About Action for Blind People
Royal Patron: HRH Princess Alexandra, KG, GCVO
Chief Executive: Stephen Remington
Established: The charity was established in Camberwell, South London, in 1857 as the Surrey Association for the General Welfare of the Blind and it changed its name to Action for Blind People in 1991.
Registered Charity No: 205913
Registered as a Charity in Scotland No: SCO40050
What does Action for Blind People do?
Action for Blind People is an expert national organisation, ensuring blind and partially sighted people get practical support in all aspects of their lives.
Action's experts can help with anything ranging from employment issues through to accessing technology and getting the right benefits.
In April 2009 Action for Blind People became part of RNIB Group, in an innovative partnership combining regional service delivery across England. This partnership enables both organisations to share skills and deliver services in line with the UK Vision Strategy.
How many blind and partially sighted people does Action for Blind People support?
In 2008/2009 Action for Blind People supported over 24,000 people and our mobile sight loss and information service saw over 10,000 visitors.
When was Action for Blind People founded?
Action for Blind People was founded in 1857 as the Surrey Association for the General Welfare of the Blind and later became the London Association for the Blind. The Association’s main activities in the early days were teaching blind people to read and practical trades such as basket weaving.
Opportunities and attitudes towards visually impaired people have changed significantly over the years and this was reflected in the nature and the scale of our work. As a result our title was changed to Action for Blind People in 1991.
What is the UK Vision Strategy?
The UK Vision Strategy aims to:
- Improve the eye health of the people of the UK.
- Eliminate avoidable sight loss and deliver excellent support to those with a visual impairment.
- Enhance the inclusion, participation and independence of blind and partially sighted people.
Action for Blind People will be playing an important part in this by reaching more people with better services.
