Catherine Tate and her son Jacob put on a ‘wacky glasses day’ at St. Stephen’s Junior School to raise funds for East Kent Hospitals Charity. The charity has used the funds to greatly improve the children’s waiting area in the Orthoptics department at Kent and Canterbury Hospital.
The newly improved area will include interactive toys to help entertain and distract children who often have to wait in clinic for drops to take effect.
Catherine was inspired to raise funds for the children’s waiting area when she noticed the area was in need of a bit of a makeover whilst bringing her daughter Ellenor to clinics. Their eye catching fundraising idea of a ‘wacky glasses day’ at St. Stephens Junior School raised awareness of eye problems and funds! Children were encouraged to make and wear their own colourful glasses for a small donation on the day!
Stuart Pywell, Head Teacher at St. Stephen’s Junior School, said "We were pleased to take part in raising money in a fun and exciting way for the hospital. The whole school took part by making and wearing their own glasses which ranged from Harry Potter styles to the colourful and vibrant Elton John styles! Importantly, it also gave everyone an awareness of how it felt to wear glasses all the time.”
Local businesses and trusts also made a huge contribution to the area, through donations of raffle prizes and grants; Streynsham's Trust gave very generously, and raffle prizes were donated from the likes of The Abode Hotel.
Catherine Tate said “My daughter has been seen in the clinic over a number of years and I noticed the area was looking very tired so I decided I'd love to make a difference! I would like to commend the generosity of our local businesses, and would also in particular like to thank Mike Harwood and Scott Beadle from Cemex UK Materials Ltd based in Dover who between them raised over £500 by selling raffle tickets."
Sue Brown, Head Orthoptist, said “We are really excited to have the area improved and some lovely new toys too. A special thank you to everyone involved from the department and all the children we see.”
