The Wessex Royal painted a bird box as children supported by the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) and their families also decorated wooden homes for birds. Sophie is a supporter of a number of organisations helping people with sight loss or impaired vision, being patron of Blind Veterans UK and a global ambassador for the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness.
The craft session, held on Thursday, saw Sophie lavish praise on the children taking part.
She said about her own painting efforts: “I’ve just been doing (camouflage) down the side of it and on the front I’ve got leaves and a little bee as well.”
Complimenting one little girl wearing a tiara, Sophie said: “Look at you, you really are a princess.”
At the end of the session, the Countess said: “Hopefully one day we’ll be able to get together and compare what birds have visited our bird boxes!”
READ MORE: Sophie Wessex visibly moved during emotional video chat – ‘Couldn’t be more proud’
Sophie praised the creative efforts of the families who took part in the craft session and said how much she enjoyed meeting them all.
The royal then thanked the RNIB for all the work the charity is doing to support people.
Michelle Bateson, from Derry in Northern Ireland, said her 10-year-old daughter, Elodie, really enjoyed the craft session.
She said: “Elodie loved decorating her bird house and listening to the bird song that was played during the session. We are going to put the bird house on the tree house in our garden and are excited to see what birds will visit.”
Led by artist Emily McFarland, the craft session was aimed at encouraging children to get out into nature and listen for spring birds.
It also marked the launch of the RNIB’s Shape and Share events for 2021.
The initiative, held online due to the pandemic, includes craft and storytelling, pizza making and sessions on online safety.
It runs from February to April and is aimed at encouraging children and youngsters to make new friends, try new things, and engage in some much-needed fun.
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It follows the Countess taking part in the Foundation of Light’s 20th anniversary, joining its director and a few of its members in a video chat.
Sophie hailed the Sunderland AFC charity, and said: “I couldn’t be more proud to be patron.
“I’ve been really lucky to see the whole thing changing and developing and just becoming more engaging with everybody and fulfilling so many people’s dreams.
“And to have been able to launch Beacon was a real highlight for me and I know it was the combination of so many dreams and so much efforts from so many people. It has been a wonderful journey – and I’m certainly not stopping now!
“I’ve still got a lot of work to do, it’s forever changing and I think that’s what so clever about the foundation, it has always adapted to the needs of the people, that who it is there for, and those are the lives that it changes and I couldn’t be more proud.”
