Media Release
The World Sight Day Challenge: A global campaign for local change!
Optometry Giving Sight is urging all members of the optical community and anyone who values good vision to take part in the World Sight Day Challenge this October.
The World Sight Day Challenge is the largest annual global fundraising campaign to address avoidable blindness caused by uncorrected refractive error. In 2013, Optometry Giving Sight is launching a fresh look and feel to the campaign! Based on a concept of ‘people power,’ the colourful new logo and materials encourage fundraisers to come together to help the millions in need.
Optometry practices and optical companies can get involved and engage patients, customers and staff through holding fundraising events on World Sight Day (10 October) or throughout the month of October. In 2013, the World Sight Day Challenge will feature new people power wristbands as an easy way for patients, employees and students to make a donation and participate in fundraising activities.
“Our hope is that everyone in our profession will be wearing our wristband on World Sight Day!” said Donna Power, European Regional Manager of Optometry Giving Sight.
“Preventable blindness is a solvable problem – the World Sight Day Challenge is a great way for everyone to make a meaningful contribution and help to provide eye care for all people.”
To make or pledge your donation, or register your intention to fundraise, visit givingsight.org or call 020 7549 2080.
Thanks to past donations, Optometry Giving Sight has been able to fund 67 sustainable eye and vision care projects in 38 countries. These include El Salvador, where last year our local partner Fudem screened 64,000 school children in extremely poor communities.
Primary schoolgirl Carla (pictured) was screened at the Centro Escolar Las Brisas school, in a very poor community in the Soyapango region. With an eye examination and a pair of glasses, Carla’s vision was restored, renewing her potential for a quality education and a life full of opportunity.
More than 600 million people in the world are blind or vision impaired simply because they do not have access to an eye examination and a pair of glasses.
Each life transformed, like Carla’s, is part of a worldwide movement to end avoidable blindness forever. Optometry Giving Sight contributes funding to eye care projects that seek to ensure long term results inthree ways; by training local eye care professionals; establishing vision centres for sustainability; and delivering quality eye care and low cost glasses.
Everyone in the industry is encouraged to make a simple contribution towards eliminating avoidable blindness by making a monthly or one-off donation on or before World Sight Day.
Practices can help raise funds for programmes like school screenings in El Salvador by donating £1 from every eye exam carried out during October, or joining their colleagues across the industry by making a personal or practice donation at Many will also involve their staff and patients by hosting a practice fundraising event and inviting patient donations throughout October.
Last year, independent practice chain Rawlings Opticians raised over £780 for Optometry Giving Sight through the World Sight Day Challenge activities of their eight practices.Nick Rumney, Chair of Optometry Giving Sight’s national committee, accepted the cheque presented by managing director Richard Rawling at Rawlings’ Caterham branch. The practices raised the funds through cake sales, prize draws, customer competitions, and collecting donations for repairs.
Richard Rawling commented:
“Rawlings Opticians support Optometry Giving Sight as they are dedicated to ensuring nobody is unavoidably deprived of sight. The massive difference that that makes to a person’s life cannot be underestimated. We supported World Sight Day with a range of activities and were overwhelmed by the public’s support and belief in the charity.”
Companies can participate by organising an internal event for employees, or introducing a product related initiative. Last year, leading sunglass maker Maui Jim took part in the World Sight Day Challenge for the first time, and raised £423 through a variety of fundraising activities. The team ran several raffles that were supported not just by the team at Maui Jim, but by friends, family and neighbouring units at their Weyvern Park office in Guildford. In addition to raffles, the team had a cake sale and cooked lunch which they sold to neighbouring businesses. The most daring fundraiser came from warehouse worker, Ben, who was sponsored to walk around the local pond wearing the Maui Jim parrot suit! Several companies have already committed to raising funds for sustainable eye care through this year’s Challenge, including Alcon, CooperVision, Topcon and Essilor.
Students are encouraged to organise a fundraising event at their university -last year, a record number of students from the UK and Ireland took part in activities ranging from raffles, bake sales, live music nights and quizzes. A bake sale organised by a group of students at Aston University raised £230 through selling cakes to fellow students and staff.
Also this year, the annual cycling challenge ‘Optoms Cycling for Sight’ is going global, with organisers calling on the entire profession, near and far, to take to their bikes and help them cover a total of 25,000 miles, and reach the £25,000 fundraising goal for Optometry Giving Sight. This year’s challenge will take place across a 10 day period from August 15 to August 25. Participants can cycle solo or in a group, on the road or on a stationary bike in the gym, and are encouraged to design a route which is a ‘challenge’ for them. Organisers are asking fellow cyclists to let them know how many miles they plan to ride and to pledge to raise at least £1 for each mile covered.
The World Sight Day Challenge is a chance for the UK optometry profession to unite and help those less fortunate to have access to the same services they provide to their patients every day.
Register for the World Sight Day Challenge or make your donation at Practices will be sent a free practice kit that contains everything they need to promote their involvement to patients, including posters, a donation box and the new wristbands. Practices will be recognised as a bronze, silver, gold or platinum supporter depending on the amount raised. At the end of the challenge, qualifying practices will be provided with an exclusive logo and materials to promote their charity involvement to their patients and local press.
Visit to find out more. Please make a donation or register today!
ENDS
Media contact:
Georgina Woolfrey
020 7549 2080
Notes to Editor
World Sight Day (WSD) is an annual day of awareness held on the second Thursday of October to focus global attention on blindness and vision impairment. It is coordinated by the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) under the VISION 2020 Global Initiative. It is supported by eye health organizations around the world – including Optometry Giving Sight - and is included on the official World Health Organization (WHO) calendar. This year’s WSD is on 10th October.
2013 is an important year for WSD, as it will mark the launch of a new WHO Action Plan on the prevention of avoidable blindness and visual impairment 2014-19.In keeping with the main thrust of this new Action Plan, the theme for World Sight Day 2013 is: Universal Eye Health. There will also be a specific call to action: Get your Eyes Tested.
Optometry Giving Sight - is a joint initiative of the World Optometry Foundation, the Brien Holden Vision Institute and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness; and is a registered charity in the USA and in Canada. Its major fundraising campaign for the year is the World Sight Day Challenge (WSDC), which is now in its 7th year.
About the World Sight Day Challenge -The World Sight Day Challenge is a major fundraising campaign coordinated by Optometry Giving Sight which is designed to raise funds for projects that provide training, establish vision centres and deliver eye care services for people who are blind or vision impaired due to uncorrected refractive error – simply the need for an eye exam and a pair of glasses.
How donations can help:
- £30 can help provide a study kit to an optometry student.
- £60 can help provide 20 people with access to an eye exam and glasses.
- £200 can help provide a child size trial frame.
- £800could pay a month's salary for an optometrist to see up to 40 patients a day.
85 % of donations go directly to helping support sustainable eye and vision care projects.
Optometry Giving Sight, C/o The AOP, 2 Woodbridge St, London EC1R 0DG
T | 020 7549 2080 F | 020 7251 8315 W | E |
Optometry Giving Sight is a registered Charity (charity number: 1142250) and Company limited by guarantee in England and Wales.
Optometry Giving Sight is a collaboration of the World Optometry Foundation, the International Centre for Eyecare Education
and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness.