The Ipswich Blind Society

The Ipswich Blind Society (IBS) is the oldest of three voluntary organisations set up in Suffolk to provide services for the blind and visually impaired. The Mission Statement of the Ipswich Blind Society is simple: To help the blind and visually impaired people of Ipswich live full, independent, and active lives.

The Society supports all blind and visually impaired people of all ages in the Borough of Ipswich and those in the surrounding areas who choose to make use of these services.

How the Ipswich Blind Society meets its objectives:

• We employ a Community Worker to visit all new IBS members as well as our less mobile members at home.
• We facilitate the running of a Men's Club, a Mixed Club, a club for younger members called Blink, and a number of Bowls Clubs.
• We distribute wirelesses for the British Wireless for the Blind.
• We organise exhibitions in Ipswich for suppliers and manufacturers of aids for the visually impaired.
• We organise a monthly guided walk providing transport and ending at a public house for lunch.
• We operate a Telephone Befriending Service to tackle loneliness and provide social contact whereby members can request a regular telephone call as often as they wish from one of our visually impaired volunteers.
• We provide IT training to help visually impaired members operate their own specialist computer software. We also provide elementary level Braille training
• We hold a Coffee Mornings on the first Monday of the month at Tower Street.
• Organise a Quarterly Lottery with half the proceeds allocated to prizes and half to the IBS.
• We operate an Equipment and Information Resource Centre at Tower Street where aids are displayed, demonstrated and sold, and where equipment may be used in the office by any IBS member