Galloway’s are providing Visual Impairment Awareness Training to professionals, volunteers, carers, friends and family. Galloway’s kindly delivered this training in two sessions to attendees at Volunteer Centre Sefton Volunteer Coordinator’s Forum and local volunteers.

They provided some top tips for organisations working with volunteers with a visual impairment:

• Ask what level of help volunteers need and offer the maximum amount of independence
• Use large font (18+)
• Offer digital versions of documents
• Send slides before a presentation so the person can use a reader if they wish
• Give volunteers a start and end point for public transport
• Ask others to be mindful of trip hazards in their workplace and to remove any if seen
• Avoid making volunteers feel like a spare part or at a loose end
• Decide the right amount of information to give to a volunteer rather than overloading them so they may forget

If you are interested in attending the training read more from Galloway’s below:

About Galloway’s 

We are Galloway’s, the leading local sight loss charity and home to one of the largest communities of blind and partially sighted people across Lancashire and Sefton. 

We understand the many different ways that sight loss can affect your life and our specialist team, many of who have experienced sight loss first hand, are here to support you whatever your needs. 

Each year, thousands of people from our local community reach out to Galloway’s in search of face-to-face support, advice about remaining independent, information on their sight condition or to meet other visually impaired people. 

Losing your sight can be frightening, but Galloway’s has worked for over 150 years to help take that fear away. We make sure that nobody has to face sight loss journey alone. 

Quotes from previous attendees 

 “It really brings home what a patient is potentially experiencing.  All staff in the eye clinics should experience the simulation specs to help them understand patients.” 

“I work with patients that have had a stroke, but I didn’t really think about how their sight is affected”. 

“Staff were excellent teachers, and listened very carefully to everybody’s questions. I came out of the session with a much better understanding of the issues affecting blind people, from a theoretical and practical point of view (the blindfolded exercises were illuminating to do!) and also with some good basic skills on how to start helping a blind person get around. I look forward to putting these skills into practice!” 

Contact us and Book

To book your place visit the relevant link for the most suitable course for you

• Fri 2^nd Jun – Galloway’s Morecambe – 10am – 12.30pm – https://www.trybooking.co.uk/CJZL
• Mon 5^th Jun – Zoom/MS Teams – 10am – 12pm  – https://www.trybooking.co.uk/CJZM
• Tue 6^th June – The Pulse Skelmersdale – 9am – 11.30am – https://www.trybooking.co.uk/CJZN
• Wed 7^th June – Galloway’s Preston – 1pm – 3.30pm – https://www.trybooking.co.uk/CJZO
• Fri 9^th June –  Brighter Living Centre, Southport – 1pm – 3.30pm – https://www.trybooking.co.uk/CJZP

If you have any questions, contact us on;

01772 744148 enquiries@galloways.org.uk