“The books are amazing, we don’t know what we’d do without this service!”- Reculver Primary School

We know our library makes a real difference to people’s lives. It is made possible by donations large and small from individuals, groups and charitable Trusts. When you donate to us, it’s not the library you’re giving to, but the hundreds of borrowers who rely on the books it provides.

Request a donation form and post it to us with a cheque. Please complete the Giftaid section if you pay tax- it allows us to claim back tax, adding 25% to your donation without it costing you anything!

All gifts are valuable, but regular donations give us a steady income stream which helps us plan our work and for the future. Even a small amount such as £3 a month (about the price of a takeaway coffee!) makes a real difference. £5 a month would pay for four new books over the course of the year. To make a regular gift, please Request a donation form. Don’t forget to complete the Gift Aid section if you pay tax. Why a standing order? If you set up a regular donation through an online portal, you’ll need to update your details when your credit/debit card expires. A standing order saves you the trouble of doing this.

Sponsoring a book is a lovely way to celebrate a birthday, anniversary or commemorate the life of a special person. It’s also popular with schools, youth groups, clubs, churches etc. £15 sponsors the brailling of a new book for the library and sponsors can specify the type of book they’d like. A sticker giving the sponsor's name is put in each book and the sponsor is sent a certificate showing the title/s sponsored.

If you would like to sponsor a book or books please use this sponsor form

Donating to ClearVision to celebrate an event such as a wedding or the birth of a baby is a lovely way to share your happiness by making others happy. If you are getting married and would like to offer your guests the chance to donate or sponsor a book as a wedding gift to you, please contact us for text or logos.

A donation in memory of a friend or loved one commemorates that person’s life in a manner which will help others for years to come. Some people choose to make a donation instead of (or in addition to) flowers at a funeral. Many of the legacy gifts we receive are from people who have themselves enjoyed ClearVision’s books, or witnessed the pleasure the books have given others. If you would like to leave something in your will- either a fixed sum or percentage of your estate- to ClearVision, please get in touch. Existing wills can easily be updated by adding a codicil. Your gift will help future library members enjoy the excitement, comfort and pleasure reading brings.

You can raise funds for ClearVision as you shop online, at no additional cost to you by going through www.easyfundraising.org.uk. Whenever you buy something online- whether that’s a hotel room for your holiday or your weekly supermarket shop- the company you buy from will donate a percentage of what you spend to ClearVision. The price you pay remains the same. It’s very quick to sign up, there are over 2, 700 retailers participating including large firms like Amazon, John Lewis and Tesco, and you can even download a donation reminder, so you don’t have to go to the Easyfundraising page each time you shop. There’s an app for phones and tablets too.

Publicity This is quick, easy and can done by anyone: tell people about us! We need as many people as possible to know about ClearVision, so that we can reach potential library users and supporters. If you use social media, please ‘like’ us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. If you’re not sure what to say, get in touch and we’ll help. If you have a website you’d like to feature us on, or somewhere you can display our print leaflets, please contact us.

Fundraising Compared to most national charities, ClearVision’s running costs are tiny! However, we have to meet the costs of operating the library, from replacing worn-out books to paying the phone bill. We're able to meet some of those costs through applications to charitable trusts, but the remainder comes from donations. If you'd like to fundraise for ClearVision, we'd be delighted to hear from you.

There are various ways you can do this, either as an individual or with others: you could hold a fundraising event, ask your workplace to make us their Charity Partner or take part in a sponsored activity. Ask for a copy of our Fundraising Guide. We'll provide you with information and support.

Tactile book making or repair We need volunteers to produce tactile books for a wide variety of readers. This can be done at your own pace, in your own home. You will need basic sewing skills in order to make fabric tactile books, but we provide guidance, support, feedback and even storylines. Many sighted people find tactile book making reveals to them a whole new way of thinking about the world, and many visually-impaired makers enjoy the chance to expand what's available- especially if there wasn't much available when they were growing up! See our Tactile Book page for more information and guidance. Tactile books are well-loved, so occasionally they need repair. If you are innovative, have good sewing skills and could help with this please contact us.

Photographers and film-makers We’re always trying to get out the good news about what ClearVision does. If you’re a photographer or film-maker willing to donate your time and skills to help with this, please get in touch.

Braillists We're sometimes asked by people who read and write braille whether we need help producing our books. The answer is that we really appreciate the offer, but have to balance the number of braillists against the number of new books we can purchase to be brailled! We occasionally have projects on which we can take volunteers who are fluent in both Standard and Unified English Braille, so if you are interested please contact us. Please note that sadly we do not have the time or skills to train people in braille.

Office volunteers
Occasionally we require additional help with administration tasks, such as updating databases or putting information from paper files into electronic ones. This volunteering is based at our office in Southfields, London. Please contact us to see what we have available.

Something else!
The world is full of talented people with great ideas. If you have a skill you think could help ClearVision, please get in touch.

We’ve had great support from charitable trusts and foundations who have made donations either to our general funds or to pay for specific projects, items of equipment or collections of books. Please contact us if you might be able to help us in this way.

We encourage everyone who’s interested in our work to follow us on Facebook and Twitter if they use them. Unless they request otherwise, individual supporters will usually receive a newsletter once a year giving information about our progress and plans. This will either be by email or post (in print or braille), according to your preference. No other letters or appeals are sent - we know many people object to their donations being spent on frequent mailshots.

Want to know how we’re run? If you’re interested in any aspect of how ClearVision operates please ring or email us for a copy of our Accounts and Trustees’ Annual Report, or to visit the library.