A North East charity in Newcastle has received a £1,000 donation from a leading housebuilder to continue supporting children across the region who have lost their sight.
Building new communities across Tyne and Wear, Teesside and Northumberland, Barratt Developments North East has identified Useful Vision as this month’s worthy recipient of its Community Fund, an initiative that sees a different charity receive £1,000 support each month.
Trustee Rebecca Wilson and her husband Nick founded the charity in 2005 when their five-year-old son lost his sight and were left seeking answers that proved hard to find. They discovered there was little support for parents of children with vision impairment and set up Useful Vision in response. Today, the charity is helping hundreds of families across the North East and is supported by a familiar face, Adam Henson from BBC’s Countryfile series, who is the charity’s Patron.
Useful Vision provides families with much needed free information as well as access to inclusive activities that aim to help enrich the lives of visually impaired children. Ranging from sporting activities such as swimming and riding, the charity delivers over 100 free activities each year.
Rebecca Wilson from Useful Vision said: “Our charity provides accessible activities, support, and information in an inclusive and safe environment. We have helped visually impaired children to experience exciting opportunities such as climbing, kayaking, bowling, arts, and culture. This ensures children can be themselves and not restricted by their disability. As a registered charity we rely on the kindness of our donors to fund these and we’re extremely grateful to Barratt Developments for the £1,000 donation.”
Carl Sobolewski, Managing Director at Barratt Developments North East said: “The focus of our Community Fund continues to be on organisations that improve the quality of life for those living in the area close to our developments.
“Useful Vision is an absolutely necessary charity for children in the North East who have lost their sight. It’s a privilege to support them in the fantastic work they do and help families in the communities we build”.
