A Doctor Who fan has achieved his dream of raising the money to fund books based on the show which will be accessible to blind and partially sighted people.
19-year old Louis Moorhouse, from Bradford in the UK, used a crowdfunding campaign to raise enough for the Living Paintings charity to produce a set of Doctor Who Touch and See books – specially created volumes which have raised pictures with accompanying audio soundtracks.
Louis says on his Crowdfunder campaign page:
“I’ve been a big fan of the show Doctor Who since I was young, but I have yet to fully meet the weird and wonderful characters, aliens, monsters and devices from the show because I can’t see them. So I asked if Living Paintings would consider creating a Doctor Who Touch to See book which would help blind people like me enjoy and engage with the show on a whole new level. They said ‘yes’ and really like my idea but they don’t have the money to do it.”
An impressive fundraising effort saw Louis attract press and television coverage, a £1000 contribution from Chris Chibnall, and messages of support from actors Derek Jacobi and David Bradley, with Bradley saying:
“It wasn’t until I played the First Doctor in An Adventure in Space and Time that I realised the enormous fan base it had all over the world, and of course that meant a lot of blind and partially sighted people out there who, until now, haven’t had the experience that your inspiration is providing.”
With the original £15,000 goal now pledged, a stretch target of £25,000 has been set to fund additional books beyond the three already secured. Living Paintings have given an idea of what to expect from the books, which will be given away free to blind and partially sighted people:
“To have the possibility of creating the worlds only tactile and audio book series about Doctor Who for blind people is incredibly exciting. The universe of Doctor Who is an immensely visual extravaganza that we will capture and share with blind people. Through evocative tactile pictures coupled with atmospheric and descriptive audio guides, plus music and sound effects – we’ll bring the spectacle of Doctor Who to life, hopefully with a little help from some of the Doctors, their companions and adversaries too!”
Well done to Louis on his successful campaign. If you’d like to make a contribution you can donate at Crowdfunder.
