Useful Vision celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2025 and has been an essential resource for the community, offering enriching activities that help visually impaired children and their families lead fulfilling lives across the North East.
Useful Vision is now part of the registered charity Healthworks.
Rebecca Wilson founded Useful Vision after her son Ben went blind at the age of 5. Like many parents, she had many questions, very little support and found it difficult to locate activities that would be enriching and entertaining for her son. Rebecca retired in December 2024 and Useful Vision became part of Healthworks.
At Healthworks, we believe that every child deserves the opportunity to thrive and enjoy a healthy, fulfilling life. We understand that spending quality time together as a family is essential for building connections, creating cherished memories, and enjoying life to the fullest.
That’s why we’re thrilled to support and hopefully build, a range of family-friendly events and outings tailored specifically for visually impaired children and their loved ones. Our activities are designed to be inclusive, accessible, and enjoyable for everyone. They’re opportunities for families to bond, for children to explore their potential, and for everyone to connect with others who understand their journey. With every event, we aim to create an environment where laughter, joy, and discovery take centre stage.
You can find out more about Healthworks here.
Zak Skinner, whose dad is from Newcastle, was born with Ocular Albinism and Nystagmus. Despite his visual impairment, he was determined to take part in a wide range of activities as a keen sportsman. He discovered his talent for athletics after attending a Paralympic Development Day in 2015, beginning a journey that would take him to Double European Gold and the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021. He reached the final in both his events, the Long Jump and 100ms (both in the F/T13 classification for VI) and is now looking towards the Paris 2024 games.
“I am so excited to become a Patron for Useful Vision, as I fully understand and appreciate the value of an organisation offering this type of support to young people and their families dealing with the challenges of a visual impairment. I used a similar organisation myself when growing up and am so pleased to now be able to offer my support, and in an area where I still have strong family ties.”
We are delighted to further introduce our patron Zak, a talented sportsman born with Ocular Albinism and Nystagmus.
“I used a similar organisation myself when growing up and am so pleased to now be able to offer my support, and in an area where I still have strong family ties.”
We are honored to have Zak, a medal-winning as our Patron and a beacon of inspiration for Useful Vision families.
5 fun facts about Zak Skinner:
– I love my music and played three instruments growing up; piano saxophone and guitar
– I’m training to be a Pilates instructor
– I love the cinema and any movie on the big screen is good (even though I have to sit very close to the screen!)
– My favourite film is Warrior. It’s a great film about family and toughness and fighting to become a champion through difficulties.
– I love Caribbean food, especially jerk chicken
What has been your favourite highlight within your career so far?
I think it must be getting my first global podium place at the World Para Champs this year in Paris. After 6 long years of highs and lows in the sport it was such a massive achievement to finally achieve the bronze medal and it was such a testament to the hard work from everyone involved. However, although Tokyo didn’t go fully to plan, I also would have to mention how incredible it is to go to a Paralympic Games and be involved at the highest level you can be. It takes a lot of hard work and sacrifice, as well as dedication and determination to be the best you can be and success is never guaranteed, you just have to keep working hard and believing in yourself. The opportunity to then compete at such a prestigious world class event, and make the finals in two events was fantastic and gave me a lot of joy.
Would you like to ask Zak a question? Let us know and we will certainly do our best to find out! office@usefulvision.org.uk