Derby County Football Club
Derby County has unveiled Sight Support Derbyshire as their designated charity partner until the end of the 2011/12 season.
Sight Support Derbyshire is the largest provider of services to people with a visual impairment in Derbyshire with over 4,000 registered members, and over 13,000 individual contacts per year.
Formerly known as the Derbyshire Association for the Blind, Sight Support Derbyshire was established in 1914 to support soldiers returning from World War One.
There are estimated to be around 25,000 people in Derbyshire who experience significant sight loss and 46% of blind and partially sighted people have given up hobbies and interests because of their sight loss.
The launch of the partnership between DCFC and Sight Support Derbyshire kicks off today on Monday at the Rams’ Moor Farm training ground.
A selection of Derby’s first team players will be blindfolded for a cross bar challenge/penalty shoot-out, while Captain Robbie Savage will be joining the UK’s blind football team for a game.
A target of £20,000 has been set to raise throughout the partnership through a number of key events which will be revealed in due course.
Derby County CEO Tom Glick said:
“We are delighted to join forces with Sight Support Derbyshire and believe, between us, we can make a huge difference.
“We believe this partnership can raise awareness for Sight Support Derbyshire and continue to make a difference in the local community.
“There will be plenty of events and activities taking place in the coming months and I want to encourage all of our supporters to get embrace the project and support it in any way they can..
“We have set ourselves an ambitious target, but it is one we believe we can achieve by working closely together.
Ges Roulstone, Chief Executive of Sight Support Derbyshire said:
“We are absolutely thrilled to be working with one the iconic and best loved organisations in Derbyshire, Derby County Football Club. We are about to embark on a 16-month partnership that will help to change the landscape for blind and visually impaired people in the county.
“By partnering with Derby County we will help to raise awareness of sight loss in the region as we work towards the Vision 20/20 goals of ending preventable sight loss within the decade. We live in an ageing society where sight loss is set to double by 2020 and partnering with DCFC will enable us to help those who need it most.
“We estimate that there are on average around 800 people who are experiencing sight loss at every single home match at Pride Park where we will be hoping to make an immediate difference to people’s lives.
“We are absolutely thrilled to be working with one the iconic and best loved organisations in Derbyshire, Derby County Football Club. We are about to embark on a sixteen month partnership that will help to change the landscape for blind and visually impaired people in the county.
Keep checking back to http://www.dcfc.co.uk for more details on the Sight Support Derbyshire partnership in the near future.
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