Our project created in partnership with Boots Opticians has taken home the prize for Charity Partnership in the health, beauty and pharmaceuticals category at this year’s Third Sector Charity Business Awards.
The winning programme, Zoe’s Community Challenge, was created with Boots Opticians to highlight the important links between literacy and eye health. It is estimated that there are 1.5 million children with an undiagnosed eye condition in the UK, which makes it difficult for them to read and write.
The project aims to find the children whose literacy skills are being held back by eyesight issues, encourage children to read more for enjoyment and emphasise the importance of having regular eye checks. Boots Opticians colleagues were sent out to local primary schools with free vision screening kits, which allow them to quickly and easily check the vision of pupils. They also engaged with local groups and events, including beavers and brownies, libraries and local literature festivals.
We helped Boots Opticians to reach 19,000 children across the UK and 4,700 children took part in the Vision Screening programme. As a result, 17% were referred for a full eye check.
We are so excited to win a Third Sector Charity Business award for our partnership with Boots Opticians. Zoe’s Community Challenge has helped us to reach more disadvantaged communities, while encouraging children and families to read for pleasure. We’ve been astounded by Boots Opticians colleagues’ passion and we are looking forward to continuing our work together to transform the lives of more children in the UK.
Amy Grilli, National Literacy Trust Project Manager