Eurodesk UK partner RSBC helps blind young people make new friends

October 18, 2020
Eurodesk UK partner The Royal Society for Blind Children (RSBC) runs monthly Supper Clubs for blind and partially sighted young people in North and South London.
RSBC’s Supper Clubs are monthly get-togethers for blind and partially sighted young people aged 16-25 in a friendly community-based location. Young people can make new friends, meet up with old ones and have a laugh and a free supper. One young person who attended for the first time in December said…
“This is my first Supper Club, I’m really enjoying myself! I can’t believe I haven’t come before!”
The clubs can bring young people together, young people like Carmen for example. Carmen is completely blind and is very petite due to a condition that causes weak muscles and spine problems. She loves socializing and doesn’t let her lack of English hold her back. However, due to her condition, her family are very protective and she was unable to leave home independently. In order to attend social activities as an independent adult, she was reliant on others to travel with her from home and back, limiting what she could do and her sense of self as an individual.
Through Supper Club, she met other young people with sight loss and learned from them how they used TfL travel assistance to be more independent. This gave Carmen the confidence and motivation to be more independent in a way that being advised about TfL travel assistance by staff didn’t.
It didn’t take Carmen long to start navigating public transport with the assistance of TfL staff and now is happy to travel all over London.
Young people who attend these Clubs have learnt about different travel and mobility options available to them. During Eurodesk’s Time to Move campaign young people heard about how Eurodesk can help them volunteer, work or learn abroad. One young person found that Eurodesk could help them prepare to move abroad as part of their degree, while another was very interested to learn about grant opportunities to help them travel.
If you are a blind or partially sighted or other disadvantaged young person aged 16-25 living in London and think Supper Clubs might be for you contact RSBC by email (enquiries@rsbc.org.uk) or call our main office on 020 3198 0225.
You may also like

No categories May 15, 2025
National Children’s Day: why it can be harder for VI children to flourish
Sunday 18th May is a day dedicated to children. National Children’s Day – 24 hours of celebration – is focused on the importance of a healthy childhood, and protecting the rights and freedoms of young people so that they can thrive.

No categories May 14, 2025
A life without limits: my journey back to RSBC
Dr Tom Pey, Honorary President of RSBC, is the founder of Waymap, the world’s most accurate indoor and outdoor navigation system. This Global Accessibility Day, he talks about his long standing relationship with our charity, and how with Waymap’s step-based location technology he plans to make every city in the world more accessible.

No categories May 8, 2025
Nathan’s story: running for Alfie
Nathan’s taking on three running challenges to fundraise for RSBC – the Tatton 10k, the Manchester Half Marathon, and the Chester Marathon. Nathan and his wife, Jessica, have a son, Alfie, who was born with albinism. It’s a genetic condition which causes a lack of pigment and, like many people with albinism, Alfie has difficulties […]

No categories April 30, 2025
A marathon to remember!
The London Marathon 2025 saw 56,000 runners take to the streets of London to challenge themselves and raise money for a huge range of good causes. And amongst the thousands who took part were 68 athletes who were supporting RSBC.

No categories April 22, 2025
Running for Sharn and Maya
With the London Marathon fast approaching, we spoke to runner Hannah to find out why she wanted to raise funds for RSBC.

No categories April 14, 2025
Nick’s path to the London Marathon
This April, Nick will be running the London Marathon for RSBC. We sat down with him to find out why he wanted to run for us, and learn a little bit more about his journey so far.

No categories April 9, 2025
Running for Albie
Albie was born with severe sight impairment, having been diagnosed when he was 4 months old. His mum and dad, Abbie and Lewis, are both running the 2025 London Marathon to raise funds for RSBC – the first time that two parents of a child supported by the charity have run together at this famous […]

No categories March 28, 2025
Mother’s Day: our CEO shares her story
Happy Mother’s Day to everyone celebrating! In recognition of this special day, we sat down with our CEO, Julie, to hear about her relationship with her daughter, Saime, who is registered blind.

No categories March 20, 2025
What our young poets have to say this World Poetry Day
We were delighted to host two workshop sessions with renowned poet Dave Steele recently, and they certainly fired up the imaginations of the young people who attended! We’re pleased to be able to showcase the incredible talent that came out of the workshops in the beautiful poems written by those attending below.

No categories March 10, 2025
RSBC’s 5 key reforms to support young people into work
The government has just announced plans for a major shakeup of the welfare system, with £6bn of proposed cuts. Personal Independence Payments (PIP) are a lifeline for many people in our community. We understand the system needs reform, and that tough times can call for tough measures. But cutting back on PIP without making it […]