Eye Matter is delighted to announce that Suzie has been nominated for an award. Please see the RNIB press release below.
RNIB PRESS RELEASE
March 2024
Charity founder from London shortlisted for RNIB See Differently Award
A woman has been shortlisted for an RNIB See Differently Award in recognition of an organisation she founded to provide multi activity, peer support and social inclusion for blind and partially sighted people.
Suzie Simons, who has sight loss and lives in London, has been shortlisted in the Volunteer of the Year category. This award recognises people who have dedicated their time, skills and energy within their community or organisation to have a positive impact on the lives, health, and wellbeing of blind and partially sighted people.
Suzie is the founder and CEO of Eye Matter; she volunteers full-time with the organisation and facilitates hundreds of online and in-person events each year. In 2023, Eye Matter secured a charitable status.
Founded five and a half years ago, Suzie set up Eye Matter after volunteering as a facilitator at RNIB’s Living Well with Sight Loss (LWWSL) courses and seeing firsthand the difference peer support can make for blind and partially sighted people, like herself. Suzie has also trained other Eye Matter volunteers to deliver RNIB’s LWWSL course.
She organises and hosts four online sessions every week for members and the sessions include VI cookery, audio-described chair yoga, poetry appreciation and concerts performed by artists with sight loss.
Since its inception, Suzie has led on raising funds for Eye Matter and has raised more than £30,000 since it began.
https://www.justgiving.com/page/eyematter
In response to being shortlisted, Suzie said: “It’s an honour to be shortlisted for an RNIB See Differently Award. I’m so proud Eye Matter, it’s grown into a community which supports its participants by educating, empowering, and giving confidence through its work and to enable its members to help each other do things which previously seemed out of reach.”
Last year, Suzie organised 36 face-to-face events, including Eye Matter’s inaugural sports day which saw over thirty members come together with sighted guides to take part in a range of VI sports, as well audio described theatre, museums and two Eye Matter Choir concerts.
The RNIB See Differently Awards will bring together a host of people across the UK and aims to shine a spotlight on the excellent work happening every day across the UK to support people with sight loss. They will recognise and reward individuals and organisations taking positive action to help break down barriers and make the world a better place for blind and partially sighted people.