Charity demonstrates importance of support for sight loss

October 14, 2022

Thursday 13 October was World Sight Day - an international day of awareness held every year to focus attention on the global issue of eye health. Southend in Sight marked the day by joining the Southend Lions Club on a walk around the town’s Marks & Spencer store with the Mayor.

Southend Mayor Kevin Robinson was blindfolded and guided around the Marks & Spencer store with the help of Southend in Sight CEO Lucy Martin to raise awareness of the challenges faced every day by those living with sight loss.

Lucy Martin, CEO of Southend in Sight said "By participating in this walk, we hope that the Mayor will understand in a small way just how challenging it can be to carry out everyday tasks with a visual impairment. As the local sight loss charity, we are very grateful to the Southend Lions for their continued support of our work and for helping to raise awareness on World Sight Day".

World Sight Day was originally initiated by the SightFirstCampaign of Lions Club International Foundation in 2000. Southend Lion Nigel Folkard said “We are very proud to be part of this annual campaign to highlight the importance of eye health and the challenges faced by people living with sight loss around the world”.

Mayor Kevin Robinson concluded “I would like to thank Southend in Sight for the opportunity on World Sight Day to experience shopping with a guide. This showed how an everyday activity can be complicated. There is a sense of disconcerting reality which people who are blind or partially sighted have to manage every day.”

Southend in Sight is currently open for booked appointments at its base at 117 Hamlet Court Road or can be reached by phone on 01702 342131 or email info@southendinsight.org.uk