A world without barriers for people with sight loss.

We’re the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), the UK’s leading sight loss charity and we represent its largest community of blind and partially sighted people.

We recognise everyone’s unique experience of sight loss and offer help and practical and emotional support to blind and partially sighted people. We want society, communities and individuals, to see differently about sight loss.

The world has changed beyond recognition since we started our work more than 150 years ago but, for blind and partially sighted people, there are still many barriers to overcome. There are still unacceptable inequalities: difficulties accessing treatment and services, a lack of emotional and practical support and widespread challenges getting into work are all too common – to name a few.

On one hand, RNIB is in a better position than ever to realise our ambitions and tackle these systemic inequalities: we have a bold strategy, very talented staff and a fantastic brand to reach, connect and deliver change, transforming lives and changing society. But, on the other, the coronavirus pandemic has highlighted how much work there is to do.

For instance, since the first UK national lockdown in March 2020, many of the UK’s two million blind and partially sighted people found it nearly impossible to shop without support. They were affected by changes to supermarket layouts, social distancing and limitations on online delivery slots. Our own research shows just half of the blind and partially sighted people who shopped independently before lockdown could continue as before. At one point, more than one in five (21 per cent) were rationing food as a result.

We needed to act fast to ensure we could get the individuals and organisations who could help to work with us to give blind and partially sighted people access to food and other essentials. As recognised in the recent Third Sector Business Charity Awards, we innovated to create new partnerships and launch urgent initiatives to ensure this support was delivered quickly and effectively.

But, while lockdowns might be lifted, coronavirus-related challenges have not disappeared. Social distancing can still be near impossible if you cannot see to keep your distance from others or take account of visual cues like signs or markers. This can make it very difficult to take essential journeys or exercise and has had a big impact on the independence and confidence of many blind and partially sighted people.

So, while we are proud of our achievements, this is just one more example of how much more work there is for us to do if we all truly have a world without barriers for people with sight loss.

We’re seeking a candidate to serve as an Employer Nominated Trustee to join our Pension Trustee Board to ensure our Retirement Benefits Scheme has effective engagement and relationships with stakeholders and is well managed. We hope to appoint a candidate with the requisite pension knowledge and experience to stand as the Chair of the Pension Trustee board from October 2022, subject to appointment by the Pension Trustees.

The existing Trustee Chair is standing down in October 2022.

RNIB stands side by side with blind and partially sighted people through every challenge. We are looking for more talented people to stand side by side with us as we meet those challenges.

Yours,

Stuart Fox
Director of Finance
RNIB