Dubbo’s Black and White Committee for Vision Australia has folded but its members remain forever friends and expert sandwich-makers.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Despite the disbanding of the committee, the long-time volunteers continue to cater at lectures of the Australian Decorative and Fine Arts Societies at Dubbo with money raised sent to Vision Australia.
On Friday they gathered at the home of the “last president” of the committee, Anne Wise, for a “wind-up” lunch. Constant laughter and conversation suggested the close confidants would not lose touch.
Sally O’Connell, who started forming the “team” in 1990, was on hand to report of the committee’s performance across 28 years.
She told of about $170,000 being donated to Vision Australia, formed in 2004 from a merger of the the Royal Blind Society and other organisations.
It has been invested in a range of resources for vision-impaired people including canes, Braille books, library training sessions in Braille, and breeding and training of dogs.
Known for their culinary skills, committee members fed crowds at garden parties, dinners and more recently Dubbo’s Antiques and Collectables Fair in support of what Mrs Wise called an “important” organisation.
“People..don’t see the behind-the-scene services provided by Vision Australia to people with low vision to give them the quality of life they would like,” she said.
“It can be as simple as encouraging them to use correct lighting and helping them manage in a kitchen.”
Along with fundraising, committee members sold Vision Australia calendars and helped prepare and distribute the now-defunct “talking newspaper”, all the while lending each other a shoulder in times of need.
The demise of the committee reflects its members’ ages and their increasing need to care for husbands and partners.
Friday’s jovial gathering acknowledged “wonderful patrons” Beverley and Frank Brennan, and the late Betty Fahy who was a “vibrant, strong and dedicated” committee president.