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Eccles optician rallies to raise funds for CALL

March 17th, 2013
Posted in Events, News

FUNDRAISING is on the top of the agenda for an Eccles opticians, as staff look to raise £1,500 for a local cancer charity in aid of a colleague who has recently been affected by the illness. Specsavers in Eccles has announced Salford-based cancer charity, CALL, as its annual charity partner for 2011 after a staff member was diagnosed with cancer in late 2010.

Swimmer

Store director, Úna Martin is kicking off the fundraising drive by preparing to plunge herself into deep waters as part of the mile-long Great North Swim at Windermere in June. Colleagues at the store will also be holding in-store fundraising events throughout the year to maximise the amount raised for the charity. Ms Martin says: ‘Open-water swimming can be mentally and physically exhausting, but I know that it is in aid of a good cause and the money donated to CALL will really help local people. I swam a lot as a kid, but stopped when I went to university and the restarted about 5 yrs ago.

Swimmer3

I swam the length of Coniston about 4 yrs ago (5 and a half miles long). Then I stopped again as I was too busy with a child and new business over past 18 months, but this campaign to raise money has prised me off the sofa again so I started training again 2 weeks ago!     ‘The team in-store is always committed to helping worthwhile causes, so we’re trying to raise at least £1,500 to personally help other people in Salford like our colleague who have been affected by cancer. ‘We are keen to get the fundraising ball rolling and help towards providing the best possible care and support for people living with cancer.’

Swimmer

Karen Mercer, communications and development manager at CALL, comments: “We are really pleased that specsavers in Eccles has chosen to support CALL. We are a small local charity that does ‘big’ work with people who need support at a difficult time. This fantastic fundraising effort will directly benefit the people of Salford. We will be cheering Úna Martin all the way with her big swim.” Fundraising timetable: Tuesday 1st March in store – Pyjama Day to raise funds and celebrate 1 year anniversary of opening in Eccles Sunday 15th May – Great Salford Swim on behalf of CALL (See it live on the BBC!) Sunday 19th June – Windermere Great North Swim If you want to find out more about these swimming events go to http://www.greatswim.org/Default.aspx Donate now by clicking on the donate button at the side of this page. If you are a tax payer don’t forget to add gift aid to your donation.