Local activities / news/ events
Glitz, Glamour and Glasses
To celebrate the World Sight Day Challenge, St Annes practice Cottam and Glaister held a special preview event of their 2010 range of designer glasses. Staff, patients and the local community gathered for the evening event which featured sunglasses and spectacle frames from famed design houses such as Gucci, Armani and Dior.
Adding further glamour to the occasion was a visit from Hollyoaks star, Sonny Flood, who plays troubled youth Josh Ashworth in the series. Sonny was happy to support such a great cause. Cottam and Glaister made a donation for every eye examination carried out and for every frame purchased on the night – as well as a raffle throughout October to top off their fantastic fundraising efforts.
For more World Sight Day Challenge stories, click here.
Great Results at the Great Run
Optometry Giving Sight supporters joined the 21,000 runners participating in this year’s Great South Run in Portsmouth. Ella Power, solicitor for the Association of Optometrists, raised £1,000 for her efforts in the challenging 10 mile road race. Also pounding the pavement to help raise funds was CIBA VISION Managing Director, Roger Lopez who managed to equal Ella’s fantastic result raising £1,000 as well. Roger and Ella are delighted with their results and would like to thank everyone who sponsored them.
The Association of Optometrist’s first student “Eye Opener” conference was held in Skegness this month and included fundraising activities for Optometry Giving Sight. Delegates were invited to donate £2.50 to design and make their own mask to compete in a mask competition at the evening dinner. Maui Jim donated sunglasses as prizes for the two lucky winners, Keiran Loft and Nicola Roper, and the evening was a great success.
“Wacky” World Sight Day
Essilor staff took part in this year’s World Sight Day Company Challenge with a ‘Wear something wacky to work’ Day! The team at Essilor wore crazy wigs, silly glasses and had a great time raising £350 for Optometry Giving Sight. Enthusiasm for next year is already taking hold!
Budding optometrists at Manchester University took on the World Sight Day Student Challenge with a special photography initiative. Two professional group photographs were taken of 146 optometry students and staff – one formal and one featuring every participant wearing a pair of glasses loaned by the dispensing lab - which are being sold throughout the faculty. Proceeds from the photos, along with funds raised on the day, will go to Optometry Giving Sight.
Eyes on the Challenge
UK practices celebrated this year’s World Sight Day Challenge in fun and innovative ways, raising thousands of pounds for Optometry Giving Sight. In Cambridge, Taank Optometrists invited local Mayor Russ McPherson to visit the practice on World Sight Day. The Mayor received an eye examination from optometrist Anjana Taank, to help promote the importance of having adequate access to eye care. ‘Your eyes are the windows to your world’ said Mayor McPherson, urging the public to take care of their eyes and go for regular eye examinations.
The staff and patients at Paul Cheetham Eyecare in Rochdale raised over £650 through the donation of eye exam fees and the generosity of patients – and through the efforts of
Optical Assistant Pauline Riley who took part in a sponsored one mile swim. Fundraising activities went on for the whole week, and on World Sight Day staff wore fancy dress to add to the occasion.
At Jane Smellie Opticians in Whitchurch, the whole team got involved by baking cakes and selling raffle tickets, celebrating with a coffee morning on World Sight Day. Over £300 was raised from the day, and local Councillors and others gathered at the practice to show their support.
Click here to read more stories about the World Sight Day Challenge.
