awareness and funds for Henshaws.

The fundraising event, which is in its second year, involves motorbike and scooter riders travelling together the 80 miles from Henshaws Manchester Resource Centre in Old Trafford, to Henshaws arts & Crafts centre in Karesborough on the trail of the renowned Henshaws Sausage!

This year more than £1000 was raised to support people affected by blindness and other disabilities.

And finally, I am also featured on the back of the newsletter to promote the Manchester Resource Centre which I am incredibly proud of! The centre in Old Trafford, Manchester has made such a huge impact and difference to my life over the past 14 months, with the Pathway to Independence; through Daily Living Skills, Friendship Matters groups such as Braille, Mindful Relaxation and Arts & Crafts and Independence Matters groups like Skillstep - that it's a huge privilege to be featured alongside it!

You can find out more about the Vision newsletter, including information regarding the current issue, by clicking here. You can view the past issues of the newsletter by clicking here for both PDF and large print versions.

JMW Website Audit

JMW are this year's sponsors for the Henshaws Society for

Blind People Bright for Sight campaign on 9th October, 2014!

I was very kindly asked to audit the JMW website to ensure that it is as accessible as possible to all visitors; including those with a visual impairment using assistive technology. I tested their website using the VoiceOver functions on both my iPad device and my Macbook Air and fed back my findings.

I assessed the JMW website and found it very easy to use on both iPad and Macbook devices using their built-in accessibility functionality. I was able to navigate the website in its entirety; from the embedded Tweet component, to information about the company and their contact details, to latest news and blog posts. You can read more from the press release located at the JMW website here or by clicking on the image above.

@Henshaws service user @Glittered gave our website the thumbs up after audit with assistive tech find out more here http://t.co/wlEpINPoXC
— JMW Clin Neg (@ClinNegSpeak) September 15, 2014

Tweet from JMW linking to the press release

Huddled.co.uk, a website for business news and interviews in Manchester, also posted about my findings regarding the accessibility of the JMW website. You can view the article in full by clicking here or on the thumbnail above.

I want to say thank you to JMW for inviting me to be part of their audit and for wanting to reach as many people as possible through the accessibility of their website.

To find out more about JMW Solicitors, you can visit their official website posted above or through their social media websites; their Facebook located here and their Twitter located here.

Bright for Sight Fundraising Pack

I have now received my Bright for Sight fundraising pack and wanted to share with you all its contents as well a little teaser as to what I'll be doing with my pack for the Bright for Sight event this year, held on October 9th.

The Bright for Sight pack itself contains a fundraising guide, a poster, a paying in & gift aid form, a bright ideas booklet, a recipe booklet to bake your own Bright for Sight biscuits, a how-to guide to create your own Bright for Sight bunting and 2 balloons!

I will be taking part in the Bright for Sight campaign this year, selling crafted items to raise funds for Henshaws Society for Blind People - helping to benefit other visually impaired and blind people like myself through the services that the charity provides. I won't give too much away at the moment as I'm still in the process of finalising my project, but it is very bright and colourful and will hopefully be a big hit with service users, volunteers and staff members alike!

What is Bright for Sight?

Bright for Sight is Henshaws Society for Blind People's biggest and brightest annual fundraising campaign helping to raise vital funds in order to support people affected by sight loss and other disabilities. Bright for Sight is taking place on October 9th, 2014 - which is World Sight Day.

I would urge anyone and everyone to get involved with Bright for Sight to raise as much money as possible for Henshaws and to help make a difference to the lives of people like me.

How can you take part?

There are lots of ways to get involved with Bright for Sight. Whether you decide to Wear Bright or Bake Bright, the fundraising part is really simple. Bright for Sight can be done at school, work or with friends - it's entirely up to you!

Why get involved?

By taking part in a Bright for Sight activity for Henshaws, you will be helping people affected by sight loss and other disabilities.

There are almost 2 million people in the UK living with sight loss. Nearly half of blind and partially sighted people feel moderately or completely cut off from the people or things around them.

There are 11 million disabled people in the UK. That's nearly 1 in 5 adults who have serious difficulties getting around, experience long-lasting pain or who struggle to communicate unaided.

All the money raised this year will go towards supporting our technology projects across the organisation. These days technology plays a crucial role in most people's lives, but for people who are visually impaired or disabled it can provide a real lifeline.

Share Bright for Sight!

Feel free to send pictures of your activities to brightforsight@henshaws.org.uk or share them through the Henshaws social media websites at: facebook.com/henshaws and twitter.com/henshaws using the hashtag #BFS - the best ones will be shared with online followers of Henshaws!

You can read more about the Bright for Sight campaign as well as stories from service users who have benefitted from the fundraising event by clicking here!

Bright For Sight Article

I recently wrote an article for the Henshaws Bright For Sight website about why technology is important to me and how it has benefitted me, both at home and at Henshaws. It details my experience with Apple products, from my first iMac G3 13 years ago up to the present day with my iPad. I also explain the accessibility functions I use and how the internet has opened up a whole new world of possibilities for me.

You can read my article at the website by clicking here and scrolling towards the middle of the page.

I hope to get more involved with Bright for Sight over the year, and even have my own colourful idea in the works for raising money for other visually impaired and blind people. I will post more details in the coming months when I have planned it in more detail and have a few prototypes to share!

Pride of Henshaws Ball

Photo © Keith Ogden, from the Henshaws Facebook page

Saturday, November 9th, was the Pride of Henshaws Ball at the Radisson Blu Edwardian Hotel, in Manchester, celebrating the finale to the Bright for Sight fundraising week.

I had a wonderful evening catching up with my friends from Henshaws, raising money for the charity by purchasing raffle tickets, and enjoyed the entertainment which included speeches from service users, live music, salsa dancing, raffle prizes and, of course, the presentation of the Pride of Henshaws Award!

You can read more about the Pride of Henshaws Ball and Bright for Sight here on the Henshaws blog, and can view the full photo album here on the Henshaws Facebook page!