We were recently given a donation of £500 by Speak the Web. They ran a series of small, intimate, low cost web design & development events in the style of a gig, providing inspiring talks by both experienced and new speakers for a low cost which were easy to access. This donation means a lot to The Eye Fund, as Simon would be thrilled to know a bunch of geeks had raised some money in his honour.

We contacted some of the guys involved to ask why they chose The Eye Fund: Jake Smith…

When I was asked to talk at the Liverpool session of Speak The Web, little did I realise how much the event would come to mean to me.

Part of the remit for the organisers — Dan and Rich — was to cover costs for the event, then put anything made above this towards charities. There’s a charity that I feel is important, as it was set up by my friend Phil Sherry and his family, after his brother Simon was losing his sight due to Retinal Cone Dystrophy. I knew Simon, and spent many a good evening discussing music, art or mathematics with him, over a cold beer of course.

As a designer and developer, I realise how important our sight is. My job of front end development relies so heavily on being able to see precisely in colour and have an eye for detail, something which we take for granted. When Dan and Rich asked for charity suggestions, so many things added up and it wasn’t difficult to make my opinion known. I’m from Liverpool, I was speaking at a conference in Liverpool, Phil and his family are Scouse, Phil and I are both front end devs…

I suggested the the charity to Dan and Rich, and weeks later, was over–whelmed to hear that the Eye Fund had been chosen as one of the three charities that would receive a donation.

To take part in the event was amazing, but to see how well it was received and how organising something as polarised as a web conference can benefit local charities is pretty humbling. A big thanks to all involved.

Jake Smith, Interactive Director @ JP74

…& Dan Donald.

The events we put on were primarily about putting on a decent, different format or web conference, which is something that normally by passes the North. We wanted to show that we can make things like this happen for ourselves. The more we thought about what we wanted these to be, the more we realised that while they should be a great nights for all involved, perhaps we could try and get as much out of the experience as we could. With Rich working full–time in an agency and me being freelance, we weren’t doing this as a commercial concern, so decided these 4 nights would be an experiment and therefore, not–for–profit. With that in mind, if we actually covered costs, why not give something to local charities?

We asked speakers, attendees and friends for suggestions for charities we should donate to and had some great suggestions but it always means more if there’s a personal connection. We’ve got to know Jake (Smith, one of our speakers) pretty well and the fact that he had a connection with the Eye Fund made it a great choice. Hopefully the money we’ve raised will help make a difference!

Dan Donald, Here in the Hive & Speak the Web organiser

Once again, guys: thank you, so much.

We are sorry for any inconvenience caused by this, and hope to have it working as normal very soon.

After our January break, we are now back with enthusiasm and working hard to make 2010 the best year yet for The Eye Fund. We are excited about the schedule of events that we have been busy putting together, and can’t wait to share it with you.

As a taster of things to come, we can confirm that we are about to launch a range of ladies scarves for sale in our Eye Fund Shop. The scarves are all based on Simon’s artwork, and the colours are just gorgeous. We have had some samples here and everyone who has seen them has been amazed at both the designs and the quality of the material. The new range will be available soon from our online shop, and just in time for mother’s day too (March 14th 2010)!

But if scarves aren’t your cup of tea, remember we have lots of other products on sale which we’re sure you’ll love. Rest assured EVERY PENNY we make from the sale of our shop products goes towards The Eye Fund.

One of the most exciting events we have coming up is a new exhibition. After the overwhelming success of our last exhibition at the Pavilion in Birkenhead Park, we are thrilled to be able to bring you a new, bigger and better exhibition, and we wish we could share more details with you as we know you’ll be just as excited!

Unfortunately for now, as with the rest of our fundraising plans for the coming months, our lips are sealed. But watch this space and more will be revealed soon…

So, as you can see, we have had a very busy and successful year. However, we would like a little more help. Is there anyone out there who would like to lend a hand now and again? Perhaps you could organise a quiz night or jumble sale or coffee morning. Anything would be welcome.

Thank you.

We had arranged to set the stall up on Friday and for someone to ‘man’ the stall for us till we arrived at 12.30pm. By 4.00pm we had had enough and were glad to see other stalls packing up. Altogether it was a very successful day; £341.80 from Central Station and £221.50 from the craft fair.

We had a hot pot supper laid on; that was delicious. Plenty of donations helped us take over £200 on the raffle. The local shopkeepers were very generous. The betting was quick and heavy before each race. Everyone enjoyed themselves and we were the overall winners taking £1200 on the night. Thanks Beryl and everyone who helped.