Wear dots 2016
Fundraising Guide in word
Why wear dots and raise lots?
100 people every day in the UK start losing their sight. It will change their life completely.
Too many people are left alone to cope with the news. Many will quickly feel isolated and depressed. Right now, RNIB can only reach one in three of those who need our help the most.
But by wearing dots and raising lots, you’ll help us to support them. We’ll be able to be there from the moment of diagnosis, you’ll be helping people face their future with confidence.
This October we’re asking you to Wear dots ... raise lots to support RNIB – it’s a really fun and easy way to help the almost two million people in the UK living with sight loss, a figure we believe will double by 2050.
But why dots?
Wear dots ... raise lots this October to highlight the impact of braille, a unique system of raised dots that can be read by touch.
This fundraising guide tells you more about the need for your help, the brilliant braille and how it is used, and is full of ideas to help you plan your dotty event for Dotober.
100 people every day in the UK start losing their sight.
Jessica’s story
Jessica is six and has Cone Dystrophy and Nystagmus. She reads giant print and has her school work enlarged for her. She is learning braille which she enjoys and her Mum is also learning braille so that she can be of support to her. Jessica’s Mum, Sam says:
“She is strong willed, funny, intelligent and very energetic. She makes me proud every day.”
Isabella’s story
Isabella is 10, has Retinopathy of Prematurity and uses a cane. She loves reading and her favourite book in braille is The Secret Garden.
“I use my fingers and feel the dots. When I first read a book in braille I was really really excited. Wear dots ... raise lots is a fabulous idea!” says Isabella.
Look at what we did last year.
Children and staff at Bilsthorpe Flying High Academy raised a fantastic £185 at their dotty bonanza.
Roman Baker, age seven, is partially sighted and has been inspiring his fellow pupils and staff to go dotty! He and his brother Isaac wore t-shirts spelling out their names in dots. He says:
“RNIB need money and then they can buy and make things for partially sighted people like me ... I don’t let it stop me; I’m quite good at running around the playground!”
Activity
Use the braille alphabet card in your pack to feel the dots – can you tell the difference between the letters? Now test your braille skills to work out the message on our decipher the dots card in the pack.
The need to read
When you lose your sight, reading anything – from a cash machine screen to labels on food and drink or a book – can become impossible.
Think of the sense of isolation and loneliness that losing your eyesight would bring to your life. Reading isn’t just a fun pastime.
Braille is a system of six raised dots, arranged in two columns of three dots, just like a domino. It is designed to be read by fingers.
RNIB is the largest publisher of braille books in Europe. Last year our reading services lent 116,529 volumes of braille and braille music. Blind and partially sighted adults and children can also borrow from our audio and giant print libraries.
Why learn braille
Learning braille from a young age means that blind and partially sighted children can enjoy reading for life.
Braille also helps literacy, as it’s a much better way to understand punctuation, grammar and spelling than audio.
RNIB campaigns for blind and partially sighted children to learn braille, whether they are in mainstream or special schools.
A few facts about braille
- It was invented in 1824 by a 15-year old blind boy called Louis Braille.
- All writing can be turned into braille from bank statements to street signs, medicine packets to music.
- Braille has been adapted into every language from Albanian to Zulu.
- RNIB published our first braille book in 1871.
- RNIB has taken braille from dot to dot.com! New braille technology is revolutionising the way that blind people read everything from smartphones to computer screens.
You should have your sight tested at least every two years.
An eye examination is an important health check for your eyes and can detect early signs of a sight problem. Many eye conditions can be treated if they are spotted early enough.
Some people, especially children, may need their eyes examined more often and your optometrist will advise you about this.
For further information visit
Look at what we did last year.
Wiltshire recruitment agency, Alpha People, dotted up their office for a day and asked all staff to don their dots. Everyone still managed to look very classy which was lovely to see!
Richard Williams, Director of Alpha People said:
“We had a successful day raising money for RNIB by wearing dots and selling cakes. We have raised over £90!”
Activity
Try painting your nails with different coloured dots and dotty patterns. You could even make them tactile and stick on jewels or gems!
How about getting your friends together and having a nail painting party and asking people to make a donation?
1 .. 2 ... 3 it’s as simple as joining the dots.
- Get the word out
Tell everyone you know that you’re going to Wear dots ... raise lots for RNIB. Explain that you will be helping to end isolation for blind and partially sighted people through your fundraising.
Why not ask your friends, family and colleagues to join you and dress in dots for the day – the more dots the better! Use the materials included in your pack and remember there are more available to download from our website at rnib.org.uk/dotsdownloads
- Line up your dots.
Raid your wardrobe and discover your dots –don’t worry if you can’t find anything, pop down to your local charity shop and pick up a bargain. You can always add to the effect by painting your nails with dots or accessorising with a dotty scarf, hair band, tie or socks. Or you could even make your own!
- Wear dots ... raise lots this October.
Whether pretty in polka dot or divine in Dalmatian, ask everyone taking part to donate a suggested amount. We suggest £2 for adults and £1 for children.
For more ideas visit
Don’t stop at just wearing dots.
There are lots of other things you can do with dots – here are a few suggestions:
- Bake dots ... raise lots. Get creative with choc chips and arty with smarties and hold a cake sale at your school, club or work.
- Think dotty tablecloths, cups and saucers and some delectable delights for sale.
- Play dots ... raise lots. Challenge your friends and colleagues to a “dot games tournament” using dominoes, darts, draughts, hoopla, Connect 4 ®, bingo, Twister ® or hula hooping.
- Paint dots ... raise lots. Paint people’s nails with dots and ask for a donation, or print some t-shirts with dots to sell, maybe with names in braille.
Check out more ideas.
Look at what we did last year.
Children at Stetchworth Old School House day nursery went dotty as part of a week long event. The Wear dots ... raise lots activities raised a massive £450 and included an obstacle course challenge, baby rock, nursery dance and a blindfold trail.
Lisa Weston, Nursery Manager, said:
“Throughout the weed we were also raising awareness to children about sight impairment with activities that have included exploring braille books and experiencing different levels of sight impairment through visual simulator glasses.”
Activity
Try printing your own t-shirts with fun brightly coloured dots, maybe even write your name in Braille! You can use fabric paints or pens or simply stick on dots to customise plain t-shirts. You could even use tactile dots – cut out of felt, fake fur or bubble wrap!
Free schools’ resources
Why not encourage your class to learn more about sight loss when they wear dots ... raise lots? You could even have a week of dots!
We have produced free curriculum relevant lesson plans for EYFS/Foundation Stage and KS1-4/P1-7/S1-4 which enable teachers to easily include the materials in their daily lessons.
Download our free materials from
- EYFS/Foundation Stage and KS1-4/P1-7/S1-4 lesson plans
- Power Point presentation
- Information and statistics about sight loss
- Videos and quizzes
- The story of Louis Braille
- Braille alphabet sheets and activities
- Information on eye health
We also have activities specifically for uniform groups such as Guides and Scouts. Take a look at to download them.
Don’t forget you can request more materials such as braille cards, balloons and our super simspecs that show what it might be like to have a sight problem. You could get people to move around a room (carefully!), read something or describe what they can see while wearing them.
Contact us on 0345 345 0054 or email to order more.
Poppy, five, who learnt about braille in class says:
“They’re little dots, but to some people they’re not, they’re braille.”
Freddy, nine, who is blind, says:
“it’s great when my friends in class are learning a bit more about what it’s like to be blind. It makes me feel more included.”
Join in at work
Would your company like to be more involved with Wear dots? raise lots? Our Corporate Team would love to work with you to create a unique and innovative partnership that will not only meet your CSR and business objectives, but make your company stand out from the crowd!
A few ideas to get you started:
- Get involved in employee fundraising throughout the month of October. You could host anything dotty from a tea party, a nail salon or wear a dotty tie for the day! Do your employees dare to dot!
- How about a limited edition bespoke dotty cause related marketing (CRM) opportunity? This could include donations on certain product ranges in the month of October or even throughout the year.
- You could become an official dotty sponsor with an exclusive package tailored to your company.
Benefits could include brand presence and promotion across campaign marketing materials, dedication our award winning Sony RNIB Connect radio as well as presence on the RNIB website.
Partnering with RNIB will help you:
- Achieve CSR and business goals
- Help drive footfall
- Increase market share and income
- Attract and retain staff
- Enhance your reputation
With your support, we can be there for more people with sight loss.
Contact us on 0345 345 0054 or email .
Look at what we did last year
Bluestar bus company have an ongoing relationship with RNIB which started when they signed up to our bus charter and did a “driver swap with me day” in early 2015.
They continued this support with the Wear dots campaign in October. The public face of Blue Star buses, “Passenger Pete” collected £103 on his route by allowing people to draw dots on him for a small fee!
Stacey from their marketing team said:
“We’ve also got the dotty bus going round Southampton on our Number 17 route helping to support the charity.”
Maximise your money
Gift Aid
Girt Aid is a great way for us to raise even more from donations. For more about Gift Aid, please visit
Online fundraising
The easiest and most cost effective way to fundraise is via the donation site Just Giving – remember to choose RNIB from the list of event options: justgiving.com/rnib.
We’ve also included a sponsorship form if you’d prefer.
Matched funding
Many companies offer matched funding as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy. This means they’ll match what you fundraise pound for pound (often up to a restricted amount). Be sure to speak to your company to see if this is an option when you wear dots and raise lots.
Promoting your event
Be sure to contact your local newspapers and radio stations – hitting the headlines can help you raise more vitally needed funds. You can download media information, templates and our hashtag page from
We’d love to see any photos or updates on how you’re getting on wearing your dots.
Social media is a great place to promote your events. Don’t forget to like us and post your picture using #weardots or facebook.com/weardots and follow us @RNIB.
My Fundraising
Remember to set up an account with you can order materials online such as balloons, leaflets and collection tins to make sure that everyone knows you are raising money for RNIB. You can also customize and print posters with details of your events.
Contact us on 0345 345 0054 or email for more information.
How your money helps
£5 could help more callers to the RNIB Helpline across the advice and support they need to live their lives independently.
£12 could help our Activity Co-ordinators to support blind and partially sighted children in discovering their adventurous side with Actionnaires club activities such as climbing, skiing and kayaking.
£20 could help provide information and support to someone with sight problems seeking employment.
£75 could offer advice, a listening ear, understanding and friendship with one of our weekly Talk and Support telephone groups.
£100 could pay for the recording of a talking newspaper keeping someone in touch with local and world events.
£500 could pay for someone at a desperate time in their life to have six sessions of one to one professional counselling.
£1295 could help produce a book in braille meaning that no one is closed off to a world of reading and enjoyment.
Look at what we did last year.
65th City of Edinburgh rainbows raised a fabulous £45 by holding a dotty party on the last meeting of October. Janet Avery said:
“The girls were invited to attend wearing dotty clothes and to bring friends and family. A variety of activities were made available with donation pots on every table. This included a dotty nail off, decorating a dotty cake, writing your name in braille and a simspecs obstacle course.
We’re here to help you
We want you to have fun with your event and to have huge success as you Wear dots ... raise lots!
We hope this guide gives you all the information you need but don’t forget to visit for more ideas and resources.
If we can help at all, please call 0345 345 0054 or email . You can also more materials such as balloons, simspecs, stickers and braille cards.
Text DOTS to 70111 to donate £3.
Texts cost £3 + 1 standard rate msg. RNIB will receive 100% of your donation. If you have any questions, please call 0345 345 0054.
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Twitter.com/rnib#weardots
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