Devon & Cornwall vision impairment charity receives charitable donation

A charity supporting children, young people and families with vision impairment in Devon and Cornwall has received a donation from Yorkshire Building Society Charitable Foundation after being nominated by colleagues from the Plymouth branch.

Moorvision received the £850 donation from Yorkshire Building Society Charitable Foundation to help fund a project to take 25 children and young people with vision impairment and complex additional disabilities on a fully inclusive residential activity break to the Calvert Trust, North Devon.

Moorvision is a Devon and Cornwall charity for children and young people aged 0-25 who are visually impaired (VI) offering them and their families information, support, advice, advocacy, activities, residentials, training, independent living skills opportunities and an opportunity to meet others like themselves.

The charity was started in 2007 by the parent of a child with visual impairment, with just five families. Moorvision now supports 250 families of 262 children with visual impairment. Each family has at least one child who has visual impairment, with over 45 percent having a variety of additional needs.

Moorvision is a small but effective charity with five staff, 10 volunteers and eight trustees. Over half of the staff and trustees have visual impairment or are parents to children with visual impairment. Children affected by sight loss are scattered widely over the rural area and families are always keen to meet others from across the county. 

Colleagues at the Plymouth branch of Yorkshire Building Society nominated the charity because they wanted to help to provide opportunities for children with a vision impairment to take part in activities that a sighted child of their age would normally take part in, in a safe and nurturing environment.

Deborah Cunningham, Customer Consultant at Yorkshire Building Society in Plymouth, said: “We are proud to be able to supportMoorvision in our community in Devon and Cornwall with a donation from Yorkshire Building Society Charitable Foundation.

“The work that they do improves the health of children and young people who have visual impairment and other additional needs and provides them and their families with information, support, training, independent living skills, residentials and the opportunity to meet others with visual impairment.”

Laura Hughes Chief Executive Officer of Moorvision, said: “We are so grateful to the Yorkshire Building Society Charitable Foundation for their generous donation. This has helped us to provide a range of fully accessible and exciting outdoor activities for local children with vision impairment including canoeing, abseiling and climbing.”

Yorkshire Building Society Charitable Foundation is funded through the Small Change Big Difference® scheme where members donate the pennies from the interest on their accounts just once a year to help smaller charities around the UK.

Last year the foundation donated over £283,000 to local causes and charities nominated by members and colleagues from around the UK.

For more information about our Small Change Big Difference® scheme visit www.ybs.co.uk/charitablefoundation. If you would like to support Moorvision then please visit www.moorvision.orgfor further information.