Working at Specsavers has opened my eyes to the daily challenges that people suffering from sight loss can face. The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), the UKs leading charity for people with vision loss, has been supporting people with sight loss ever since their founding in 1868. Today, there are more than 2,000,000 people who are living with sight loss in Britain.

Every day, 250 people in the UK begin to lose their sight; however, at this moment in time, the RNIB can unfortunately only reach 1 in 3 of these people. Just £12 could pay for 30 minutes with a sight loss adviser. £80 could provide access to Talking Books, a vital resource allowing anybody with sight loss to read, for 6 months. £200, less than half of my target, runs a 1 day employment line supporting people with sight loss to stay in their job or look for work. The RNIB also offer online and one-to-one phone counselling sessions to help somebody feel positive about their future, after their sight loss. My target, £475, could provide 10 of these sessions.

One in nine people aged 60 years and over suffer from some form of sight loss.

There are more than 25,000 blind and partially sighted children aged 16 years and under in the UK.

One in 5 of us will live with sight loss at some point in our lives.

More than four in 10 people attending low vision clinics are suffering from symptoms of clinical depression .

31 per cent of blind and partially sighted people were rarely or never optimistic about the future.

Only one in four registered blind or partially sighted people of working age is in employment.

Only 17 per cent of people experiencing sight loss are offered emotional support in relation to their deteriorating vision.


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