A CHARITY which supports people with sight loss and raises awareness of eye health issues will receive £30,000 in funding after winning a national award.

Sight Cymru, based at Bradbury House in Pontypool, beat more than 400 UK organisation to become one of the 10 winners at the 2017 GSK IMPACT Awards.

The awards recognise excellence in charities aiding health and wellbeing in the community and the unrestricted funding will come from GSK while the expert support and development will come from the King’s Trust.

Sharon Beckett, the chief executive of Sight Cymru, said: “We are over the moon to hear that we’ve won a GSK IMPACT Award. “It’s a great honour for Sight Cymru and is testament to the hard work of our staff and volunteers.

“We pride ourselves on being the only entirely Welsh sight loss agency that provides services up and down the country.”

“We’re going to use this award and the development opportunities it brings to make sure we continue to provide support to those affected by sight loss,” she said.

Set up in 1865, Sight Cymru supports those who have lost or are losing their sight to live independently.

The charity’s rehabilitation service organises home visits for people with visual impairments to help them in their day-to-day lives.

Sight Cymru also works with schools to encourage good eye health and a school visit resulted in 330 children seeing an optometrist for the first time, with 108 coming back with prescriptions.

The charity leads the Welsh government’s MEGAFOCUS initiative, which works with mosques, temples, and schools to ensure people from all ethnic groups understand risks to eye health and know how to reduce them through healthier lifestyles, and educates ethnic groups on the dangers of type two diabetes, glaucoma, and other conditions.

Katie Pinnock, the director of UK and Ireland charitable partnerships at GSK, said: “Sight Cymru does fantastic work in supporting those affected by sight loss to stay healthy and independent.”

“The charity is committed to the health and wellbeing of those with sight loss and also works hard to raise awareness of the importance of eye health.

“The judges were particularly impressed by Sight Cymru’s recognition of the importance of working with all of Wales’s diverse communities.’”

Sight Cymru will receive its prize at a ceremony held at the Science Museum in London on Thursday, May 18, along with nine winners of the GSK Impact Award.