Our History

The Past

Cornwall Blind Association is an entirely Cornish charity set up in 1856 for the people of the Duchy. Initially it was to support miners who had lost their sight in mining accidents but now, more than 150 years later; it aims to help improve the lives of all visually impaired people.

Mining was one of the main industries alongside fishing, shipping and farming in the 1850s. It was especially dangerous as the lodes of tin and copper had to be blasted, using gunpowder, from the hard rock underground. There were inevitable accidents with people being killed, maimed and injured in all kinds of horrific ways. It was from having to meet the needs of victims of these mining disasters that Cornwall Blind Association began.

The charitable work carried out by Cornwall Blind Association received enormous support from some of the emerging philanthropists in the past, and it is entirely due to the support of the people of Cornwall today that the charity is able to continue its work.

One of the services in decades past was mobile teaching, based on texts from the Holy Bible using large embossed typed books based on Moon, a forerunner to Braille. Similarly, our workers and volunteers carry out mobile support in all areas of the county today. Although many of our resources are based in the Truro Sight Centre, and in the smaller Penzance Sight Centre, often clients face mobility difficulties so the Cornwall Blind Association aims to make its services as accessible as possible by visiting clients or providing transport as necessary.

The Future

The University of Plymouth carried out a survey in 2006, as part of the 150th Anniversary celebrations, and compiled a report that proposed a ‘hub’ and ‘spoke’ model. From this, development plans went ahead to create resource desks in different areas of Cornwall that fed into the Sight Centre ‘Hub’ in Truro.
A five year strategic plan for fundraising has been compiled and a new, experienced fundraising team is in place with tough targets to be achieved including the launch of major appeal in 2009.

Certainly, without the financial support of donors and the enthusiasm and commitment of volunteers the Cornwall Blind Association could not carry on improving the lives of visually impaired in Cornwall.

The future of the charity is positive and exciting with changes continuing to take place and plans being implemented to establish new local services reaching more people.