19 September 2016
National eye research charity Fight for Sight is calling for people to take part in its dine in the dark initiative to support National Eye Health Week (NEHW), which runs from today until Sunday (19–25 September).
For a second consecutive year the Feast your Eyes fundraising initiative runs throughout October and is highlighted through NEHW’s ‘Fr-eye-day fundraising day’ theme.
During the annual awareness week, Fight for Sight will also be highlighting the advances that it is making through its research funding in areas such as children’s eye care and diabetic retinopathy.
NEHW is focusing on a different eye health theme each day this week and tomorrow (20 September) will focus on children’s eye care, a cause close to Fight for Sight’s research. Since the charity’s founder, Professor Norman Ashton, identified retinopathy of prematurity as a major cause of blindness in the UK, which led to the development of controlled oxygen delivery, consequently saving the sight of many children, Fight for Sight has continued to fund research into children’s eye conditions and has a number of programmes currently underway.
Interim director of fundraising at Fight for Sight, Sharon Petrie, said: “NEHW provides an opportunity to promote the importance of eye health and regular sight tests for all, and highlights important themes including children’s eye health, diabetic retinopathy and sight after 60. These are all areas high on our own agenda and in which we continue to fund pioneering eye research.”
She continued: “We would like members of the public to take inspiration from NEHW’s ‘Fundraising Friday’ by signing up to Feast your Eyes and dine in the dark this October to help the fight against sight loss,” adding: “Every day 100 people in the UK start to lose their sight and nearly two million are living with sight loss. Fight for Sight funds pioneering research into a number of different eye conditions to help make sight loss a thing of the past.”
For more information on Feast your Eyes, visit Fight for Sight's website.
Comments (0)
You must be logged in to join the discussion. Log in