Bury Society for Blind & Partially Sighted People is a charitable organisation that provides a variety of services which aim to enhance the quality of life for all visually impaired people within the Metropolitan Borough of Bury.

Welcome to the website of Bury Society for Blind and Partially Sighted People. We are a local charity offering equipment, information and support to visually impaired people in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury. This website gives an overview of what we offer at our Sight Loss Centre as well as up-to-date news and features.

If you have any questions that are not answered by this website please Contact Us or pop in to the Centre. See the map of our Bury Town Centre location.

Friday Lunches

Friday Lunch is back!!  We are delighted to welcome back Carole Allen who is once again, on Lunch Duty.  Given the current situation, Carole has decided to initially keep things simple by preparing one main course with dessert, and tea or coffee for £5.  places will be limited to 6 (plus carers if essential), to be booked in advance and on a rota basis to ensure everyone has the opportunity to attend.  The next date available is Friday 30th July.  for further details or to book, please ring the office.  As previously, cut off is 10am on the Thursday before.

Focus Day - Low Vision Clinic

Would you like to try the latest Low Vision technology?  We are very excited to offer a one-to-one 45-minute session with Optelec at the Centre on Monday 2nd August.  Bookable slots between 10am and 4pm.  Appointment only.  Ring Freephone 0800 145 6115 to book or speak to a member of staff.

Volunteers

Over the next couple of months, the Centre is re-opening and activities will be resuming.  Consequently, WE NEED YOU!!  Please can you let us know if you are in a position to still volunteer with us going forward, thank you.

Centre Update

With the easing of restrictions from Monday 19 July, the Centre 'Drop In' will be open two mornings per week, where no booking is necessary. We will monitor numbers to ensure that anyone attending will be kept safe.

This Drop In will be open, Monday and Wednesday mornings 10am-12pm to allow time for thorough sanitising prior to any afternoon activities.

Some regular groups are still meeting virtually, but a number are back at the Centre. For up-to-date information please contact a member of staff at the Centre. 0161 763 7014.

Regular Social Activities

For a list of our regular social activities you can follow the link here. Regular Social Activities

Coronavirus Vaccination Update

Even though we have had an easing of restrictions we are still encouraging people to take precautions to reduce the spread.  This includes taking advantage of Free Testing Kits also available in the Centre, getting the vaccine when offered and following the 'hands, face, space and air' guidelines.  It is also recommend to wear a mask, if you can, as good practice.  For more information: Bury Council website.

Stay Safe and follow the current guidelines.

Hamper Auction Thanks

Thank you to all who supported the Silent Auction for the hamper kindly donated by Jill Brady, Asda Community Champion.  The winning generous bid was Mr Roy Smithies.  The funds will go directly to support local people living with sight loss.

Letters From Lockdown

'What did you do?'  We have been included in a funded project working with Extant, to look at recording comments people have made in respect of the past 14 months.  Over the next couple of weeks, if you are part of a group, your Group Facilitator will ask your permission to quote a few of the comments that several of you have made e.g. Missing going to the Pub.  Can't wait for a hug from my granddaughter etc, etc. or asking you for your thoughts.

We do hope you will support this as we're hoping to record these comments and then get everyone together for a lovely afternoon tea to listen to them.  If you would like to add your comments but are not part of a group, Elizabeth from Extant, will be helping out in the Centre week commencing 26th July so please feel free to have a chat with her or just give us a call and we will record your comment.  It can be completely anonymous if you prefer.  Thank you for your support.

Bury Libraries HI VIS Awareness Fortnight

HI VIS Awareness Fortnight took place from 7 - 20 June.  This is a national celebration highlighting the wonderful world of accessible reading.  Poems and words were sent to Bury Library's inclusion officer, Lenke, which were recorded by Engage 2 Stage and added to their social media platforms. The final video is available to watch below.

Donations Update

Due to the restrictions, we are unable to receive bric-a-brac donations for the forseeable future.  Why not use your bric-a-brac to raise funds for us via Facebook Marketplace.

Latest Information Bulletin - Links Below

Plain Text

PDF

100 Club Winners - July 2021

Congratulations to the winners of our July 100 Club.

• 1st No. 131 £117.00
• 2nd No. 194 £58.50
• 3rd No. 6 £19.50

Self-Isolation Support

Bury's Community Hubs are supporting households who are isolating and do not have friends or family nearby who can help them to pick up necessities like food and medication.  Call 0161 253 5353 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm) for information or talk to the team about what help you might need.

Sight Loss Sector Charter

We are delighted to be part of the Sight Loss Sector Charter launched at a recent Visionary Conference.

As a Charity we rely on donations and fundraising to continue our support for people living with sight loss.  If you would like to make a donation to help us please click the 'donate' button below, which will take you to our paypal donation page.

Thank you.