The CEO of online music licensing site Soundcheque will be become voluntarily blind for one week leading up to World Sight Day on October 9.
Laura Westcott , ex-PR Manager of The Times and Soundcheque CEO , decided to take part in the challenge after discovering that her friend, Yvette Chivers – renowned DJ, presenter and founder of Beats Foundation, has the degenerative eye disease retinitis pigmentosa.
The BFI’s ‘Iconic Steps’ are filming Laura in the lead up now, until the end of her challenge.
This is not the first charity work for the Soundcheque CEO. In 2011 Laura spent a week in a wheelchair to raise enough money to buy her friend, Clara Holmes (pictured right with Laura) a Pride Fusion wheelchair after she was diagnosed with Hypermobility Syndrome.
Laura will be mentored by the Chief Political Correspondent of the Press Association, Joe Churcher, and Denise Leigh, the headline performer of the London 2012 Paralympic opening ceremony – both have RP. People can give money on the Sight for Sound donation page here.
Laura’s week-long challenge, to be filmed by the BFI’s ‘Iconic Steps’, will culminate in a grand finale concert –‘Sound for Sight’ on Oct 9 (World Sight Day) at the Tabernacle in Notting Hill.
The focus of the evening will be entirely on the music and not the performers. To emphasise this, and to give everyone a glimpse into what it’s like to have RP, sight-loss simulators will be given to the audience. ‘Sound for Sight’ will play host to some of London’s finest rising talent and will also be welcoming celebrity headliners to be revealed on the night. All artists will play one track and each performance will run into the next, hopefully creating a very relaxing evening of music.
‘Sound for Sight’ will be streamed live on Soundcheque.com and the official World Sight Day websites. The concert will also be recorded live and an album will be sold with proceeds going to RP Fighting Blindness.