A LOCAL opticians has launched a fundraising drive to help send a member of staff abroad to volunteer for Vision Aid Overseas.

Optometrist Jennifer Marshall, who works at Specsavers in Alloa, will be visiting Zambia in June to help the charity continue its vital work in the country.

Vision Aid Overseas operates in a number of developing countries and aims to improve the eye health of those less fortunate by providing much-needed eye tests and treatment, and training up local optometrists.

Jennifer, from Bridge of Allan, must raise £1,700 in order to make the trip and the store will be helping her to reach the target.

The 25-year-old said: "I'm so grateful to be given the opportunity to use my skills to help those less fortunate than ourselves.

"I'd also like to thank my colleagues for their support and I'm looking forward to what I'm sure will be a challenging but rewarding experience."

Lynne Sangster, retail director at Specsavers in Alloa, says: "We are very proud of Jennifer for volunteering her time and expertise in order to help improve the eye health of locals in Zambia.

"In Britain we are used to having access to excellent eyecare on our high streets but many people in developing countries are not as lucky so it’s important we do what we can to improve this."

The Clacks team will be rallying around Jennifer to help her raise the much-needed funds and she is also considering taking on the Great Edinburgh Run in April.

The store also regularly donates unwanted pairs of specs to the charity with the help of the community. The glasses are recycled and the money raised is used to fund the charity’s work.

Lynne said: "Specs wearers in Alloa have helped us to donate a fantastic number of frames in the past year and I’d like to encourage them to continue to donate old glasses to our appeal."

Local residents can get involved in the ongoing appeal by dropping their old frames into the store in the High Street, where they will find VAO collection boxes.

With the help of Specsavers, the international charity is committed to providing eyecare for people living in Zambia.

Previously, there had been very limited provision for the one in four Zambians who desperately require it, with just a handful of qualified optometrists serving the 12 million population.

For more information about Vision Aid Overseas, visit www.vao.org.uk