Thank you to our VE Day fundraisers
VE Day 80 has prompted many of our supporters and blind veterans alike to reflect on the sacrifices that were made 80 years ago.
Whether as an individual or a group – each found their own way to show their respect for the heroes of the Second World War while raising money to support our blind veterans who served not only in that conflict, but also those that have followed to ensure our freedom.
We would like to say thank you for their support and celebrate their efforts!
If you are inspired by their stories and challenges, you can sign up to take on your own fundraiser in support of our blind veterans for Armed Forces Month or Remembrance.
RAF Officer's half marathon
Steph, a serving Flight Lieutenant in the RAF, took part in the Battersea Park Half Marathon on 10 May and has raised over £500. She says:
"I followed an online training plan to prepare for the half marathon, fitting my training runs in around my work schedule in the RAF Police."
Steph signed up as one of our Military Sight Loss Champions which has given her plenty of opportunity to find out about the impact of our work. She says:
"Blind Veterans UK is a great charity to be involved with and it's fantastic to raise money for a very worthwhile cause.”
Despite the hot weather, Steph managed to complete the race in under two hours.
“I really enjoyed the experience! I was a little daunted by how hot it was but managed to achieve my target time of less than two hours and ran it in one hour and 58minutes. I was very relieved to finish by the time I got to the end; I was motivated throughout by the fact that I was raising money for such a worthy cause.”
Specsavers cake stall
Specsavers in Dorking joined in their town's VE Day 80 celebrations by running a cake stall to raise money for our veterans. Nicky, who works at the store, says:
"We are a supporter of Blind Veterans UK both as a store, and as part of Specsavers as a whole. We therefore felt that the town-wide VE Day celebration was the perfect opportunity to do some more fundraising for the military sight-loss charity as it ties in so well with the occasion.
"We raised £387 on the day, a fair few people donated without even taking a cake. The money raised has been added to by Specsavers and we'll be donating £1,000 to the charity."
Thea colleagues jumped from plane
A team of colleagues from Thea Pharmaceuticals completed their VE Day 80 fundraiser on 18 May.
Thea has been supporting our charity for ten years. Thea employee Navneet says:
“This May marks the 80-year anniversary of VE Day – the end of the Second World War. It’s easy to forget the significance of these events when you weren’t alive to see it for yourself, but it’s because of the sacrifice of so many men and women at that time, that we can live the lives we do today. So, I thought, what better way to show some support than by taking a dive out of a plane!
“Blind Veterans UK work tirelessly to help and serve those who fought for us and sacrificed the most precious of senses – their sight – during the process. It’s a very worthy cause and working in eyecare all my career, I want people to realise just how precious sight is and that it shouldn’t be taken for granted.”
You can read more about Thea's fundraiser:
Blind veteran's 10k run
Blind veteran Wayne has raised over £1,400 by taking on the Worthing Runfest 10k just two and a half years after he was diagnosed with a rare sight loss disease that turned his life upside down. Wayne crossed the finish line in one hour and one minute. Wayne says:
“The run took place just a few days before a very significant date for many of my fellow blind veterans. The 80th anniversary of VE Day on 8 May and I am buzzing that I was able to finish the run and show everyone what us blind veterans can achieve while also honouring our Second World War heroes at such an important time."
Blind veteran swims 80 lengths for VE Day 80
Blind veteran Lee was overwhelmed with the support he received for his VE Day 80 fundraiser. He took to his local swimming pool to complete 80 lengths. It took him just over two hours and he has raised over £2,500. He says:
“I started preparing for the challenge back in March and until then, I’d not swam more than two lengths of the pool for quite some time. Since losing my sight I’ve found I can’t walk in a straight line, let alone swim in a straight line, so this was a huge challenge for me but one I was determined to complete.
“This has been my way of giving something back to the charity and to pay respect to those men and women who made it possible for us to live as we do now. It is important that we do not forget their sacrifice.”
VE Day candles
Blind veteran Tony has been making and selling candles for the past three years from a specially set up room in his home. Tony made a set of exclusive candles to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day. He says:
“As someone who is still fortunate to be here today, I look back at the legacy that the young men and women left behind and fail to see how anyone couldn’t acknowledge their worth. We have our liberty today because of their sacrifice.”
To thank our charity for the support we’ve given him to rebuild his life after sight loss, Tony has donated 50% of the profits raised from his VE Day candles to us.
Blind veteran Bryan's artwork
In the run up to VE Day we invited our blind veterans to create artwork inspired by the event.
Blind veteran Bryan, 87, became fully immersed in the project and created a number of thought-provoking watercolours.
Bryan also joined us at Manchester Piccadilly on VE Day to give a live demonstration of his artwork.
Kirkby Avenue Primary School
It was lovely to see school children around the country getting involved in activities to commemorate VE Day.
The children from Kirkby Avenue Primary School in South Yorkshire raised £128 for our blind veterans. They were invited to make a donation in exchange for coming to school in party clothes or 1940s inspired outfits for a VE Day street party. They also had a bunting decorating competition.
On the run up to VE Day they used our VE Day commemorative booklet to explore the war. You can download the booklet here.
SpaMedica's VE Day event
Staff at SpaMedica Bedford hosted a special event celebrating the 80th anniversary of VE day last week. Amy at SpaMedica said:
"We had a brilliant day of fundraising for Blind Veterans UK alongside celebrating VE Day. We hosted a cake bake sale, tombola (with donations from staff for the amazing prizes) and tin can alley games.
"The team and visitors participated in a tutorial video to learn the Lindy Hop dance and played 1940s music throughout the day. Patients and visitors shared their stories with staff and enjoyed the party atmosphere. Crafts were undertaken to make newspaper party hats and flags, enjoyed by all.
"It was a pleasure to honour VE Day and celebrate the lives of those that served. We raised over £320 towards our £500 target, the team are so proud of this achievement and look forward to many more events fundraising for this worthy charity."
Have you been inspired by our supporters and blind veterans? You can sign up to take on your own fundraiser for Armed Forces Month or Remembrance:
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