Optometry Giving Sight has expressed its gratitude to eye health professionals and associated community members around the country who participated in the World Sight Day Challenge during October.
Monies raised will help the organisation to deliver eye care services to one million people living in underserved communities world-wide.
participation from the optical community increased by 30 per cent on last year, with individuals, optometrists, practices, companies and students all coming together
According to Optometry Giving Sight, participation from the optical community increased by 30 per cent on last year, with individuals, optometrists, practices, companies and students all coming together to raise funds and promote the vision of ‘Eye Care Everywhere’ – the theme for the 2018 World Sight Day.
Highlights included fundraising efforts from Eyecare Kids, Eyecare Plus Orange, ProVision, OptiqueLine and the Department of Optometry and Vision Science at the University of Melbourne.
ProVision’s CEO Steven Johnston followed through on last year’s ‘2017 Stevie J Challenge’ to take up the ‘The Blindfold Challenge’. Tasked with raising AU$5000 to provide 1,000 people with eye care, he spent an entire day blindfolded at work, symbolising the need for good vision in daily lives. Mr. Johnston supports Optometry Giving Sight through ProVision’s corporate sponsorship and as a regular donor.
Nick Hansen from Hansen Eyecare Plus Orange encouraged all Eyecare Plus practices, “to get behind the World Sight Day Challenge in support of Optometry Giving Sight, to change people’s lives by using every means possible in the very profession that has changed ours”. To support this year’s challenge, each optometrist in his practice donated one consultation fee on World Sight Day and donated small repair fees to the annual appeal. Throughout the year Hansen Eyecare Plus Orange continues to raise funds for Optometry Giving Sight by donating $2 from every buddy pair sale.
Eyecare Kids Hillsdale and Eyecare Plus Kareela hosted a fundraising book swap. ‘Swap a book, save a sight’ took place from 29 September to 13 October and encouraged parents and their children to visit the practice with their old books and exchange them for new ones with a gold coin donation to Optometry Giving Sight. One mother who attended the book swap said, “Thank you so much for organising the book swap, my boys are loving their new reads and we are always happy to donate to a good cause”.
More than 1.22 billion suffer from preventable blindness and vision impairment. It’s not too late to make a donation that will give sight and transform the lives of those in need. Visit: givingsight.org or contact Optometry Giving Sight at australia@givingsight.org or by phone (AUS) 1300 88 10 73.
