Fundraising Gallery
The 16th Annual Wessex Ophthalmology SpR Audit and Research Study Day took place on the 29 January 2020 in Winchester Guildhall. Congratulations to Dr Paul Meredith who won the Audit Award for his interesting presentation 'Eye removal: a generalist skill or the preserve of the sub specialist? Evisceration and enuncleation trends over time'.
Many thanks to Ally Allfrey and her event committee for organising a stunning Concert in Romsey Abbey. It was very special having Kate Adie with us and she read 'Christmas' by John Betjeman. David Clegg and Aurum vocale provided us with a varied programme performed by world class musicians and Professor Andrew Lotery spoke about recent updates in research. Looking forward to 2020!
Thank you to all those who took part in the Rotary Club of Romsey Test "Walk the Test Way" on Sunday 29th September 2019. A wonderful day spent negotiating the countryside with some walkers starting at St Mary Bourne and others joining in at Wherwell and Stockbridge. Funds were raised for a variety of charities including Gift of Sight. Well done everyone, an amazing effort.
Grateful thanks to the those who completed the walk and Specsavers, Romsey who generously sponsored "Walk the Test Way". A splendid result!
Sarah and Matt walked the Test Way to support Gift of Sight. Here they are crossing the finish line at the Memorial Park in Romsey on 29th September 2019. Extremely well done and thank you.
Allan Hilder is a member of Challenge Adventure, a charity which raises funds to support worthy causes. After completing a massive challenge cycling the America by Bicycle Cross Country Challenge, covering 3860 miles from San Francisco to Portsmouth New Hampshire, Allan presented a cheque for £1500 to Prof Andrew Lotery at our recent Race Day in Salisbury. Grateful thanks to Allan for this fantastic donation and the funds will be applied to help children's eye research studies led by Mr Jay Self.
We held our first ever race day at Salisbury Racecourse on 3 September 2019. Our generous sponsors, Meachers Global Logistics Ltd., Simpson Hilder Associates Ltd. and St. Christopher's Bournemouth Ltd joined us in our hospitality suite, together with other guests who agreed that the event had been extremely successful and enjoyable.
Heartfelt thanks to Patricia Elkington for hosting an evening party in her beautiful garden in Crawley, Hampshire and congratulations to her on raising the amazing sum of £1456.95. We were blessed with perfect weather and guests enjoyed drinks and canapes whilst exploring the garden. Professor Lotery gave a short talk, including his memories of Professor Andrew Elkington who was our previous Prof of Ophth at the University of Southampton.
Paul Osborne and a group of friends organised a trek to Kilimanjaro and decided to turn it into a fundraising event. Paul's nephew Freddie Richards had been diagnosed with acute bilateral cataracts when two years old. After undergoing emergency surgery by Mr Jay Self, and with constant visits to Southampton Eye Unit, Freddie's sight was saved. He will, however, need to continue with regualar check ups while he is still growing. Thanks to the whole team for going through a gruelling trek and raising the staggering sum of £21,500 for children's eye research.
Ellie Keeling, who has fundraised for us throughout the three years of her PhD studies, has finally completed her studentship. She has had some good papers published and will remain with the vision research team as a Postdoctoral scientist with funding from Gift of Sight for her first two years. Well done Ellie and good luck with your Viva. (students hand in their thesis and then have to defend their doctorate in a verbal examination).
Sam Green and his friends, James Herbert and Lee Elliott all work in China and signed up to run the Mount Fuji Marathon to raise funds for Gift of Sight corneal research, raising an amazing £1385. Sam's mum, Janet, contracted fungal keratitis in 2011. It took seven years and fifteen operations to restore her vision and the family are all very grateful for the care afforded by the clinical team in Southampton Eye Unit. These funds will go towards academic research into diagnosing eye infections a research project currently being undertaken by Mr Parwez Hossain.
I was delighted to attend a Concert by Winchester Chamber Orchestra on Saturday 12 January 2019. A fabulous programme, organised by the Musical Director Craig Lawton, included an Overture to Preciosa (Carl Maria von Weber) Gli Uccelli (The Birds) by Ottorino Respighi and some Elgar and Beethoven following the interval. Thank you so much for raising funds for us at the Concert and to the audience for their generous donations. Our photo shows the lead violinist and some members of Winchester Chamber Orchestra acknowledging the rapturous applause.
Grateful thanks to James and Tracey Trantham who held a fundraising party to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary. Friends and family rallied round and a fantastic £5770 has been raised to help Mr Parwez Hossain and his corneal research team. Dan (pictured above) has been undergoing treatment for many years and has been helped by new treatments that have been implemented following years of research. This has to be one of the most successful fundraising parties ever!! Thank you all for your generous support and to Tracey and James for their efficient and amazing fundraising skills..
Jane Hannifan, a regular and amazing supporter of Gift of Sight, organised a group of friends to make up a team of Gift of Sight walkers for the Rotary Romsey Test Way Walk on the 14 October 2018. Jane, Clare Todd and Jenny Bewley walked 25.5 miles, Ian Searle, Di and Phil Ward, Carolyn Redrupp and Angela Smith walked the 16 mile distance. The weather was foul and well done to all of you for your significant fundraising and determination to complete your routes. Congratulations and huge thanks from us all!
Ed Hannifan ran the Royal Parks Half Marathon on the 14 October 2018 and raised over £600 for Gift of Sight. On the same day his Mum, Jane, walked 25.5miles on the Romsey Test Way Walk. Amazing family support and congratulations Ed on raising more than your target. Your ongoing fundraising assistance is hugely appreciated.
Alan Blair (Chair of GoS Advisory Board) and Ailsa were delighted to be asked to present the winning cup to Godolphin’s representative after Global Hero won division 2 of The Gift Of Sight Appeal EBF Novice Stakes. We spent the afternoon at the racecourse and a team of volunteers with buckets collected over £600 for Gift of Sight from generous racegoers on the day. Huge thanks to Mr Jeff Smith (Chairman of Salisbury Racecourse), Jeremy Martin (Clerk & Executive Director) and all the team at Salisbury who made us so very welcome. The BEST day out! Ever.
Bro Jon Whittaker visitehttps://www.giftofsight.org.uk/sites/giftofsight.org.uk/files/styles/med... the children's area of Southampton Eye Unit to present a cheque for £6000 to Mr Jay Self (Consultant Ophthalmologist) following a public vote as part of the Freemasons three hundred year celebrations. The funds will be used to purchase a new piece of imaging equipment to help diagnose young patients. This will also assist our academic team by providing data for research projects. We are always hugely grateful for support from the many Freemasons lodges and chapters in the Province of Hampshire & The Isle of Wight. They have donated on many occasions in the past and are good friends of Gift of Sight.
Thank you to everyone who voted for us, ensuring that this most recent gift will help our children's eye research.
The 16th Annual Wessex Ophthalmology SpR Audit and Research Study Day took place in Winchester Guildhall on the 29 January 2020. The Gift of Sight Award was presented to Dr Rebecca Kaye who presented the results of her academic research project titled 'Choridal Vascularity in Chronic Central Serous Chorioretinopathy'. The Award will enable Rebecca to attend a prestigious vision conference so that she can present her work to a larger academic audience.