ForSight unveiled as Northern Ireland’s newest chain of charity shops

These shops, opening in Omagh and Enniskillen in March, will sell preloved fashion, accessories and homeware.

Chris White, CEO said: “We are thrilled to open a chain of high-quality charity shops across Northern Ireland. Building on the experience achieved through ForSight’s sister company NCBI in the South, I firmly believe we can challenge people’s perceptions of charity retail and raise the awareness of the realities of living with sight loss. All funds generated in the shops will support direct services or clinical research to improve the lives of children and adults in Northern Ireland who are blind or vision impaired.”

ForSight’s motto ‘Visually Impaired Visibly Empowered’ will underpin their work in collaborating with leading organisations already working to advance the needs of people who are blind or vision impaired.

Sara McCracken, CEO Angel Eyes, explained: “We welcome the opening of the ForSight chain of charity shops and support their work which will help to increase awareness of visual impairment, and fund activities to address the impact of this low incidence disability especially for children.”

Professor Julie Silvestri, Belfast Health & Social Care Trust added: “Our collaboration with ForSight will hopefully lead to additional funding for our much needed research into both Inherited Retinal Degenerations and Age-related Macular Degeneration in Northern Ireland. The research focuses on the identification of genetic factors in both disorders with a view to directing patients to current and future clinical trials and treatments.”

It is hoped ForSight stores will become an integral part of the NI community where customers can shop, donate and volunteer. ForSight stores will also champion the sustainability agenda and be an alternative to fast fashion. This means shopping in ForSight not only raises much needed funds to support those living with sight loss but also helps save the planet.

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