Wear dots.... raise lots
Fundraising guide
Why wear dots and raise lots?
Every day 100 people in the UK start losing their sight.
It will change their life completely.
Too many people are left alone to cope with this news. Many will quickly feel isolatedand depressed. Right now, RNIB can only reach one in three of those who need our helpthe most.
With your support, we can be there from the moment of diagnosis to help people facetheir future with confidence.
This October we’re asking you to Wear dots… raise lots to support RNIB – it’s a reallyfun and easy way to help the almost two million people in the UK living with sight loss;a figure we believe will double by 2050.
Why dots?
Wear dots... raise lots this October to celebrate braille, a unique system of raised dotsthat can be read by touch
This fundraising guide tells you more about braille and how it is used and is full of ideasto help you plan your event for October.
Kimberley was born with congenital cataracts and her sight hasdeteriorated over time. She says:
“I was always interested in art and despite having sightproblems, I studied to become an illustrator. I use specialtechniques including labelling my paints and pens withbraille and having all the shades lined up in order.”
1…2…3it’s as simple as joining the dots
1 Get the word out
Tell everyone you know that you are going to Wear dots... raise lots for RNIB. Whynot ask your friends, family and colleagues to join you and dress in dots for theday – the more dots, the better! Use the materials included in your pack andremember there are more available to download from our website atrnib.org.uk/dotsdownloads
2 Line up your dots!
Raid your wardrobe and discover your dots – don’t worry if you can’t find anything,pop down to your local charity shop and pick up a bargain. You can always add tothe effect by painting your nails with dots or accessorising with a dotty scarf, hairband, tie or socks. Or you could even make your own!
3 Wear dots... raise lots this October
Whether pretty in polka dot or divine in Dalmatian, ask everyone taking part todonate a suggested amount. We suggest £2 for adults and £1 for children.
For more ideas visitrnib.org.uk/weardots
Activity
Try printing your own t-shirts with fun brightly coloured dots! You can use fabric paints or pens, or simply stick on dots to customise plain t-shirts.You could even use tactile dots– cut out of felt, fake fur, or bubble wrap!
Don’t stop at just wearing dots
There are lots of other things you can do with dots – here are a few suggestions:
• Bake dots… raise lots. Get creativewith choc chips and arty with smartiesand hold a cake sale at your school,club or work. Think dotty tablecloths,cups and saucers and some delectabledelights for sale.
• Play dots… raise lots. Challenge yourfriends and colleagues to a “dot gamestournament” using dominoes, darts,draughts, Connect 4®, Twister®,bingo, hoopla, or hula hooping.
• Paint dots… raise lots. Paint people’snails with dots and ask for a donation,or print some t-shirts with dots to sell,maybe with names in braille.
• Pack with dots… raise lots. Speak toyour local shop or supermarket andorganise a bag pack for donationswhile dressed in your dots.
• Extreme dots… raise lots. Hold acompetition to see who can read in themost extreme place while dressed indots. Get people to send a photo inand contribute to take part – makesure you get a prize donated forthe winner.
Other fun ideas for raising lots
There are also plenty of other ideas to try on your day of dots. How about adding theseinto the mix – remember they can all be done while wearing dots:
• Bingo day• Book sale/swap
• Braille trail
• CD sale
• Karaoke
• Literary lunch
• Nail painting / • Pub quiz
• Reading group challenge
• Scrabble competition
• Sponsored read
• Story sleepover
• £1 sale – everything on saleis one round pound
Check out rnib.org.uk/dotsaz for more ideas.
Look what wedid last year...
The team at Cubexcouldn’t wait to support RNIBby holding a “day of dots” –dressing in dotty clothes and baking fabulous dotty cakes.
Frances Mackenzie, whosefamily members have benefitedfrom RNIB braille books, said
“I’ve been delighted tosupport RNIB, who are awonderful charity.”
Activity
Use the braillealphabet card in yourpack to feel the dots – can youtell the difference between theletters? Now test your brailleskills to work out the messagebelow and our decipher thedots card.
The need to read
When you lose your sight, readinganything – from a cash machine screen,to labels on food and drink, to a book –can become impossible.
Braille is a system of six raised dots,arranged in two columns of three dots,just like a domino. It is designed to beread by fingers.
RNIB is the largest publisher of braillebooks in Europe. Last year our readingservices lent 83,200 volumes of brailleand braille music. Blind and partiallysighted adults and children can alsoborrow from our audio and giant printlibraries.
Why learn braille?
Learning braille from a young age meansthat blind and partially sighted childrencan enjoy reading for life. Braille alsohelps literacy, as it’s a much better way tounderstand punctuation, grammar andspelling than audio.
RNIB campaigns for blind and partiallysighted children to learn braille, whetherthey are in mainstream or special schools.
A few facts about braille
• It was invented in 1824 by a 15-year-old blind boy called Louis Braille.
• All writing can be turned into braille: from bank statements to street signs,medicine packets to music.
• Braille has been adapted into every known language, from Albanianto Zulu.
• RNIB published our first braille book in 1871.
• RNIB has taken braille from dot to dot.com! New braille technology isrevolutionising the way that blind people read everything from smartphonesto computer screens.
You should have your sight tested at least every two years
An eye examination is an important health check for your eyes and can detectearly signs of a sight problem. Many eye conditions can be treated if they are spotted early enough.
Some people, especially children, may need their eyes examined more often and your optometrist will advise you about this.For further information visitrnib.org.uk/eyehealth
Activity
The simspecs in yourpack show what itmight be like to have a sightproblem.
Get people to try movingaround a room (carefully!),reading something ordescribing what they can seewhile wearing them.
Activity
Try painting yournails with differentcoloured dots and dottypatterns, you could even makethem tactile and stick on jewelsor gems!
How about getting your friendstogether and having a nailpainting party?
Free schools’ resources
Why not encourage your class to learn more about sight loss when theyWear dots… raise lots? You could even have a week of dots!
We have produced free curriculum relevant lesson plans for EYFS and KS1–4which enable teachers to easily include the materials in their daily lessons.
All our free materials can be downloaded from rnib.org.uk/dotsteachersand include:
• EYFS and KS1–4 lesson plans
• PowerPoint presentation
• Information and statistics about sight loss
• Videos
• Quizzes
• The story of Louis Braille
• Braille alphabet sheets and activities
• A template letter about wearing dots to send to parents
• Information on eye health
Don’t forget you can request more materials such as braille cards, balloonsand our super simspecs. Contact us on 0845 345 0054 or to order more.
Freddy, aged 9, who is blind says:
“It’s great when my friends in class are learning a bitmore about what it’s like to be blind. It makes mefeel more included.”
Freddy’s story
Freddy, aged 9, has Leber’s CongenitalAmaurosis, a disease that has resulted insevere loss of vision. Freddy struggles tosee more than colours and high contrastshapes and cannot read standard printbooks.
He has worked very hard to crack thecode and learn braille. This allows him totake part in all his lessons, the same aseveryone else.
“I use a Brailler to type braille in class.I can write just the same things as theother kids do.”
For Freddy, being able to read andwrite provides much more than thethrill of a great story. It is the key to hisself-esteem.
RNIB’s reading choices have helpedFreddy enjoy the adventures that bookshave to offer. Not only does he now feel“one of the gang” with friends but thebooks are also helping him to do betterat school.
Fiona, Freddy’s mum says:
“I think it’s made a big difference to his literacy – and really improved hisvocabulary and writing. It’s also helped his imagination develop.”
Find out more about Freddy at rnib.org.uk/dotsfreddy
Look what we did last year...
Hatfield PeverelBeavers decorated cakes andsold them to raise money forRNIB. The Beavers dressed upin dotty clothing and paintedtheir faces with multi-coloureddots. They tried on thesimspecs to see what life waslike for blind people and had ago at reading braille.
They had brilliant fun andraised £55.
Activity
Cut out the buntingtriangles and stringthem up to make your eventmore colourful. Download andcolour in the blank ones(available online) to create yourown fabulous dotty bunting.Why not string up some dottyclothing to add to the effect?
Promoting your event
The more promotion you get, thebigger your profile and the moremoney you will raise.
We can provide you with posters andballoons to make sure that everyoneknows you are raising money for RNIB.Contact us on 0845 345 0054 or
Be sure to contact your local newspapersand radio stations – hitting the headlinescan help you raise more vitally neededfunds. You can download mediainformation and templates fromrnib.org.uk/dotsdownloads
We’d love to see any photos or updateson how you are getting on wearingyour dots.
Don’t forget to like us and post yourpictures on facebook.com/weardotsas well as follow us @RNIB and tweetusing #weardots.
How your money helps
£5can help us to answera call to our Helpline fromsomeone who has justfound out they are losingtheir sight.
£20can help provideinformation and supportto someone with sightproblems seekingemployment.
£75can offer advice,a listening ear,understanding andfriendship with one of ourweekly Talk and Supporttelephone groups.
£100can pay for the recording of a talking newspaper keepingsomeone in touch with local and world events.
£400can give blind and partially sighted children the chance tomake friends, build confidence and have fun on a speciallydesigned action-packed holiday.
Maximise your money
Gift Aid
Gift Aid is a greatway for us to raiseeven more from donations.For more about Gift Aid, please visitrnib.org.uk/giftaid
Online fundraising
The easiest and most cost effectiveway to fundraise is via the donationsite Just Giving – remember tochoose RNIB from the list of eventoptions: justgiving.com/rnib
We have also included asponsorship form if you’d prefer.Please remember to encouragesupporters to fill in their full detailsand tick the Gift Aid box or we can’tclaim it.
Matched funding
Many companies offer matchedfunding as part of their corporatesocial responsibility (CSR) policy.This means that they will matchwhatever amount you fundraisepound for pound (often up to arestricted amount). Be sure to speakto your company to see if this is anoption when you wear dots andraise lots.
We’re here to help you
We want you to have fun with your event and to havehuge success as you Wear dots... raise lots!
We hope this guide gives you all the information you need but don’tforget to visit rnib.org.uk/weardots for more ideas and resources.If we can help at all please call 0845 345 0054 or . You can also order more materials suchas balloons, simspecs, stickers and braille cards.
facebook.com/weardots
twitter.com/rnib #weardots
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© RNIB 2015