Club Wilber’s 7th Birthday Party
Last week we celebrated Club Wilber’s 7th Birthday at New Earswick Folk Hall, with a space themed party.
Our annual birthday party is the perfect excuse to get our Club Wilber families together to catch up, and enjoy activities and party food. This year we had a space theme, and were excited to welcome University of York’s Tactile Universe, with some of their activities. The children loved the dark pop up tent with the VR headsets and creating their own solar systems with Playdoh. We were also treated to video call from Dr Dr Nicolas Bonne, a visually impaired astronomer from the University of Portsmouth, who started the Tactile Universe initiative.
A young boy stands in front of an inflatable sun crafting at a table.
Crafting and getting messy with things to can take home is always popular, so we had a table to make and decorate a wooden rocket, and a home-made bubble bath table too. Alex from Face Paint York also joined us again, providing the young people (and a lot of the adults!) with beautifully painted faces and arms.
A teenage girl gets her face painted around her forehead.
The Folk Hall put on a yummy party buffet for lunch and afterwards we sang Happy Birthday. Everyone took home a slice of the delicious traybake, along with a with a space themed party bag!
This birthday party was extra special, as it was Activities Coordinator, Megan’s, last one. And she really pulled out all the stops for this party, ensuring it was one to remember. A huge thank you to Megan for another fantastic party, and to the Folk Hall, for always welcoming us and helping us provide an accessible space to celebrate in.
tWO ADULTS STAND AT A TABLE WHERE PEOPLE ARE FRAFTING AT A PARTY. tHEY ARE BOTH WEARING SPACE THEMED COSTUMES.
Club Wilber started in 2019, as a way of creating a club for children and young people with a visual impairment, and their families. We arrange accessible activities and events that the whole family can enjoy, regardless of vision or disability, and its a welcoming place for children and parents to bond over common experiences.
World Cup 2026- Holly Tuke interview

As the World Cup kicked off, we sat down with one of our Ambassadors, and football super fan, Holly Tuke, to find out what she was looking forward to and her thoughts on accessibility when watching the matches.

Holly is an award winning freelance writer, disability blogger and Social Media Manager for RNIB, for which she has also won an award. Yorkshire lass Holly is also a huge women’s football fan, and like a lot of us is invested in the current Men’s World Cup. Holly is registered blind and as well as attending football matches, loves going to concerts and travelling.

Hi Holly, thank you for chatting to us about the World Cup, how are you enjoying it?

I’m really enjoying the World Cup! It’s been great to tune into the games when I can so far, despite the time zone logistics. Women’s football is in my heart, but the men’s World Cup is brilliant. I’m in my element with so much football. I’ve also loved seeing all the joy surrounding it online, and it feels like people have really come together.

Fifa have brought in more accessibility features for watching the matches, and for viewers at home the BBC and ITV both have their own. What accessibility features, if any, have you found most useful for you while engaging with the tournament?

I’ve used ITV’s audio description for England and Scotland matches, and BBC’s alternative audio commentary.  They’re both fantastic, so credit to each of the broadcasters. I first experienced ITV’s audio description during the 2025 Women’s Euros, and I was genuinely blown away. It’s amazing to see it again on an even bigger stage. For matches on the BBC, I’ve enjoyed their alternative audio commentary, where the pictures sync up with the radio commentary provided by 5 Live. This has given such a good viewing option when watching with family, meaning we can all benefit. That’s what inclusion is all about.

What difference does Audio Description make for you?

When I have AD for football, I’m one happy person. I absolutely love it. AD makes such a huge difference to my viewing experience. It gives me the detail I wouldn’t get otherwise, like body language, facial expressions, colours of the kits, and exact positioning of the ball. I only wish we had AD throughout the football season, so I’m definitely making the most of it.

With lots of chants sung about players, and with what commentators might say, do you think a picture you build up matches up with their appearance?

This is such an interesting one. I have no useful vision, so I don’t know what players look like for myself. I can however, build a picture in my head, from what the commentators describe, and what friends and family tell me. I always appreciate those descriptions – it’s all part of the experience.

Who’s your prediction to win?!

I think the coins may have flipped recently, with some previously predicted high-ranking teams exiting the tournament.

Of course, my heart says England. Wouldn’t that be amazing! My prediction is France though. They’ve put on such strong performances, there’s no stopping them.

Finally, what is it you love about football?

I love supporting my team, and my country. Football brings people together who have a shared interest, and I think that’s wonderful. It’s the excitement, the anticipation, and the celebrations (with some added stress thrown into the mix!) There’s nothing quite like it.

As a true women’s football fan, I’m pretty much counting down to the 2027 Women’s World Cup at this point. I’m even more excited now! But back to the current task at hand… Come on England!

Holly stood in the stands at Wembley Stadium. She wears glasses, and a dark blue coat which is undone to show a white England shirt. She’s holding her audio descriptive commentary receiver in one hand, and her long cane in the other. Fans can be seen sat in red stadium seats in the background.

(Image description: Holly stood in the stands at Wembley Stadium. She wears glasses, and a dark blue coat which is undone to show a white England shirt. She’s holding her audio descriptive commentary receiver in one hand, and her long cane in the other. Fans can be seen sat in red stadium seats in the background.)

 

Holly’s blog can be found here-

Life of a Blind Girl –

InSight Magazine- Spring 2026

Our latest edition of InSight is out now.

This edition includes:

You can read the latest issue of InSight here or by clicking the image below-

Front page of Spring InSight.

You can listen to InSight here-

Letter from the CEO-

Welcome Emily and Chidinma-

Welcome to our new Trustees-

Club Wilber Easter Egg Hunt-

Weston’s Cafe-

International Women’s Day-

Charity Cook-off and Thank Yous-

InSight Magazine- Winter 2025

Our latest edition of InSight is out now.

This edition includes:

You can read the latest issue of InSight here or by clicking the image below-

The front cover of InSight's winter edition.

You can listen to InSight here-

Introduction

Letter from the CEO

Christmas at Wilberforce Trust

Club Wilber

Values, Christmas fundraising and thank yous

Annual Report 2024-2025

We are proud to present our new style Annual Report to the year ending 31st March 2025.

There’s lots of extra information in the report that truly showcases who we are and how we work. We hope you enjoy it!

You can read the Annual Report here.

InSight Magazine- Autumn 2025

Our latest edition of InSight is out now.

This edition includes:

You can read the latest issue of InSight here or by clicking the image below-

The front cover of autumn InSight magazine

You can listen to InSight here-

Letter from the CEO

Connecting with the sector- YorSensory

Judi Dench

Club Wilber’s summer adventures

Club Wilber turns 6

Tenant’s Bridlington trip

Tinnitus Support Group

YOPA Fair

Visionary Award nomination

Stronger Starts fundraiser

InSight Magazine-Summer 2025

Our latest edition of InSight is out now.

This edition includes:

You can read the latest issue of InSight here or by clicking the image below-

You can listen to InSight here-

Letter from the CEO

YorSensory update; a new contract and working with Galloways

Club Wilber and LLZ

Befriending and thanks to Gild of Freemen

Room hire

Club Wilber & VICTA Young Achievers
Collaborating with the Vision Impairment Education Team at City of York Council, Club Wilber had their second session for the VICTA Young Achievers Award, this time working towards the Nature element.
In the first of two sessions for this part of the award, young people worked hard to turn everyday recycling into what they dubbed ‘apartments’ for our brand-new bug hotel in Wilberforce House’s sensory garden. After stuffing the hotel with their ‘apartments’, leaves, sticks, rocks, and pinecones, we returned inside to vote on the name of our new bug hotel.
Introducing Wilber’s Garden Guesthouse- bespoke sign coming soon!
Club Wilber Easter Egg Hunt!
The end of April saw the return of our flagship event; our accessible Easter Egg Hunt! This event launched Club Wilber back in 2019 and uses specially made eggs with a sound mechanism inside so they can be found by using hearing rather than sight.
Continuing the success of last year, the event was spread across the inside of Wilberforce House, and the grounds. Inside our community space, families could take part in different, free Easter themed crafts and face painting, with the amazing Alex from Face Paint York, and enjoy treats from Weston’s Café.
Outside, the bleeping eggs, and little eggs containing treats, were hidden in baskets, on little picnic mat stations to draw the children in. At the end of the course, and after eating what was inside, the children were able to exchange the little eggs for a larger chocolate one, and plenty managed more than one go round the course!
Sighted siblings joined in the fun by donning an eye mask, so they too were relying on their hearing to experience this unique, seasonal activity.
The egg hunt is one of the biggest on our Club Wilber calendar and has always been hugely popular. On its first year, the event won the Silver Award in the Charity Event category at the Minster FM People’s Choice Awards.
For both the Club Wilber families and the staff and volunteers, the egg hunt isn’t just a chance for a chocolate haul, but also an opportunity to catch up and spend time with people that share experiences. A huge thank you to our volunteers on the day, some new and some who return to help at this event every year, as they love it so much. And also to our Easter Bunny, who gives his time to us every year!
InSight Magazine-Winter 2024

Our latest edition of InSight is out now.

This edition includes:

The front page of InSight magazine.

Click here or the image above to read the latest edition of our InSight Magazine.