Walsall football fans donate £1,000 to local charity supporting people with sight loss
A Walsall charity is celebrating this week after a successful awareness-raising event at Walsall Football Club on Saturday raised more than £1,000.
The Walsall Society for the Blind, based on Hatherton Road, supports the visually impaired community of Walsall, and joined forces with Walsall FC for their home game against Gillingham to give fans a taste of what it’s like to live with sight loss.
Pre-match interactive activities saw fans use simulated spectacles to experience different types of eye condition and try to score in the inflatable goal while wearing a blindfold.
At half time, the charity took to the pitch to show spectators how disorientating it can be to get around when you have a visual impairment.
To emphasise this, charity volunteer Dee Dewhurst and her guide dog Mojo walked from the centre circle to the 18 yard box.
Dee and Mojo were flanked by club staff and sponsors who donned blindfolds and tried to walk the distance in a straight line.
This proved extremely difficult for those in blindfolds, with sighted guides having to step in to assist the sponsors to the 18 yard box.
The football club and its community foundation also arranged for one of the charity’s young visually impaired supporters, Cobie Regan-Brown, to be a mascot for the day, thanks to its partnership with the Free Kicks Foundation.
Walsall Society for the Blind, which provides information, advice and support to over 1,400 people in Walsall who are registered with a sight impairment, was delighted with the welcome they received from the club and its fans.
Amanda Elliott, fundraising officer for the charity, said: "We are so grateful to Walsall Football Club for supporting us to organise a charity takeover at the ground; and to the Community Foundation for enabling our mascot Cobie to have an experience that he’ll never forget.
"The reception we received from the fans was amazing. They were so welcoming and very generous.
"The money raised from the collection will enable us to provide vital support to Walsall residents affected by sight loss, including home visits, technology support and mental wellbeing services.
"This will help them to retain their independence, their wellbeing and their confidence. This is especially important in the wake of the pandemic which has left so many people with sight loss extremely isolated."
The charity hopes that the awareness raised at last Saturday’s match will also help them to reach out to some of the 7,500 individuals with sight loss in Walsall who are not currently accessing the free support available to them.
