COVENTRY SOCIETY FOR THE BLIND OPEN DAY 2008

Coventry Society for the Blind (CSB) is a registered charity that provides support, information, resources, training and social activities for people with a visual impairment in the Coventry area. On Tuesday 22 January 2008, CSB held an open day at the resource centre, when representatives from CSB, Social Services, Coventry and Warwickshire University Hospital and other partner organisations were available on the day to consult with visually impaired people on services delivered and suggestions for the future. The event enabled blind and visually impaired people to explore the building, and to find out what CSB does and what facilities CSB has to offer.

On display there was a device shaped like a computer mouse, but which created a magnified picture on a monitor of anything thast was put on top of, so you could read letters, newspapers, etc more easily. Another gadget did the same thing but you just put the letter/ newspaper in a defined area on a table, which it scanned, and a very large high quality picture was projected onto a screen - the cost £2000, phew!

Coventry VISTA had a room set aside to promote cycling for the blind and we also put one of the tandems on the trainer outside, so that anyone could sit on it and feel what it would be like to ride on the back of a tandem. The Lord Mayor of Coventry attended the open day and he had his photo taken sitting on our tandem. Hopefully from this event VISTA will gain both a new pilot and a new stoker.

A superb buffet lunch was alo provided, which seemed to be enjoyed by all.

The day overall seemed a huge success with a very good attendance and I know I learned a lot too.