Shropshire Star

Market Drayton opticians give gift of sight to needy people overseas

Opticians in Market Drayton shipped off hundreds of pairs of glasses to needy people and raised more than £400 for a charity in the process.

Published
Dispensing optician Zoe Witham with the glasses to be donated

Mincher-Lockett & Co held a Christmas donation drive for old and unused spectacles to send to partially-sighted people in remote and rural communities the world over.

The collection for Vision Aid Overseas saw 475 pairs donated and the opticians also donated £420 to the charity to help their projects.

Mincher-Lockett & Co has helped Vision Aid Overseas for several years, arranging for people with impaired vision to receive Christmas presents that make a difference.

Practice co-owner and optometrist, Sam Davé, said: "We are extremely pleased with how many pairs of eyewear we have collected for Vision Aid Overseas.

"Vision Aid Overseas help some of the poorest people see more clearly. They also support developing countries who struggle to offer adequate eye care due to lack of training or resources.

"They regularly fund teams of optometrists and ophthalmologists to provide eye examinations and prescribe glasses in remote, rural and poor communities.

"With 1.1 billion worldwide struggling to see properly, at Mincher-Lockett & Co, we like to do our part in supporting those who are less fortunate."

Vision Aid Overseas was founded to help some of the world's poorest people see clearly in 1985.

Mincher-Lockett & Co also recently raised more than £500 for the NSPCC with a night of fashion and fundraising at the Goldstone Hall Hotel.