We are so proud to tell you all that on 26th and 27th of April our Vice Patron, Mr Shahram Kashani Bsc MBBS MRCP FRCOphth MSc, Consultant Eye Surgeon at East Sussex NHS Trust, is going to be raising money for East Sussex Vision Support by taking on the huge feat which is the National Three Peaks Challenge.

Mr Kashani will be raising money for us by attempting to climb the highest mountains of England, Scotland and Wales within 2-3 days. He will be climbing each peak in turn and will be walking a mammoth distance of 42 kilometres or 26 miles with a total ascent of 9,800 feet (3,000 m) in order to raise money for our worthy cause. The peaks that Mr Kashani will summit are –

• Ben Nevis / Beinn Nibheis (1,345 m or 4,413 ft), the highest mountain in Scotland

• Scafell Pike (978 m or 3,209 ft), the highest mountain in England

• Snowdon / Yr Wyddfa (1,085 m or 3,560 ft), the highest mountain in Wales.

We are appealing to all our supporters, new and old, to please donate towards this wonderful fundraising event that Mr Kashani’s is taking on for us.

The current financial situation for East Sussex Vision Support is extremely difficult. From the beginning of the pandemic onwards we have tried to maintain as many of our crucial services as we can. However, the ongoing effect of the cost-of-living crisis has been severely damaging. Funding sources that we were able to rely on in the past have been cut off to us. In the last few months, we have been forced to reduce our staff – and thus sadly reduce our services – to save costs.

I must tell you that the staff team who serve our community have been extraordinary in their response to this situation. Some team members have left voluntarily to save the cost of their salary or have reduced their paid hours. Others have in fact taken a pay cut – all while working harder and longer to deliver the support that so many of our beneficiaries rely on.

The result is that we have been able to now preserve our ‘core’ services – the Telephone Helpline, our Information Technology support service and the increasingly requested Aids and Equipment programme. These will continue, for now, unaffected. However, even these significant cuts only give us temporary relief. We have calculated that we are still £60,000 short of the money we need to make it safely to the end of this financial year, in April.

If we cannot fill this gap, there is the very real prospect that we would have to close some of core services – and East Sussex Vision Support would simply not be there any longer for people with sight impairment.

But there is a solution – if we can call on the support of people like you to get us through this moment of need. So today, I ask you to make a donation and support Mr Kashani’s fundraising campaign to help get us through this troubled time – and allow us to reach the end of 2025 with renewed hope.

If you would like to join Mr Kashani in making a difference to the future of East Sussex Vision Support, then every donation made on this page will help. Mr Kashani would like to thank you in advance for your contribution to this cause that means so much to him. May I also give my heartfelt appreciation to Mr Kashani for taking on this challenge on our behalf and to all those of you who would like to support him on this challenge.

Daniel Brookbank MBE