Vision Care for Homeless People is now registered for Gift Aid and we have joined Virgin Giving Money, our online fundraising partner. This enables you to make a donation easily and securely. Please support Vision Care for Homeless People and help vulnerable people to see.

Your support will help Vision Care for Homeless People to transform lives. You can add gift aid to your donation and we get paid a further 25% on your donation. Every £5 you raise or donate can pay for Vision Care for Homeless People to provide an eye examination and a pair of glasses for a homeless person.

Thank you for your time and support.

The worthy team of volunteer optometrists and dispensing opticians were only able to complete their rewarding work due to the generosity of the Outside Clinic which had loaned two domiciliary kits to the charity. Grateful thanks also go to Essilor which provided not just the lenses but also free glazing for this very worthwhile initiative –

Mike Kirkley, Managing Director of Essilor, was praised for his company’s generosity by Elaine Styles, the charity’s chair –

“There were seven per cent more visitors to the Crisis Centres this Christmas over last year and as more of the homeless in London heard about our service we were working to full capacity. This really highlights the need for the service that we provide – not just in London but throughout the country.”

Anyone thinking of volunteering in future is urged to look at the YouTube link, which shows what a rewarding experience working at Crisis at Christmas can be:

“We greatly admire the work of the charity and feel it is important to support them in helping the homeless and vulnerable to get back on track. Good vision is easy to take for granted and so we are pleased to be able to contribute by donating products and services,” said Stuart Cooksey, Shamir National Sales Manager.

Elaine Styles, Chair of Vision Care for Homeless People, praised Shamir’s support for the recently opened Shepherd’s Bush centre, explaining –
“We recently had a 30 year old in with a prescription of +12.00d and no glasses. Partly due to our help he is now on a training course and aiming to get back to employment.”

The charity’s e-Christmas cards are a great solution to reducing the costs of wishing friends and business colleagues festive greetings -
“Thousands of pounds are spent each year on purchasing Christmas cards and the costly postage. So much more could be achieved if those funds went towards changing someone’s life, here at home, in the UK,” added Elaine.

A donation of £5 pays for an eye examination and glasses for one person, thanks to the donated professional time, testing equipment, frames and lenses, at the centres in London and Birmingham. A donation of £400 funds one of the centres for a month.

To purchase the e-cards please click here

Working in conjunction with Vision Care for Homeless People, Crisis is seeking volunteer optometrists and dispensing opticians to donate a few hours of their time for this very worthwhile work.

“The volunteer lines are now open on the Crisis website and we are hoping that we will receive a lot of support from the optical profession. Last Christmas we saw 242 patients, many of whom had a desperate need for glasses. This is such a valuable part of getting some of the homeless back on track,” said VCHP Chair, Elaine Styles.

Click here to Sign up

*In addition, VCHP is seeking donations of new plastic and metal frames suitable for the Christmas glazing service. Please contact the charity on 020 8356 6532 or email will@vchp.org.uk

The Award of Charity, Company or Practice of the Year is for the organisation that has done the most to promote and expand optometry, or which has brought the benefits of optics to a wider audience. Voting is open until midnight on the 23rd October so please spread the word.

I certainly think we bring the benefits of optics to a wider audience as we are helping to bring the benefits of optometry to some of the poorest people in our own community. Restoring somebody’s vision is one of the most rewarding experiences you could have, from supplying a myopic correction to a person who would effectively be considered blind without their correction to issuing a simple reading prescription so that somebody can read an application form. Getting people back on their feet and into accommodation and jobs is very important.

We are a UK charity which helps people here at home. Some practitioners may not have the opportunity or the money to give up two weeks to go abroad and work in foreign clinics but we encourage people to give a few hours to volunteer in one of our clinics.

Over a thousand hours a year of volunteering time is donated by optometrists and dispensing opticians to run our four current clinics.

It is a very rewarding experience helping your fellow human beings when they are at one of the lowest points of their life. The smile on their face when they see clearly again is priceless.

Lesley-Ann Murray, dressed as Wonder Woman and part of the ABDO Practical Examination Team, put fear to one side to raise in excess of £500.00 for the City charity – Vision Care for Homeless People. Descending 160 feet in three seconds, the fall felt like forever -

“I was absolutely terrified: shaking like a leaf and screaming, but I would certainly do it again. The views over the Thames were amazing and I would recommend it to anyone. The buzz afterwards was awesome – you certainly find your true self on the way down!” she said.

Visiting our practice which operates within London’s Crisis Skylight Centre in Whitechapel, she was interested to hear how our team has carried out 783 eye examinations for homeless people in the past 12 months and that optical volunteers are urgently needed for the London and Birmingham centres.

Impressed with the dedication of the volunteers she met, Samantha commented -

“The day I spent with the staff and patients at the clinic was fascinating. Vision Care for Homeless People is a truly special charity, which offers a ‘visual lifeline’ for homeless people. Sight is a precious gift, the sense people most worry about losing, so it was a real pleasure to see the optical professions at the forefront. This is a fantastic opportunity for optometrists and dispensing opticians to offer their skills and expertise, and to really make a difference to people’s lives.”

For those with a few hours to spare, either voluntarily or if you choose to be paid, please contact Will on 020 8356 6532.

The Award of Charity, Company or Practice of the Year is for the organisation that has done the most to promote and expand optometry, or which has brought the benefits of optics to a wider audience.

I certainly think we bring the benefits of optics to a wider audience as we are helping to bring the benefits of optometry to some of the poorest people in our own community. Restoring somebody’s vision is one of the most rewarding experiences you could have, from supplying a myopic correction to a person who would effectively be considered blind without their correction to issuing a simple reading prescription so that somebody can read an application form. Getting people back on their feet and into accommodation and jobs is very important.

We are a UK charity which helps people here at home. Some practitioners may not have the opportunity or the money to give up two weeks to go abroad and work in foreign clinics but we encourage people to give a few hours to volunteer in one of our clinics.

Over a thousand hours a year of volunteering time is donated by optometrists and dispensing opticians to run our four current clinics.

It is a very rewarding experience helping your fellow human beings when they are at one of the lowest points of their life. The smile on their face when they see clearly again is priceless.

With the London and Birmingham centres supported by several public-spirited optical companies, all vital resources are put to good use, providing much needed support in an approachable environment for some of the country’s most disposed and vulnerable.

As Dave Walker, Bondeye Sales Manager, explained his company’s support –

“This charity offers such a vital service to the homeless and we are pleased to be able to help. We appreciate that to keep VCHP growing it needs ongoing support from organisations like ourselves and we are happy to make that commitment.”

Dave Walker is pictured with Charity Chair, Elaine Styles, who added –

“When the box of repair supplies was opened the volunteer dispensing optician said she felt as if she had woken up on Christmas day. She said it was much better than the equipment she works with in private practice.”

The support will see Hoya provide a regular supply of glasses for those visiting the practice within the William Booth Centre at Snow Hill, Birmingham. Already glasses have been dispensed to several people including one street vendor who had been managing with just one lens.

As Paul Maxwell, Hoya National Sales Manager, explained –

“We are very much looking forward to working with the charity to provide some very tangible support – the hard work is done by the volunteer opticians, dispensing opticians and those who run the clinics in Birmingham and we are delighted to provide a small part of the overall service. The Big Society message has not gone unnoticed at Hoya.”

Paul Maxwell is pictured with Elaine Styles, Chair of Vision Care for Homeless People.