Blind veterans to find help in Exeter and other news

Military veterans in Exeter who have suffered from vision impairment will be offered sight loss support when a national charity dedicated to helping the issue comes to town over the next few weeks, it has been revealed. 
This is the West Country reports that Blind Veterans UK will be coming to the city on October 3rd in order to highlight the work that it does with people who have suffered vision loss as a result of their service, as well as helping out people who are in need at the current time. 

The charity's brand new mobile training centre will be stationed at Mercure Exeter Southgate Hotel, Southernhay East in Exeter, from 10am to 4pm on the day, and the news provider reports that it will offer localised support to blind ex-servicemen and women. 

It said that this even in Exeter will be the latest in its work to widen its community outreach programme, which was first launched this summer. The programme was designed to raise the profile of the charity and highlight how people can find help in their own area because many cannot get to some of the permanent centres in place in the likes of Sheffield and Llandudno. 

The charity's work is some of the best known in the UK, thanks to the fact it offers lifelong support to ex military people who have lost their eyesight, regardless of when and how the issue occurred. 

Adrian Hewitt, Blind Veterans UK’s community development project manager, said: “Blind Veterans UK is here for any Armed Forces veteran, including those who did National Service, now experiencing severe sight loss. 

"For some veterans, it is difficult for them to get to one of our centres, so we want to ensure that they are still able to benefit from our comprehensive support. 

“We already support 3,900 vision impaired veterans but we also want to reach out to the estimated 68,000 vision impaired veterans in the UK who could be eligible for support, but don’t currently know that they are. The staff travelling with the centre will be on hand to answer any questions about how to get involved with Blind Veterans UK.”

It is hoped that more than 20 veterans with vision problems will make their way to the Exeter event to access the support and information that will be on offer to help them. 

Blind Veterans UK is also asking anyone who has an interest in volunteering to head along to the event, because it is looking to bring more people on board to help out with the work it does. 

This is not the only stop on the tour this week though, with the charity also having announced that it will be making a visit to Weston-Super-Mare on Thursday October 2nd, where once again it is hoped that more than 20 people will be able to visit and find the help and support they need. The charity will be in the town at Princess Royal Square between 10am and 3pm.

Elsewhere, news of a fun military themed fete designed to raise money for people injured in the line of battle has emerged this week, with the Bury Free Press reporting that residents and visitors at the north-west town's The Pines residential home raised money for Help for Heroes. 

The event took place over the weekend and featured a number of different stalls and fun events, as well as sales and games that were all designed with the charity and what it supports in mind. 

The home’s service manager Elaine Townsend said that the Pines will frequently hold fetes such as these, with the residents themselves able to choose which charity will be the beneficiary. This time around, they chose to support Help for Heroes. 

A few of the events that took place at the gathering included guess the weight of the torpedo (a jar of liquorice), face painting in the styles of military camouflage, cake and bake sales and a stall where people could pay to shoot members of staff from the residential home with water pistols. 

St Edmundsbury mayor Robert Everitt was also present at the event in order to present the home with a certificate to show the work it does for the local community, and he was seen indulging in the cake sale himself.