Children living with sight loss and their families will be the beneficiaries after the chair of Broadland District Council chose Vision Norfolk as one of two charities she would support during her year in office.
Through a series of fundraising events at the council offices, a total of £536 was raised for the charity’s Children, Young People and Families programme, which provides a range of activities and support services for those under the age of 25 who have a vision impairment.
Cllr. Caroline Karimi-Ghovanlou visited Vision Norfolk’s Norwich headquarters to hand over a cheque for the amount – which came on top of a donation earlier in the year after staff purchased a range of craft items for use in the charity’s activity sessions as part of a Christmas ‘Giving Tree’ initiative.
Cllr Karimi-Ghovanlou chose Vision Norfolk as one of her Chair’s charities as she has personal experience of the work the charity does for young people. Her grandson has cortical vision impairment, and has been attending sessions at the charity for most of his life.
“My chosen charity is very personal to me and my family as my grandson, Gabriel, is a regular attendee at Vision Norfolk events,” said Cllr Karimi-Ghovanlou.
“The support given to families with vision impaired children has been invaluable to many, giving them a place to go. Some of them would not otherwise find it easy to socialise and be able to join ‘normal’ activities.
“The team at Vision Norfolk feel like an extension of our family and I am proud to have been able to support them and raise vital funds during my time in office.”
“We are extremely grateful to Caroline and all of the staff at Broadland District Council who have generously donated to her Chair’s charity,” said Josh Bartholomew, who runs the charity’s Children, Young People and Families programme.
“Both the money and the craft items will enable us to provide more activities and more support to young people and their families who are living with sight loss.”
Vision Norfolk’s Children, Young People and Families programme supports children, young adults and their families at every stage of their sight loss journey. It provides emotional and practical support, together with specialist information, advice, guidance and signposting to other relevant organisations.
It also holds a variety of activities and events for those of pre-school age through to those transitioning into adulthood, with activities to suit their wants and needs.
