Leading health care cash plan provider Sovereign Health Care has donated £3,000 to the Macular Society to help support the organisation’s work with people with macular disease across West Yorkshire.
The donation has been made through Sovereign’s Community Programme, which sees the company regularly give a share of its profits to charitable or community initiatives. In the last 12 years, more than £7.9 million has been donated to health and wellbeing good causes of all sizes across Yorkshire.
The Macular Society aims to end macular disease – the biggest cause of sight loss in the UK, with 300 people diagnosed with the condition every day. The charity supports those with macular disease through advocacy, counselling, low vision services and its advice and information service. It has a network of more than 400 local support groups across the UK, with around 130 volunteers working across groups within the Yorkshire region.
The £3,000 donated will go towards the cost of running seven different macular support groups that meet across West Yorkshire in locations including two groups in Leeds, and one each in Keighley, Bradford, Huddersfield, Halifax and Wakefield.
Tessa Barrett, Macular Society director of services, said: “Our support groups provide a real lifeline to people with macular disease. The peer support they offer can be so helpful and it’s reassuring for people to know that there are others out there who truly understand their situation. The groups really can help increase people’s confidence and independence.
“An amount of money like this makes a tremendous difference. With more than 300 people being diagnosed every day, the presence of our groups has never been more important. We’re investing heavily in research into macular disease so that a cure can be found, but at the same time, it’s absolutely vital that anyone affected has access to the best possible support. This donation will undoubtedly help us to do that and we can’t thank Sovereign Health Care enough for their generosity.”
Bradford-based Sovereign Health Care celebrated its 145th anniversary last year and is one of the UK’s longest established providers of health care cash plans to individuals and businesses, with around 75,000 customers across the UK.
Sovereign’s cash plans enable customers to claim money back towards the cost of prescriptions, dental check-ups and treatment, visits to the optician and much more. Being able to recoup some of these costs can help individuals to keep on top of their health care by taking preventative measures and getting treatment early.
Chief executive of Sovereign Health Care, Russ Piper, said: “We are delighted to support the Macular Society with its ongoing research and action to find a way of combating macular disease.
“Our Community Programme was created to help groups and charities just like the Macular Society, which are crucial in supporting the health and wellbeing of the communities they serve.”
For further information on Sovereign Health Care, visit www.sovereignhealthcare.co.uk