Birthday celebrations for macular support group

A LOUGHBOROUGH-BASED peer support group for people affected by macular disease is holding a party to celebrate its 10th birthday this month.

Today (Wednesday, September 12), the Loughborough Macular Support Group will be opening up its monthly meeting, which takes place at the Forest Room, John Storer House, Wards End, to invite people to celebrate the milestone with them.

The event begins at 2pm and will feature a tombola, with cake and refresh- ments also available.

As well as encouraging potential new members to come and join, the group is also hoping to use the occasion to appeal to anyone from the local area who would be interested in volunteering to help organise and run its meetings.

The Loughborough Macular Support Group meets on the second Wednesday of every month, from 2pm - 4pm, at John Storer House.

As our population ages, increasing num- bers of people are being affected by agerelated macular degeneration (AMD), the most common type of macular disease.

AMD is the leading cause of sight loss in the UK, currently affecting more than 600,000 people.

Amanda Read, Macular Society regional manager, said: “The Loughborough Macular Support Group has been providing a real lifeline for people living locally with sight loss for the past decade.

“The peer support offered by the groups is absolutely vital – it’s incredibly reassuring for people to know that there are others who truly understand their situation.”

For more information about the Loughborough Macular Support Group, please contact Amanda Read on 01453 755 803 / 07432 700 478, or email amanda.read@macularsociety.org

For more information on macular degeneration, call the Macular Society’s Helpline on 0300 3030 111 or email help@macularsociety.org