Tag: sight loss charity

Gail’s sights firmly set on her home city Marathon

A woman who has had two emergency eye operations is aiming to run her first 26.2 miles at the Edinburgh Marathon on May 28th.

Gail Burns, from Edinburgh, is running to fundraise for sight loss charity, RNIB Scotland, who supported her father in his diagnosis of Age-Related Macular Degeneration just two years ago. The condition, which affects over 300,000 people in Scotland, leaves him with limited central vision.

Gail was initially offered a charity place in the London Marathon in 2022, but was unaware that she faced sight issues herself:

“I had to have an emergency eye operation for a detached retina and then a second operation in 2023,” she says. “I sadly had to pull out of the London Marathon twice due to these operations and recovery.”

Gail has previously run a half marathon but due to pain in her hamstrings, was advised to stop running nine years ago. However, on finding a motivating Physio and Personal Trainer, Gail started training for her first marathon.

“I’ve met a lot of people with sight impairments- all very resilient and inspiring – from my Dad, other runners, to RNIB staff and advocates raising awareness of sight issues. I’m pleased to finally be running the Edinburgh Marathon on 28 May for RNIB and I also to have a place in London for April 2024!

“By the time May 28th comes around, I will have been marathon training for 1 year. This is due to stopping and starting during my training plan due to the eye issues and operation recovery times. Training has been tough at times but as it’s my first marathon, my goal is just to get around injury-free!”

* You can support Gail by donating via her JustGiving web-page at:

  https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/gailmburns

National Theatre of Scotland wins UK award for making its work accessible to those with sight loss

The National Theatre of Scotland has won a UK-wide award from sight loss charity RNIB for ‘using its time, resources and skills to support the blind and partially sighted community during the coronavirus crisis’.

Scotland’s national theatre company was shortlisted under the ‘Best Corporate Response’ category of the charity’s See Differently ‘Coronavirus Heroes’ Awards.

The awards aim to shine a spotlight on the people and organisations who have stepped up to help, support and find solutions to the challenges faced by people with sight loss and their communities during the pandemic.

RNIB Head of Integrated Marketing Lorna Forbes said: “Although 2020 has been an incredibly challenging year, there have been some amazing acts of kindness and support that have played a significant role in helping others through a tough time.

“Our awards recognise these amazing achievements and say thank you to these outstanding individuals and organisations.”

National Theatre of Scotland’s Artistic Director Jackie Wylie said: “We are delighted to have won one of the RNIB’s Coronavirus Heroes for our work to support audiences during the ongoing pandemic.

“At the National Theatre of Scotland, we are committed to ensuring all of our projects are accessible to everyone, including blind and partially sighted audiences. The importance of providing access to culture for isolated people across the country, especially during such a uniquely challenging time, cannot be overstated, so to be recognised for the work on our COVID-responsive digital season is an honour.”

In response to the lockdown, the National Theatre of Scotland developed ‘Scenes for Survival’ – a programme of digital performances exploring personal journeys of lockdown life, created with accessibility as a priority.

The free shows were made available to audiences throughout the summer  garnering more than 16 million views across all platforms to date and remain available to watch for free through the National Theatre of Scotland website.

Audio-described versions of shows were available on the Theatre’s  YouTube channel and website. All were are also subtitled, while the series is being regularly updated on its website with individual British Sight Language (BSL) introductions to performances.

‘The Scenes for Survival’ programme was created in association with BBC Scotland, Screen Scotland, BBC Arts’ Culture in Quarantine project and Scotland’s leading theatre venues and companies, with support from Hopscotch Films.