A club that organizes activities and offers support for visually impaired children and their families is celebrating its fifth anniversary.
York-based charity Club Wilber, part of the Wilberforce Trust, organises activities for children and young people aged 0-25 across Yorkshire.
Activities coordinator Megan Horner said the club subsidizes activities, including day trips and travel, to make them as financially affordable as possible for the 70 member families.
The Wilberforce Trust has been supporting people with visual and hearing impairments since 1833.
The Foundation provides housing and living assistance, sensory impairment assessments, vision screenings and rehabilitation support.
Ms Horner said the aim of Club Wilber was to provide some fun as well as practice.
“They get help learning how to use a cane or a guide dog if that’s an option for them, but it’s not fun at all,” she said.
The club offers activities such as pizza baking, forest school, theatre trips and theme parks.
Mrs Horner said a trip to Alton Towers last week was very popular with members.
“Some children went with us who had wanted to go there for years, but their families knew they couldn’t make it alone,” she said.
“It’s not just their visually impaired child. They have other children who may have other disabilities and it’s a huge hassle to go somewhere like Alton Towers and organise everything themselves.”
The club also offers support to families and allows siblings and parents to meet other people who know what it is like to live with a visually impaired child.
“Parents have told us it is fantastic for their siblings to see other children using a cane like their siblings,” Ms Horner said.
She said it helps them realize they are not alone in this experience.
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