With the arrival of Spring and the hope of summer sun on its way, NCBI (National Council for the Blind of Ireland) is delighted to announce its partnership with West Midland Optical (WMO) to raise public awareness about the importance of wearing UV protection sunglasses to prevent the damage the sun’s rays can cause to your eyes, and to raise funds for the services that NCBI provides.
The “Be Sunwise with SunEyes” campaign will see NCBI receive a donation of €1 for every pair of UV sunglasses from the SunEyes range that are sold during 2009. These sunglasses will be available in leading opticians and pharmacies around the entire country and will be supported in outlets by posters to inform customers about the fundraising campaign for NCBI. We hope to raise more than €20,000 during 2009 from this campaign.
NCBI relies heavily on campaigns such as Be Sunwise with SunEyes to ensure we raise much needed funds to support the growing number of people who are experiencing difficulties with their eye sight. With the number of people who are blind or vision impaired expected to more than double in the next 25 years we need additional funds to develop and expand the range of services that ensure that people retain or regain their independence at every stage of life.
NCBI’s Chief Executive, Des Kenny said, “With West Midland Optical’s support, our aim this year is to make people more aware of the importance of taking care of their sight. We will be drawing particular attention to the steps that people can and should take to protect their eyes from the sun’s rays, all year round and not just in the summer.”
West Midland Optical supplies frames and lenses for glasses and sunglasses and is also the sole distributor in Ireland of the eye health supplement Macushield.
West Midland Optical’s Co-Managing Director, Eugene Matthews said, “We are really pleased to be able to support the good work that NCBI does with people who are living with sight loss in Ireland. As well as raising awareness about sight loss, we want to help them raise some money too.”