In common with most charities we rely on dedicated volunteers to help provide many of our services. Volunteers come from all walks of life and many of our volunteers are themselves visually impaired.

We are fortunate with the number and quality of the volunteers who work with us but there is always a need for more helpers as the demand for our services continues to grow.

Volunteer work can be both satisfying and rewarding and we try to ensure that our volunteers are well prepared to be as effective as possible in the work that they do. Our Vision Awareness training courses go some way to achieving that and we try to match our needs with our volunteers' skills and availability. As part of that process each volunteer is interviewed by a co-ordinator from their area who will discuss with them what they expect from ESAB and what they would like to offer through their work.

Many of the opportunities for volunteering are with our 15 social groups which are run by volunteers and which are always in need of help whether it is in transporting members to meetings and social activities or generally helping out with the running of the group and organising its activities.

Our home visiting service in the Brighton and Hove area is also in need of volunteers who will visit people and help with sight related tasks such as reading or writing letters, a shopping trip or a visit to the Doctor, and to provide companionship.

Our rehabilitation/independent living skills courses and cookery courses also depend on volunteers to support the trainer and the visually impaired people taking part.

A small team of volunteers also help people with completing benefits application forms and making appeals.

A new volunteering opportunity is with our Aids and Equipment Outreach project which started in July 2005.  Volunteers are needed to visit people in their homes with examples of aids and equipment which can help them to be more independent, help them to order if necessary, and return later to set up the new equipment if required.  Volunteers can also help people to visit our Resource Centre in Herstmonceux, just outside Hailsham, to see larger items of equipment such as talking microwaves, computers and CCTV magnifiers.

Other volunteering opportunities include fundraising, administration, and driving  - all important roles to support our various services and help our members to access them.

If you have a few hours to spare each month and would like to become an ESAB volunteer we would be pleased to hear from you. Full training will be given and we reimburse all expenses incurred.  Some of the volunteering roles require a CRB check.  Ask for our volunteer pack on 01323 832252 or email us at info@eastsussexblind.org.