Monday 23 January, 2012

Seafarers UK supports Blind Veterans UK in 2012 with generous grant

The Seafarers UK grant will help the national charity for blind ex-Service men and women provide vital services to blind and vision impaired veterans from the Royal Navy, Royal Marines and Merchant Navy over the next 12 months.

 

Losing your sight suddenly can be frightening and greatly diminish your independence.  Blind and vision impaired veterans are often isolated by their sight loss and are often unable to carry out seemingly simple every-day tasks such as making a cup of tea. The charity offers a lifeline, providing rehabilitation and training to enable each beneficiary to cope with their impairment.

 

The grant from Seafarers UK will support Introductory Weeks for ex-Seafarers. The introduction week is one of the first steps undertaken by those new to Blind Veterans UK and provides the opportunity for beneficiaries to start learning the skills for coping with their sight loss and finding the confidence to achieve greater independence.

 

"Blind Veterans UK is very grateful for the longstanding and loyal support Seafarers UK has provided. We are very proud that our work with blind and vision impaired former serving seafarers will be supported by Seafarers UK once again in 2012."

Robert Leader, Chief Executive.

 

Each year funding from Seafarers UK enables life-changing support to be provided to tens of thousands of seafarers and their families experiencing real difficulty. To make this possible Seafarers UK gives £2.5 million in grants annually to more than 70 maritime charities providing frontline welfare services.

 

To find out more about the work of Seafarers UK please see their website

www.seafarers-uk.org