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850 books for blind children need repairs.
You can help.
A gift to Len’s Repair Shop will help to repair and restore tactile books that bring stories to life for the 5,300 blind and visually impaired children who access our library.
Will you help us with a gift that repairs and restores our audio tactile books so that blind children can rediscover them this Christmas?
Choose your gift
Page Rescue Kit
£10
repairs one damaged tactile page.
Braille Refresh
£25
to re-braille one book, making every word readable again.
Book Restoration
£50
repairs one complete book, ready for its next adventure.
Library Fund
£75
puts three repaired books back in the hands of blind children.
New Book Creation
£100
creates a new copy of a book if repair is impossible.
Volunteer Training
£250
trains ten volunteers in expert repair and restoration skills.
Len’s Repair Shop Investor
£1,500
invests into Len’s Repair Shop to put books into blind children’s hands faster.
Every tactile book holds the power to inspire dozens of children over its lifetime. This Christmas, help us repair well-loved books, restore them to their full glory, and give blind children the chance to rediscover stories they’ve been patiently waiting to explore.
Why Len’s Repair Shop?
Len, who sadly passed away this year, was a long-time and much-loved volunteer at Living Paintings. Len loved nothing more than tinkering in his workshop repairing and restoring everything, kindly including our books. This is why we proudly name this appeal, Len’s Repair Shop.
Christmas is a time when we struggle to meet demand the most. Cosy afternoons with story time and Christmas tales at bedtime, mean an increased demand for our books. We desperately need funds to repair and restore our books quickly, to get them back out to children like Martha, who should never miss out.
“The books have really opened her world, not just to enjoy the stories but to slowly introduce her to touch and to build her up to bigger sensory experiences.”
Martha was born with a genetic condition that has resulted in holes in her heart and has left her non-verbal and partially sighted.
Martha’s sensory issues mean that she has an extreme aversion to touch but through her love of the Living Paintings books, Verity, her mum, has been able to encourage Martha more and more.
“We read the Living Paintings book, Is that you Father Christmas? In the book, Martha could feel a picture of Father Christmas which really helped her when we took her to Santa’s Grotto. When she met Father Christmas, she wasn’t fearful and was happy to touch his cloak and beard because she knew what to expect from the book.
It made the experience so magical for us all. Thank you so much!”
With thanks, illustrations courtesy of ©David Melling