CELEBRATING 87 YEARS OF FUNDRAISING

For 87 years the Black & White Committee has worked tirelessly to raise much needed awareness and funds for children who are blind or have low vision through the services of Vision Australia (formerly The Royal Blind Society).

The Black & White Committee is a team of volunteers, many of whom have been members with the Committee for over 20 years and some for over 50 years.

Since 2000, current President Susan Diver OAM has brought about significant changes in keeping with social changes in Sydney life. In the modern era the profile of Committee members has changed as more professional and business women join and bring with them corporate connections that continue to contribute to the longevity and success of the Committee’s fundraising programs.

The Black & White Committee is well poised to maintain its traditional heritage while proceeding efficiently into the future. The Committee holds a number of events each year, the 2023 program includes:

• The Black and White Committee’s Women of Achievement Luncheon celebrates nspirational Australian women. The 37th Women of Achievement Luncheon will be held at the Four Seasons Hotel Sydney on Tues, June 6, 2023

• Black & White Gala Evening on Fri, Oct 27, 2023 to be held at the NSW Art Gallery

• In its 18th year the Lifestyle Lunch is a celebration of modern life and joie de vivre, and will be held at OTTO Woolloomooloo Tues, Nov 14, 2023

Each year the Black & White Committee raises over $250,000 through fundraising events for Vision Australia’s Children’s Services.

These funds help Vision Aus tralia’s Children’s Services to provide a range of support, counselling, therapy and training services to children with blindness and low vision and their families.

Children with blin dn ess or low vision may experience a range of challenges including difficulty bonding with their parents, dependency and unemployment later in life. A child may not even develop the strength to brush his or her teeth or hold his or her head up without non-visual stimuli to encourage them to crawl or walk. The services provided to these children costs more than $6 million annually across New South Wales and the ACT alone.

The Black & White Comm ittee’s aim is to continue to support the education of children and young people who are blind or have low vision by allowing them to access computers through synthesised voice screen readers and Braille, and all written literature through talking books, recorded versions of texts and the innovative Feelix Library of Braille books.

The children and young people taught by Vision Australia are offered a kind of freedom unimaginable even ten years ago.

To achieve this, intervention begins in early childhood from the tactile playroom for babies and toddlers, through to assistance to gain university degrees.

BLACK & WHITE COMMITTEE

9327 5698 www.blackandwhite.org.au