iSightCornwall celebrates 30 years of the Sight Centre in Newham

Tuesday 3rd September, 2024

iSightCornwall is celebrating a very special milestone for the charity, 30 years of the Sight Centre in Newham.

iSightCornwall helps anyone in Cornwall who is sight impaired: people of any age and at any stage of their sight loss journey. The charity’s mission is to help people with sight loss live the life they choose.

The charity moved to Newham in 1994, and their new resource centre was opened by HRH the Princess Anne, marking a new chapter for the organisation. The new home gave the charity the opportunity to expand the services on offer to the Cornish community, including low vision, assistive technology and benefits advice which are still going strong to this day.

Carole Theobald, Chief Executive said: “As Cornwall’s oldest charity we have a rich history dating back to 1856. Moving to Newham gave us the ability to expand into what we are today and start our flagship low vision service. We are proud of the strides we have taken to develop the service we offer in the intervening three decades and the countless residents of Cornwall we have supported in this time.”

There are a growing number of people with sight loss in Cornwall and the move helped the charity to meet the extra demand for its services. The organisation now supports over 5,000 people each year, having added wellbeing activities and an eyecare liaison officer to the services on offer.

Dominic Hall, Technology Advisor for the charity, who has worked at the Sight Centre for 18 years said: “There is a fantastic community of businesses in Newham which make this an enjoyable place to work. We recently took part in the litter pick on the estate and have also enjoyed support from some of our neighbours as they collect used stamps for our fundraising stamp appeal. Being along the river is also a lovely benefit of being in Newham, and lots of us enjoy our lunch breaks looking out along the river. 

“What’s fantastic about our home in Newham is that we still have space to grow here. We are looking forward to another 30 years of serving our community.”

To mark the milestone, the team will be celebrating with people past and present, at their AGM in October.

To find out more about the services they offer visit www.isightcornwall.org.uk