Be inspired. Park runs and marathons as a blind runner
Running or jogging is considered one of the best cardio exercises out there. Just 5-10 minutes a day can help to build strong bones and muscles, while lifting your mood and energy levels. For many, outdoor running can also decrease feelings of loneliness, isolation and depression. However, when you have a vision impairment, it's not as simple as just popping out for a quick morning jog on your own. So how can we enjoy the benefits of outdoor running while keeping safe? One answer to that question is guide running. The activity, which uses a ramble tag, enables [...]
Be inspired. VI art student Millie-Jayne’s digital art
Image description: A high contrast digital image. The background image is an abstract photo that has been flooded with colour - bright pink and dark grey, a person is just visible in the centre of the image. In the top-right corner a white flower is overlaid over the other image with transparency allowing the background colours to show through. In the bottom-left there is a blue image overlaid of a tulip with bright yellow accents. Braille dots have been overlaid over the image reading: 'Better to be blind and see with your heart than have two [...]
Tactile Times online advent calendar
Tactile Times are getting into the Christmas spirit already and have launched a fully-accessible, online advent calender. If you fancy a change from printed advent calendars this one is fully-accessible with all major screen readers using a computer or a phone and you can access it with a Braillenote Touch. You might even hear a few familiar voices along the way! You can visit it to open the first few door right now: games.tactiletimes.org/advent The will have a new door unlocking each day, and a bumper day on the 24th. It is a great opportunity to [...]
Be inspired. Tune in to Lee’s first radio show!
As part of our #BlindnessAwarenessMonth celebrations, we chatted to Lee Roake about his fantastic achievement, launching his first radio show! Lee is a 17 year old with a rare genetic condition called WAGR Syndrome. Due to his vision impairment, Lee has been involved in VICTA activities from a young age, now taking part in our activities for 14 to 17 years. Lee has just started his very own radio show on Surrey Hills Radio and tells us how his volunteering led to this dream opportunity! Did you miss Lee's [...]
Be inspired. Fundraising success for this VICTA Young Achiever!
We are celebrating Dotty, who has had incredible fundraising success while earning her Young Achievers Community pin badge. So far, Dotty has raised over £600 through her sponsored walk, amazing! Dotty's parents tell us how she organised her fundraising event and what made it a great success: Dotty chose to do a sponsored walk as part of her Young Achievers Award with VICTA, we chose a 5 mile walk near Dotty’s School. We sent a message to Dotty’s friends and parents and WOW we were overwhelmed by the support we got. The walk started at West Hanningfield Village Hall [...]
Be inspired. International Mother Language Day
DofE VICTA volunteer Armaan tells us about growing up with English as his second language Hello, my name is Armaan, and I am bilingual meaning that I can speak two languages and those are ‘English and Bengali’ while I can also read Arabic and speak simple Spanish. Bangla was my first language and I learnt it from my Grandma at the age of one/two. Performing tasks such as singing in the language and generally talking with her, helped when my family moved here from Bangladesh because I could talk to them, therefore allowing me to be more connected with [...]
Be inspired. Campaigning for Braille
By Hannah Bromley-Challenor I have always loved writing, from creative writing, to making lists and notes. When my eyesight started to deteriorate in my mid-teens, I feared I would lose one of my favourite pastimes. That was until my school gave me the opportunity to learn how to read and write in Braille. Ever since then I have been passionate about Braille. It gives me the freedom to do everyday things such as write shopping lists, that I can take into town with my carers, or gather notes from lectures at university. With a Braillenote I can write emails, [...]
Be inspired. You Can Succeed; UCAS and Starting University
By Natalia Foster UCAS and University, two small but quite powerful words. For any 18 year old, the UCAS process can be stressful, challenging and all together a mystery until you are on the other side of it. As someone who completed and survived the UCAS journey, I wanted to give you my five top tips for navigating it with ease and confidence! 1. Give your personal statement that personal twist This may seem like an obvious point to make, but you would be surprised as to how much the ‘personal’ part of a personal statement is ignored. Something [...]
Be inspired. Dayzie’s writing journey
Congratulations to Dayzie Simpson whose Peace Essay entitled 'Lead with Compassion' won the MK and District Final and then the National Final in The Lions Clubs' essay writing competition. Dayzie tells us all about her experience writing her winning entry. I’ve never been very ‘creative’ or ‘imaginative’ and that’s what I struggled with when I first discovered my passion for essay writing. Being blind and not being able to see anything, I can’t do the ‘writing’ part, but as technology has advanced and I’ve learnt the skills I need. I have learnt how to touch type on a QWERTY [...]
Previous Braille Art winners on why you should get involved!
VICTA's annual Braille Art competition is open and we think you should get involved! We chatted to winners from previous years about their entries and why they loved getting creative with Braille. In 2021 Joseph was the winner in our over 10s category with his chocolate braille creation! The image features a rocket launching into space made from chocolate buttons. Joseph tells us why he thinks Braille is so important to recognise and celebrate: "I think that Braille is an important skill for people of all different levels of vision impairment to learn. Although [...]
