Charity for visually impaired in Ryedale gets £95k lottery grant (From Gazette & Herald)

Charity for visually impaired in Ryedale gets £95k lottery grant

9:51am Thursday 24th December 2009

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VISUALLY impaired people in Ryedale have been given an early Christmas present, in the form of a £95,000 lottery grant.

The Big Lottery Fund has announced the award to the Ryedale In-Touch Group, which works in Malton, Pickering and the surrounding areas.

The three-year grant from the Reaching Communities programme will provide support for visually impaired people that are mostly over 65 and rurally isolated.

Janice Every, the group’s chief officer, said: “We are absolutely delighted to be successful in gaining funding from the Big Lottery Fund. It will enable us to continue to run and to develop the main areas of our work – our fortnightly group meetings in both Malton and Pickering, together with regular excursions.

“The three-year funding will enable us to feel much more secure as a charity, and mean that we will have the time to develop other much-needed projects.”

She said the group was a small charity that achieved a lot. The new funding will provide a more formal structure and encourage new members to attend.

Leisure activities will include yoga, talking book groups, creative arts and a computer training/support group. Door-to-door transport will also be provided to make the activities available to people from isolated villages or with mobility issues.

Vanessa White, the Big Lottery Fund’s head of region for Yorkshire and The Humber, said: “This project will provide a range of fantastic activities for visually impaired people. Not only does it offer information and support with daily lives, but also helps reduce loneliness and isolation through a range of social events.

“The Big Lottery Fund is all about helping those most in need and this project is certainly helping to do that.”

The grant will also help fund local excursions for the group, which also plans to move to more accessible premises providing access to an office.

Under the Reaching Communities banner, the Big Lottery Fund awards grants of £10,000 to £500,000 to projects that offer people better life chances, build stronger communities, develop improved rural and urban environments and improve health and well being.

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