National Spex Day, on 13th October, is a national schools campaign to promote children wearing their prescribed glasses. Each pupil receives a pair of cardboard “spex” to be decorated and worn on the day, donating €1 to NCBI (National Council for the Blind of Ireland).

NCBI is a not for profit charitable organisation which provides support and services nationwide to people experiencing difficulties with their eye sight.

All schools who sign up for National Spex Day will receive a free education pack entitled “Finding out about Sight Loss”, featuring five lesson plans and fun activities to enable the class to explore issues around sight loss, including finding out more about eyesight, how to protect your eyes and the history of Louis Braille, the inventor of Braille. Each lesson has been developed in conjunction with primary school teachers and has been designed in coordination with the national curriculum. Lessons are fully planned out for the teacher to implement and include interactive activities for the class, who can learn about different eye conditions, how to write their names in Braille, and how to prevent damage to their eyes.

The first 350 schools to sign up will receive a fabulous Faber Castell Art hamper and there are also prize draws for any schools that raise over €250.

According to Des Kenny, Chief Executive of NCBI, all money raised locally will stay locally. “The money raised on National Spex Day will fund NCBI activities in your area. About 18 percent of people using NCBI’s services are completely blind, while 82 percent have varying degrees of usable vision. We currently provide services to more than 14,500 people, from birth to old age.”

What does your school have to do?
Encourage students to customize their glasses and wear them
Choose a winning pair of spex for each class level and send them in to NCBI Head Office
Collect €1 from all participating students (€2 from families with more than one child in the school)
Have Fun!

For more information or to sign up contact:
Phone: 1850 33 43 53
E-mail: spexday@ncbi.ie
Visit www.spexday.ie