Sight loss can be isolating. Can you help more people feel connected this Christmas?

A young woman, Laura, sits at a kitchen table with a cup of tea. She is smiling and wearing a vibrant pink top. On the table next to her is an Echo Show Alexa Device.

For Laura, growing up with sight loss could mean feeling, at times, different and isolated from her friends. She remembers having to wait months for accessible versions of Harry Potter, while all her friends simply enjoyed them off the shelf. Over the years, Laura’s mum spent hundreds on large print books.

But technology, like the Alexa Echo Show device provided for free by British Wireless for the Blind Fund (BWBF), is breaking down those barriers – making access to entertainment and information easier and more inclusive for people living with sight loss. This is more important than ever since Laura’s daughter, Daphne, was born partially sighted a little over a year ago.

Mum, Laura, and her baby daughter, Daphne sit facing each other and holding hands in a living room filled with children's toys. Both are smiling. On the floor is an Echo Show Alexa device.

“My daughter won’t have any of those issues I did growing up. She will have everything at her fingertips. I just think that’s amazing because it takes away that feeling of isolation or feeling different.”

“I can’t even describe how life-changing the service BWBF provides is. The difference it makes is immense.”

You could help us break through the isolation of sight loss for more people like Laura and Daphne. A device like theirs costs just £75 and can help someone feel that vital sense of connection.

You could help us break through the isolation of sight loss for more people like Laura and Daphne. A device like theirs costs just £75 and can help someone feel that vital sense of connection.

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The support from BWBF has also helped Laura adapt to parenting a child with sight loss.

“Because of her visual impairment my daughter finds mealtimes quite stressful. So, with the Alexa, I can put on her favourite songs and we dance and sing. It just makes it more fun for her and distracts her from the whole ordeal of trying new things.

“The music and sound help to keep her stress levels a bit lower – it’s really helped. And that’s made mealtimes a lot less stressful for me too!”

Baby Daphne is sitting in a high chair with a bowl of food in front of her. She is wearing a bib and smiling broadly. In the foreground her mother, Laura, is leaning towards her. There is an Echo Show Alexa device on the table in the foreground.

Laura continues, “As Daphne is starting to use her vision more she gets quite tired. We make sure we have rest time where she gets to listen to her songs.

“It’s a massive part of her life: that sound of music – all thanks to BWBF!”

But it’s not just Laura and Daphne who benefit from our services. Laura knows the life-changing difference your support could make for others living with sight loss.

“When I’m not on maternity leave, I’m a therapist, so I work in mental health. One thing that pops out to me is how many people with sight loss experience suicidal thoughts and mental health difficulties. I think a lot of that stems from isolation. Because it can be lonely.

“What BWBF is doing for one person – it’s a small gesture that is massive. It allows people to access things that perhaps they couldn’t before and to feel more normal. It’s so important to preserving someone’s quality of life.”

Although Laura feels this “life-changing” support comes from BWBF, we know it’s really all thanks to you.

Your support changes lives. Make a gift this Christmas.