A vital organisation, providing specialised support and medical care to the visually impaired has received an essential grant.
Essex Blind Charity, based in Colchester, has been handed a £20,000 grant from Provide Community, a healthcare, employee-owned, community interest company based in Colchester, Essex.
The non-profit independent charity plans to expand its services to parts of the County that are underrepresented and geographically difficult to access.
Providing advice and support for those with visual impairments, the charity’s Colchester Sight Centre carries the largest range of specialised equipment which allows those with visual impairments to live an independent life.
General Manager, Jonathan Dixon commented on the grant: “The Provide Community funding has made a huge impact on our work in helping support people who are visually impaired and their families.
“It has given us the ability to expand our services to South Woodham Ferrers and Harwich, and soon Jaywick.
“Essex has the second highest number of visually impaired people in two-tier authorities in England and with 70% of our clients acquiring sight loss later in life, it is vital that they get the support they need to continue living fulfilled, independent lives.
“The second stage is the launch of more pop-up sight centres and an Information Pack, which will be sent to newly diagnosed clients, which contains essential information and equipment that will help them immediately in their daily lives.”
Provide’s Marketing and Communications Manager, Elizabeth Delany said “As members of an employee-owned community interest company, we have the opportunity to decide how we invest our surpluses into the community, including through grants such as this and it is fantastic to see how the work of these charities and organisation makes a difference to our local communities.”
About Provide Community
Established as a Community Interest Company (CIC) in 2011, Provide Community is a social enterprise with more than a thousand colleagues and an annual income in the region of £70 million.
With a vision of ‘transforming lives through ‘care, innovation and compassion,’ Provide Community delivers a broad range of high-quality health and social care services to people in their own homes and at locations including community hospitals and clinics, nursing homes, and primary care settings.
As an innovative care provider, Provide Community also develops and delivers transformation through a growing portfolio of hybrid healthcare services designed to deliver ongoing improvement to accessibility and quality.
As an employee-owned enterprise, colleagues have a say in the future direction of the company and can make suggestions for improvements and influence how profits are reinvested.
Provide Community also reinvests back into the local community, directly through guidance from its employee stakeholders and governance team. In the last 10 years, Provide Community has donated £3 million in funding and match funding to charities, education and community organisations.
