A DONATION of more than £2,000 to Sight Advice South Lakes (SASL) will make a “big difference” in the charity's work to support the visually impaired in the region.

The money was donated by the Gannett Foundation, the charitable arm of Newsquest, which owns The Westmorland Gazette.

Amy Pearman, services manager at SASL, based on Highgate, Kendal, described receiving the £2,080 funding as ‘fantastic’ news and said it would make “such a big difference” to the people the charity supports.

The funds are going towards a Synapptic TV Box, which features in-built speech and magnification settings so it can be used by people who have suffered sight loss, and an OrCam MyEye, a lightweight smart camera which attaches to the frame of a person’s glasses. The MyEye conveys visual information audibly; reading text, recognising faces and more.

The technology will be available for charity service users to try out and decide if they would benefit from owning it themselves.

Mrs Pearman, of SASL, said supporting someone with sight loss had wider benefits.

“It’s their independence. But on the back of it you have got your self esteem, your confidence, your overall wellbeing,” she said.

Sight Advice South Lakes was set up in 1956 and provides support to the blind and partially sighted. This might be in the form of advice, emotional reassurance, or arranging for a volunteer to visit someone’s home.