Urquhart Opticians supports its local community

Urquhart Opticians has launched a Care and Community Fund that will enable it to give back to the local community it serves.

The independent group, which has five practices in Ayrshire, Scotland, established the Care and Community Fund in July. Through the initiative it will donate £1000 to local charities and groups every month.

“It allows us to support the people who support us,” Peter Telfer, managing director of Urquhart Opticians, told OT.

Telfer explained: “The Care and Community Fund was launched in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The main purpose of the fund is to support local charities and local community groups within Ayrshire. Care and community is one of our core values as a business. It is a value that we agreed as a team several years ago. We have brought this value to life through the fund.”

The business has created a dedicated area on its website highlighting the fund, where a downloadable application form can also be found.

In the first month that the fund was live, the opticians received three applications from local community groups and charities within Ayrshire. This rose to 14 applications in August.

Each month staff review the applications and vote for the organisation that they feel is most suited to receive the funds. Telfer highlighted that if a group is not successful one month, the business would encourage them to apply again in the future.

The first recipients of the fund were community sports club, Vics in the Community, and community venue, Symington Community Hall.

Prior to establishing the fund, the business did a number of things to support its local community. “We have always done ad hoc giving to local community groups,” Telfer explained, which included the sponsorship of a range of sports teams.

“The fund brings that together formally and spreads it wider than what the business was doing originally,” Telfer added.