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New home for vision-impaired group

Posted on July 10, 2009, 2:02pm

The Mount Gambier District Club for the Vision Impaired has recently moved from its home of 30 years in the Uniting Church Community Centre to make way for the establishment of Resthaven residential aged care facility.

The vision impaired club, which has 15 members, now meets in a much smaller area in the Community Support Centre behind the RSL on Ferrers Street.

Members engage in craft activities such as creating coat hangers, notebooks, boxes, bins and more, especially around Christmas and Mother’s Day when they sell products at the Rotary Market.

The club also has collection tins around the community, hosts fundraisers and organises social outings for members, including bus trips.

All money raised stays in the South East to buy much-needed equipment to benefit the blind and vision impaired.

For the past 30 years, volunteers have recorded The Border Watch onto cassettes, which are distributed throughout the South East to vision-impaired people so they can “read” the newspaper and keep up to date with current issues.

The club originally began with about 60 members, with regular cards and bowls days.

Current president Joy Axleby said the average age of members was 70, with two in their 90s.

“It’s good for socialising; it’s an outing for the vision impaired so they can come and have a good day,” Joy said.

“After 30 years, moving to such a small place will take a lot of adjusting.”

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