Ormskirk Knights of Saint Columba Collect Spectacles for the Giving Sight To Africa Appeal

Ormskirk Council 64 of the Knights of Saint Columba

The Ormskirk Council of the Knights of Saint Columba are pictured here with their glasses collection box at Saint Anne’s Church in Ormskirk, West Lancashire.

(Pictured left to right: Tony Gill, Mark Condon, Jim Holland, Matthew Wright, Don McGair)

The idea for the glasses collection box came from long standing Knight and St. Anne’s parishioner Jim Holland. He said “If you wear glasses like me, you are bound to have old pairs of glasses around the house, why not put them to good use?” One batch of dozens of pairs of glasses donated by parishioners has already been passed onto Specsavers Opticians as part of their Vision Aid Overseas appeal: “Giving sight to Africa”.

The Ophthalmic Director Neil Pearson and Retail Director Lieza Albiston at the Ormskirk Specsavers Opticians are reportedly delighted with both the efforts of the Knights of Saint Columba and the generosity of the Saint Anne’s parishioners, which all go towards supporting such a marvellous campaign.

The old or unwanted spectacles collected by the Knights of Saint Columba are passed to Specsavers and recycled by Vision Aid Overseas, a charity which specialises in providing eye care for those in poverty-stricken countries around the world. The money made from recycling the glasses is used to fund the charity work of Vision Aid Overseas. Since its inception in 1987, the UK-based charity has helped more than one million people in the developing world.

About the Knights of Saint Columba. The Knights of Saint Columba is a Catholic fraternal service organisation. Founded in Glasgow in 1919, it is named in honour of Saint Columba, a Christian missionary from Ireland who helped to introduce Christianity to people in Northern Britain.

Ormskirk Knights of Saint Columba with Archbishop Malcolm McMahon July 2015

The KSC is dedicated to the principles of Charity, Unity and Fraternity and has more than 4,000 members in over 300 Councils across England, Scotland and Wales. The Ormskirk Council of the KSC was founded by Squire Francis Nicholas Blundell in 1923.

More information

Knights of Saint Columba: www.ksc.org.uk

Vision Aid Overseas: http://www.visionaidoverseas.org/recycle

Specsavers Opticians: http://www.specsavers.co.uk/news-and-information/vision-aid-overseas

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