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Hundreds flocked to the event that took place between 10am – 4pm on the 24th September, to discover a number of stands that offered various visual aids. The room was jam packed with an assortment of sight impaired products, lots of information and advice at hand.
Andy Burrows, who has used Insight Gloucestershire for over 7 years, commented, “I have been using Insight’s services for years and always go to the resource centre for any equipment or services I need. Events like this really make you realise how many people there are with an eye condition that need help and support. It’s also handy to have all this equipment and services in one place!”
Insight Gloucestershire have changed their name to become more inclusive, as Chair, Ann Lightfoot comments, “ In some ways ‘blind’ and ‘blindness’ are very misleading terms because the majority of people registered blind actually do have a certain amount of residual vision. I think it is important people don’t feel embarrassed to come to us for help. Our old title is slightly misleading; the new name is inclusive.”
“The added bonus of being able to sit down and enjoy a cup of tea and the lovely cake while chatting about all the products we had tried out added to the joy of the visit. Thank you so much for a wonderful experience. I would recommend this exhibition to anyone who has sight difficulties.”
“I attended this exhibition with my mum, who is 90 years young. We were very impressed with the exhibition. Seeing so many people there surprised mum, as she said,” “I had no idea there are so many people with sight and hearing difficulties.”
“On entering the car park we were met by a smiling volunteer who showed us where to go very much appreciated.”
Winter 2013
Just under 350 people attended the exhibition: a number that completely exceeded the expectations of the staff and exhibitors. “The response from the visually impaired community in Cheltenham has been astounding; we have had more interest at our stand here than some of the major events we go to around the UK,” commented Mark Hill, Marketing Manager of Optelec.
Winter 2013
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