Mighty foursome raises a whopping £7k from series of fundraisers
A small but mighty team of Fight for Sight supporters have raised a phenomenal £7,000 after hosting a series of fundraisers this summer.
The money raised will be used to help fund research into nystagmus, a condition which is currently incurable and causes involuntary eye movement.
After two years of Covid-19 restrictions, the Northampton-based committee were determined to kick off their fundraising season off with a bang, starting off with local coffee mornings, and culminating in their biggest fundraiser yet – an auction raising £5550.
Deciding to change the format of the auction slightly, Rosemary and her team created a “silent” auction, with friends and family getting riled up in the friendly competition to secretly outbid each other.
Through team work and sheer determination, the team were able to obtain a variety of auction prizes, from enclosure tickets to Warwick races and a golf day to handmade jewellery and London theatre tickets.
More recently, Rosemary and the Northamptonshire Committee also took on the challenge of launching a pilot project idea for Fight for Sight – Make a Spectacle of Yourself.
The competition was hosted at a local school in Cogenhoe, where 200 pupils were invited to get creative with glasses made out of paper and fun textures – feathers, toys, and anything decorative they could fit on the glasses.
The objective of the event was to invite the pupils to have fun decorating their glasses but also educating them on the importance of wearing glasses and looking after your eyes.
Speaking about the event, which raised just over £100, fundraiser Rosemary told us:
“The excitement of the day was felt by all. I had previously been into each year group telling them more about the importance of wearing glasses and asking if they knew why we had to wear them. What a very difficult job it was to pick out a winner. The children enjoyed themselves but also learned a valuable lesson about just how important it is to look after our eyes, regardless of our age.”
The funds raised will be used to support a University of Leicester research project which is investigating the effects of glare on people with infantile nystagmus. The aim of the project is to ultimately develop new tools, technologies and treatments that will improve the quality of life for those affected.
Speaking about the cause, Rosemary said: “We have seen first-hand just how devastating sight loss can be and what effect it can have on someone’s independence. No one should have to go through that. Sight loss is not inevitable and we are doing everything we can to make sure our community knows it.”
Fight for Sight CEO Keith Valentine added:
“We want to sincerely thank all the committee members for putting together such a fantastic summer of fundraising. It’s thanks to passionate and committed fundraisers like them that we are able to fund such vital early-stage research. We also want to thank the supporters and sponsors who contributed to raising such a fantastic amount.”