During the ongoing health crisis, Dorset Blind Association has adapted its services to continue delivering vital support to around 1,000 people a month in Dorset.
Talbot Village Trust has made a £10,000 donation to the Dorset Blind Association to ensure that blind and partially sighted people across the county, still receive the required support throughout the ongoing pandemic.
Using the money donated from the Trust, the charity was able to continue running its community support service, which cares for vulnerable members of society, some of which are isolated and alone throughout lockdown.
This service pairs a volunteer to one of Dorset Blind’s members to provide regular, ongoing friendship and practical support with daily tasks. Due to the current lockdown, Dorset Blind is also delivering vital grocery supplies and essential medicines to some of its vulnerable members.
Jonathan Holyhead, Chief Executive Officer at Dorset Blind Association, explained: “Partially sighted individuals are already among the most vulnerable in our society, the pandemic has only made the issues these people face worse. We are so thankful to Talbot Village Trust for the grant that we received, it enabled us to continue working to deliver our community support services.”
The grant was also used to cover ongoing costs for sourcing and supplying specialist equipment designed to help people with sight loss continue independent living.
The donation came after the charity successfully applied for funding from the Trust’s COVID-19 Support Fund, which provided 120 organisations and charities in the local area with funding that totalled £1.1million.
Russell Lucas-Rowe, Trustee at Talbot Village Trust, added: “It is absolutely fantastic to hear that our COVID Support Fund is continuing to improve peoples’ quality of life, now that we are almost a year into the pandemic. This is exactly what the support fund was launched to do, and we are extremely proud to be helping deliver invaluable care to people who are experiencing sight loss.”
Talbot Village Trust’s £1million COVID-19 Support Fund was launched to help organisations that were adversely affected by the pandemic. Applications for the fund have now closed, but the Trust is now accepting grant applications for its usual fund before the Trustees meet in autumn 2021. Please go to www.talbotvillagetrust.org for more information.