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Support Cambridgeshire

Your country, your voice, our support

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Shining light on CamSight

Contact phone: 01223420033

Contact email: incomegeneration@camsight.org.uk

Get involved: volunteer

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CamSight seeks to change lives for those living with a visual impairment

Living with a visual impairment or blindness presents unique challenges that can affect nearly every aspect of a person’s life, from education and employment to social inclusion and independence.

However, countless visually impaired individuals are living full, productive lives thanks to the support of charitable organisations dedicated to helping them thrive.

CamSight is one of those organisations based locally in Cambridge, working across Cambridgeshire, Peterborough, and Fenland. The charity is over 100 years old but its core mission has always been providing opportunities for visually impaired individuals. Beyond support and advice, their activities include accessible sports, garden walks, Pilates, museum tours, and monthly rowing sessions, all available to CamSight clients.

Did you know that every day, 250 people in the UK start losing their sight? Over 2 million people in the UK live with sight loss severe enough to impact daily activities like driving. In Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, an estimated 28,600 people experience sight loss, with around 2,000 individuals accessing CamSight’s services each year.

Mary Leitch

 

A lady sits in a boat and looks and smiles at the camera. She is wearing an orange top and black shades. She has oars in her hand and sits in her rowing boat. The sky is blue and there are boats in the background of the lake.

Mary Leitch from March has been attending visually impaired rowing sessions with CamSight, Peterborough City Rowing Club and British Rowing charitable trust, Love Rowing.

Mary talks about her love of rowing and how it gives her a sense of freedom without being reliant on her cane in the video below.

Dawn Preston, Head of Services, says

CamSight has always been dedicated to creating opportunities and empowering individuals to live life on their own terms. Our goal is to enhance lives through a wide range of services, and our impact goes far beyond assistance—we want to empower individuals to lead lives of dignity, confidence, and independence.

Dawn explains that their clients seek support for various reasons:

They might have just been diagnosed with an eye condition, or perhaps a concerned family member is reaching out to ensure a loved one’s safety.

With a team of 20 staff members, the charity’s primary focus is on “adopting a person-centred approach”, according to Service Manager Sam Wool.

We support and encourage service users to gain the aids, skills, knowledge, and confidence they need to live independently.

Opportunities for visually impaired individuals

CamSight is over 100 years old but its core mission has always been providing opportunities for visually impaired individuals. Beyond support and advice, their activities include accessible sports, garden walks, Pilates, museum tours, and monthly rowing sessions, all available to CamSight clients.

Walks around the Botanical Gardens

A group gather together to talk about the flowers in a beautiful flower bed in a lush and rich garden. The sky is bright blue and the group are enjoying their visit and have smiles on their faces.

The monthly walks around the Botanical Gardens in Cambridge are extremely popular.

Museum tour

A group of people stand and listen to a speaker inside a museum filled with glass cabinets protecting pictures and pottery artefacts which have been collected throughout Ely.

Visiting the Ely Museum for a private touch tour.

Boat trip

A group of people are sitting in a boat moored at a boarding pontoon, they are waiting along the riverbank which is filled with high reeds. The water is green in colour and the individuals in the boat are wearing coats, and one lady has dark glasses on.

A group visit to Wicken Fen, with a boat trip, was enjoyed by all.

How to get involved

Volunteer

CamSight would love to hear from you if you’re looking for volunteer opportunities. With a variety of roles across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, you could assist by driving a visually impaired person to appointments or guiding them to activities.

Volunteers also help with awareness sessions and community events. All volunteers receive sighted guiding training and ongoing support in their roles. Volunteer with CamSight.

Other ways to get involved

There are many other ways to get involved with CamSight, including helping them raise vital funds to keep their services going.

Whether you can spare a few hours at a community event or want to take on a challenge like the 2025 Cambridge Half Marathon, get in touch: incomegeneration@camsight.org.uk or call 01223 420033.

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