Hucknall & Bulwell staff walk the Three Peaks as family opticians turn 50
A family-run optician with branches in Hucknall and Bulwell has raised more than £5,500 for sight loss charity Fight for Sight, taking its donations past £10,800 over the past two years, after a year of challenges marking 50 years in business.
D.I. Blow Opticians, established in 1976, set its team a fitting target for its anniversary year, 50 miles for 50 years.
The distance was covered by two challenges.
Director Callum Hollowood ran the first 26 miles at the London Marathon in April, and in May the wider team walked the remaining 24 at the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge.
It was Callum's second London Marathon for the charity. He also completed the 2024 race alongside fellow optometrist and director Ashley Hughes, raising £5,300 for Fight for Sight.
Callum Hollowood, director at D.I. Blow Opticians, said: "Running the London Marathon again meant a lot to me, especially as I supported Fight for Sight back in 2024 and I was proud to be doing so once again.
"Taking it on as part of D.I. Blow's 50th year made it even more special."
In May, the wider D.I. Blow Opticians team completed the overall challenge by taking on the Yorkshire Three Peaks, tackling Pen-y-Ghent, Whernside, and Ingleborough in a single day, a 24-mile route with more than 1,500 metres of climbing.
The fundraising, however, didn't stop there. Across the practices, staff held in-store coffee-and-cake sales and car boot sales throughout the year.
Sophie Blow, managing director and optometrist at D.I. Blow Opticians, said: "My grandfather, Derek, opened the first practice in 1976, and 50 years later we're still testing the eyes of families in the same towns, in some cases the grandchildren of his first patients. That's the part I'm most proud of.
"Fight for Sight matters to us because we see every day what sight loss does to people, and the research they fund is how that changes."
Fight for Sight funds pioneering research into preventing and treating eye conditions including macular degeneration, glaucoma and retinitis pigmentosa.
Donations from D.I. Blow Opticians directly support that research, helping to develop new treatments for sight-threatening disease.
Anyone wishing to support the appeal can donate at www.justgiving.com/team/diblowopticians.
Five decades in the community
Community work is not new to D.I. Blow Opticians, which has held a central role in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire since 1976.
The business sponsors a number of grassroots football teams across the two counties, helping young players enjoy the game while promoting an active lifestyle.
It currently sponsors Notts Youth Football League, Quarrydale United Under 10s, Eastwood Under 8s, Sherwood Colliery Outlaws Under 10s and Ravenshead Reds Under 13s Girls.
That work extends beyond grassroots. D.I. Blow Opticians also recently provided comprehensive eye examinations for the entire Mansfield Town Men's First Team squad.