The Essential Guide Magazine Culcheth July - August 2014 | Page 6

Essential Feature

Lions Clubs team up
to help Warrington’s
visually impaired
Two North West Lions clubs have teamed
up to provide a software and computer
package that will provide an enhanced
text display to meet the needs of Warrington’s visually impaired people.
The package was presented to
Warrington’s Visually Impaired Centre
by represen-tatives of Birchwood and
Warrington Lions Clubs.
The package was made up of the purpose
built software, a desktop computer and a
laptop computer. The laptop will enable
centre staff to take the software to visually
impaired people away from the main
centre as part of its outreach programme.
The Visually Impaired Centre covers
Warrington and the northwest and works
with visually impaired people.
Birchwood Lions information officer,
Ken Whibley said: “We knew the visually
impaired centre needed help and invited
a representative to a club meeting. Our
club agreed a donation of £200 but
following a visit to the centre realised the
need was not just for software but also
the computer equipment to run it.
“We also realised that this was too big
a project for Birchwood on its own and
ap-proached Warrington Lions for their
help. The two clubs have always had a
6

close
relationship with Warrington
Birchwood’s parent club.

being

“The two clubs agreed to share the £800
Cost and a joint presentation party
visited the centre to formally handover
the equipment. The party was made up
of Lions Jean Whibley, Peter, and Elaine
Ives from Birchwood and Warrington
president, Harry Crank”
Centre manager, Gail Bretherton said:
“The Society was approached by a
company called Dolphin who specializes
in software GUIDE for visually impaired,
to ask if we had the ability to demonstrate
this type of software to the visually
impaired in Warrington. If we could do
this, they could offer the software free
and give free training, but we would have
to have the computers to down load the
programme.
“As the only computers we have belong
to the office staff and couldn’t be used for
this purpose it left us with the question
of where and how could we afford to
pur-chase such expensive items with a
limited budget?

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