A group of Donegal sisters have raised over €3,000 in aid of The Hope Foundation through a charity pop-up shop in Carndonagh.
They have done so in support of the charitable work of their niece, Edwina McKinney, who is a store director at Specsavers and is set to visit Kolkata later this year on an aid mission.
Edwina, a Donegal local, will travel alongside a Specsavers team of 10 to Kolkata, India in November, where they will spend a week providing eye care to the street and slum communities and to visit the Eye Hospital, which Specsavers supports.
This will be Edwina’s second trip to Kolkata.
Having raised €75,000 for The Hope Foundation in 2018, Specsavers is keen to meet this goal once again in 2019 with Specsavers stores across Ireland fundraising to raise money to oversee the running of the eye clinic in Kolkata.
They also aim to purchase much-needed equipment for the Hope Hospital to provide high-quality eye care to the underprivileged people of Kolkata.
Edwina set herself a personal goal to raise €3,000 to go towards the fundraising target and thanks to her incredibly supportive family and neighbours of Carndonagh she surpassed this goal. All funds raised will be going straight to The Hope Foundation.
Speaking about the recent fundraising, Edwina comments: “I am so thankful to my aunts who set up the month-long charity shop selling everything from furniture to clothes. An incredible €3,661 was raised in aid of the well-deserving charity and I would like to thank all my friends, family, neighbours and locals for their amazing generosity who supported by donating their time, money and clothes.”
Edwina continues: “I am so grateful to have the privilege of visiting Kolkata with The Hope Foundation and Specsavers again. In Ireland, we have access to excellent eye care but many people in Kolkata are not as lucky, making it vital that we do all we can to improve their eye health services while there.”
The Hope Foundation Ireland is a registered Irish charity working with street and slum children in Kolkata.
The charity works to free children and poor families from lives of pain, abuse, poverty and darkness and seeks to improve their lives by providing access to healthcare and nutrition, education, drug rehabilitation and life skills and training.
With the help of Specsavers and The Hope Foundation, improved eye care will be made available to the children living in slums and hospitals in Kolkata.
