Magnifier Appeal - PLEASE HELP - Donate

Dear kind supporter,

With our increasing older population, age - related eye diseases are becoming more common: some can be controlled, but others make an inevitable progression for which there is no cure. This obviously causes much distress.

As a registered visitor to The Connaught I am very aware that many of the residents are suffering from these conditions and are finding reading either difficult or impossible. There is one lady who, with her hand magnifying glass, struggles to read only one letter of a word at a time; from that she needs laboriously to build up the whole word.

However, there is a table-top magnifier which would be of great benefit to her and others in the care home. The cost of the machines are between £1,795 and £3,395, and residents plan to raise sufficient funds for at least three. There is also a version which actually reads the text from the page, and it would be wonderful to be able to buy that as well!

Will you help us?

Residents have already planned several fund -raising events but cannot hope on their own to raise all that is needed. An Art exhibition, sponsored walk and a calendar are among their planned projects. However, these can only raise a fraction of the total needed. And so, I appeal to you who can enjoy reading, to help those among us who are condemned to living the rest of their lives without the joy of engaging with the written word.

Please make cheques out to "The Connaught", at Le Val, Alderney, GY9 3UL. Mark the outside of the envelope "Magnifier Appeal". It would be great if we could achieve our goal before Christmas; that would mean that cards and letters could be read this year by those who until now have had to wait for someone to have the time to read aloud for them. This will not only maintain independence but privacy and give great joy.

Please give all you can to help the older population of Alderney who, in their lives, have given so much to our island.

Thank you,

Eileen Mignot