Valli rewarded for educating on eye care
HUDDERSFIELD-BASED Valli Opticians has been announced as a finalist in a national award which recognises excellence in family eye care.
The company is shortlisted for the Family Optician of the Year 2020 title in the Optician Awards, putting it among the top opticians in the country.
Run by husband and wife team Moin and Rachel Valli, the company places a major emphasis on planning and executing initiatives that educate all generations on the importance of eye care.
Moin said: “We’re thrilled that our work to raise awareness of eye care for all the family, from toddlers to great grandparents, has been recognised.
“We place a lot of importance on providing a high-quality service for patients of all ages and also in employing family values in the way we run our company.”
An example of how Valli Opticians promotes eye health is its ‘Seeing Red’ campaign.
The campaign, to raise more awareness of children’s eye health, has included Moin providing free vision screening for reception class children at 16 schools across Huddersfield over the past year.
He found that one in five (20%) of the children tested failed the basic vision screening test, indicating they have an undiagnosed eye problem which could have severely affected their learning and development had it not been picked up.
Engaging with families and patients through events that benefit local charities and good causes is also integral to the company’s business ethos.
In October, more than 100 people took part in a seven mile sponsored walk organised by Moin and Rachel between three Valli Opticians branches in Huddersfield.
The event raised more than £6,000 for Kirklees Visual Impairment Network (KVIN), a charity which supports people who are visually impaired to use technology to enhance their daily lives.
Moin also volunteers his time as vice chairman of the charity.
Moin added: “Valli Opticians is founded on patient loyalty with generations of the same families visiting our practices year on year.
“The services we offer are tailored to the whole family, from dry eye management programmes and macular monitoring for older patients to free vision screening and eye health talks for school children.
“We also offer home visits for elderly patients who are no longer able to attend the practice and so every aspect of family eyecare is looked after.”
The Optician Awards 2020 had been due to be held in April but have now been put back until September 20.