Harsh’s Great North Run, Eyewise Macmillan Coffee Weekend and World Sight Day Challenge 2015

06 Oct Harsh’s Great North Run, Eyewise Macmillan Coffee Weekend and World Sight Day Challenge 2015

Here at Eyewise, September and October are big months for charity fundraising. Both Harsh’s Great North Run, and our very own Macmillan Coffee Weekend in September were incredibly successful, and now we’re going for the final push and taking part in World Sight Day Challenge 2015!

Our first charity event took place on September 13th, with Harsh taking part in the Great North Run. Our resident optician finished his half marathon in just under 2 hours – and what a fantastic achievement this was! Here he is, all smiles and medal in hand…

This year, he chose to run for the charity Vision Aid Overseas – an international charity which aims to combat poverty by giving access to eye-care in developing countries.

Here are a few quick facts to get an idea of the kind of poverty that they are trying to overcome:

• 670 million people around the world are visually impaired because they cannot get the glasses they need.
• Out of this number, 13 million are children that need glasses. Many of these children risk missing their education because they can’t see well enough to learn.
• At least 45 million people who need glasses are of working age; these people risk being unable to work because they cannot see well enough.

Vision Aid Overseas aims to show that something as simple as a pair of glasses with the correct prescription can turn despair into hope in low to middle income countries worldwide. At Eyewise we strongly believe that everybody has the right to an eye test and glasses if they need them, and with your sponsorship, we were able to raise over £400 for this worthy cause!

Only two weeks later, the staff at Eyewise hosted a Macmillan Coffee Weekend to raise funds for the charity Macmillan Cancer Support. That’s right, not one but two days dedicated to another worthy cause!  Macmillan are a source of support, helping with all the things that people affected by cancer want and need, including helping carers, families and communities.

This was a great success, with goodies baked by staff members, and an amazing turn out on both days! Here’s a peek at the cakes we had on offer…

                                                         

Thanks to our patients generosity and support, we managed to raise over £321!

Now, we’re going for the final push with World Sight Day Challenge 2015, raising money for Optometry Giving Sight. This is another charity that strives to provide access to eye care for those in impoverished countries, and Harsh has pledged to donate £1 for every sight test conducted in October for this cause.

Click on the video below to see how Optometry Giving Sight are helping less fortunate people globally.

So, by simply booking an eye test, you’ll be doing your bit for the millions of people worldwide who are in desperate need of professional eye care.

Stayed tuned to find out how our World Sight Day Challenge goes!

We cannot thank all of you enough for your efforts thus far – none of this could have been achieved without your continued generosity and support!