ClearVision

Who we are

Who's ClearVision for and what do we do?
We run a postal lending library of children's books adapted to include the print, pictures and braille, plus a collection of around 800 books with tactile pictures all designed to be explored by touch. We do this because most children learning braille are in mainstream school, with sighted family, teachers and classmates. They need books they can share with others for learning to read, homework and joint work in the classroom; it's vital to their academic attainment, classroom integration and therefore wellbeing. Similarly, braille-reading parents often have sighted children, grandchildren or other family/friends with whom they want to read. Being able to teach your child colours or the alphabet, or snuggle with them for a family bedtime story is a part of parenting that most sighted people take for granted. However, since books which contain both print and braille aren't commercially produced, none of this is possible without a specialist resource like ours.

Our Vision: a world where all children with sight impairment have equal access to books they can share with sighted people. All braille-reading adults can share books with sighted children

Our Mission: ClearVision promotes literacy and love of books in children and young people who have vision impairment by providing appropriate print-and-braille or tactile picture books they can share with others via our library service

What are we like to work for? 
We're a small charity, with one full-time member of staff (the Director), a part-time Library Administrator and a part-time Project Officer, plus our trutees and tactile-book-making volunteers. You won't have the support of a big team or expansive databases, but you will have enthusiastic supporters, committed colleagues and the powerful story of a unique service making genuine, measurable change to the lives of marginalised young people. We pride ourselves on being friendly, down-to-earth, warm and hard-working. 

Where are we in our development? ClearVision's been around since 1985, and a charity since 1993. We've been growing and developing to meet need since then, adding our tactiel book collection in 2000. This year we've been working with the charity Pilotlight to examine our Theory of Change, Vision and Mission and Strategic Plan, and are in the process of developing a new Fundraising Strategy. You'll be joining us at a really exciting time, when we'll be putting the finishing touches to this, so you can have input from its outset. For the past nine months we've been working with an experienced freelance fundraiser to create a powerful case for support and identify potential funders, so you can hit the ground running.

Who are we funded by? Our support currently comes from our membership subscriptions, long-term individual donors, legacies, an annual appeal and a mixture of small and large grants from charitable trusts. We are fortunate to have recently had a mixture of large grants (including the Foyle Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation, the Powell Family Foundation and the True Colours Trust) and small-medium multi-year grants (R.S. MacDonald Foundation, the Sobell Foundation, BBC Children In Need adn the Masonic Charitable Foundation). We are also grateful for the continued support across many years of smaller trusts such as the 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust, the Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers, the Felce Family Trust and the Blatchington Court Trust. You'll be working to continue strengthening these existing relationships whilst exploring additional potential funders.