In a partnership venture with the international aid charity, Glasgow The Caring City, Optical Express aim to help improve the vision of millions of people throughout the world in underdeveloped countries.
By donating the glasses of laser vision correction patients, as well as customers who have upgraded their old glasses, Optical Express is helping to enrich lives throughout the world with sustainable, long-term benefits.
Glasgow The Caring City currently has 47 projects on-going around the world, each committed to improving various healthcare services including eye care. The charity provides a basic ‘gifts in kind’ service which shapes job opportunities, increases life expectancy and improves overall quality of life. Together with volunteers, Glasgow The Caring City provides local resident eye doctors with training, support and equipment, including the frames and lenses donated by Optical Express.
When the volunteers leave and move onto their next project, the local eye doctors are equipped to continue helping people with visual problems.
David Moulsdale, Chairman and CEO of Optical Express said, “We understand that the difference good eyesight can make is immeasurable. Lots of people hand their old glasses into our stores and with our growing laser business, the number of glasses that are being handed in is also growing. We hope that as we help our patients achieve better vision they will donate their old glasses and help give other people the chance to see better too.andrdquo;
The partnership of Optical Express and Glasgow The Caring City is unique as they promote and encourage sustainability, bolstering services and provisions that are already in place helping to improve the quality of life of thousands of people in underdeveloped countries.
Glasgow The Caring City travels abroad to countries such as Uganda and Sudan where, together with their volunteer Opticians, they support and train the local eye doctors. They provide them with support and equipment including frames and lenses, so that when the volunteer Opticians leave, the local resident eye doctors are equipped to continue helping people with vision problems.
Ross Galbraith, spokesperson for Glasgow The Caring City said, “The donation of old glasses we have had from Optical Express customers has been amazing and I would ask everyone to keep up the good work. Our guys have been out helping communities in Iraq and Afghanistan who have had little or no eye care for generations. Together we are making a real tangible difference in people’s lives. The reports we are getting back also tell us that the majority of road accidents out there are caused by drivers with poor vision andmdash; as such we are working with communities to provide better eye care for drivers improving the safety for everyone in the community. The glasses we have been given have also gone to special projects in South America and India where there is little or no eye care.”
“Many of the children in Africa that attend blind schools would not be there if they had a pair of glasses. For them, no eye care means no glasses, and that makes work and education incredibly difficult, if not impossible. The glasses we take overseas really do help save lives.”
