The Dorset Blind Association is battling to maintain its services throughout the county despite its head office being flooded.
Staff turned up at the Bournemouth Road office in Parkstone, Poole last week to find the floor two inches deep in water because of a burst main.
The DBA, left temporarily without an office, is suffering the added disadvantage of trying to serve the blind and visually impaired in areas of Dorset suffering flooding because of the storms.
Chief executive Jonathan Holyhead said: “Due to the flooding we have had to close the office to volunteers indefinitely and key staff spent days bailing out water, moving items to safety and pulling up sodden carpet; meaning that we are losing out on a lot of valuable work.
“Our volunteers are struggling to get around because of the floods elsewhere in the county.
But they are showing real tenacity in trying to reach the people the Dorset Blind Association is here to serve.
“The impact to our charity has been huge, and has come when we are struggling to fund our work.
Demand is increasing, and a number of our funding streams have come to an end.
We are expecting a £40,000 shortfall this year and we face the serious risk of having to cut our services.
Being left alone to cope with sight loss is not acceptable, so please help us to make sure that isn’t the case for people in Dorset.
“We are reaching out to local people and businesses that might be able to help us through this challenging time, by donating on our website: dorsetblind.org.uk “
In the meantime the DBA have received invaluable assistance with LV donating £200 towards the cost of repairs.
“We are very grateful to LV for their kind donation,” Jonathan added.
To find out more about the work of the Dorset Blind Association please visit www.dorsetblind.org.uk
