The National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI) today welcomed the establishment of a national citizenship task force to encourage people to get involved in their communities through voluntary work. The task force, which is made up of 20 members from political and public backgrounds, appointed by the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, has been given nine months to produce a report which will facilitate the development of civil society through public policy. “NCBI was founded by volunteers who recognised the need to establish links in the community for people with vision impairments. It is out of this volunteer effort that NCBI has grown and this year the organisation celebrates its 75th anniversary, with more than 800 dedicated volunteers nationwide,” according to NCBI’s CEO, Des Kenny. “The findings of the taskforce on Active Citizenship will help to influence public policy, providing practical ways for people to become active in their own communities and interest groups," he continued. On average, NCBI’s volunteers contribute between one and three hours each week, helping people with various tasks from reading, to shopping or leisure activities. Some play important roles as peer counsellors. Giving up even an hour a week can make a difference to somebody with a vision impairment who is having difficulty carrying out some everyday tasks independently. Mrs Quin’s Charity Shops are a fundraising arm of NCBI, with 65 outlets in most major towns in Ireland. “These shops contribute successfully to the development of NCBI’s work with vision impaired people because of the thousands of hours of unwaged labour provided by more than 650 volunteers who run these shops. The indirect contribution of these volunteers to our direct services with vision impaired people is highly valued,” Kenny says. NCBI was established in 1931 to promote the physical, economic and social independence of blind and vision impaired people and to minimise the disabling effects of sight loss. Today, the organisation provides a range of services to almost 10,000 vision impaired people living in Ireland. Services include the provision of mobility training, information and counselling, as well as employment and adaptive technology services to support independent living.