Glaucoma Awareness 2026

Glaucoma Awareness Month will turn awareness into action. Our goal: to empower more New Zealanders to have an eye health check and raise vital funds to support the work needed to prevent avoidable blindness.

New for Glaucoma Awareness Month: Gift of Sight packs

Gift of Sight packs are available to order now, helping you get ready for Glaucoma Awareness Month in March 2026. When you donate any amount, you can order a pack for yourself or gift one to someone you care about.

Each pack includes a half-price eye health check voucher (valid during March 2026) at Matthews Eyecare, OPSM or Specsavers, plus limited-edition glaucoma simulation glasses and practical resources to help start conversations about glaucoma risk.

Regular eye checks are one of the simplest ways to protect sight. Gift of Sight packs give you, or someone you love, a practical prompt to book an eye health check in March.

Gift of Sight packs are designed to tackle those barriers by making eye health checks more accessible during March, and making the risk easier to understand and talk about.

 

 

 

Make a donation of your choice using the following donation form to order your Gift of Sight pack and your pack will be posted to you.

Action

2025 research showed that a key barrier to regular eye health checks is cost.

Your Gift of Sight pack will include a 50% discount voucher to get an eye health check at a Matthews Eye Care, OPSM or Specsavers store in NZ.



Experience

Limited-edition glaucoma simulation glasses are included in your Gift of Sight pack. Wear them as you do everyday tasks to see how glaucoma-related sight loss may affect your life.

As you see through eyes with sight loss from glaucoma, think “how might this affect my loved ones too?”

Knowledge

Could you and your loved ones be at risk of glaucoma or glaucoma progression?

Your Gift of Sight pack will include Awareness and Education materials. This means you and your loved ones can get up to speed with the risk factors of glaucoma. And learn about support that exists for you in your local community.

Join the Movement

This summer, Glaucoma NZ is taking part in Round the Bays across Christchurch, Wellington, and Auckland. We’ll be walking and running together as a community that gets it – the highs, the hurdles, and everything in between. You don’t need to run a marathon. You just need to show up.

Bring your whānau. Bring your mates. Walk for yourself, or for someone you love or donate to their page. Glaucoma doesn’t stop us. It moves us.  And every move we make together brings us closer to a future where glaucoma awareness can’t be ignored.

Run, walk or cheer with Round the Bays: Join Miles (pictured here) in raising glaucoma awareness and funds.

For the first $100 fundraised on your page you will receive a free Awareness campaign t shirt to wear proudly. Sign up now, or let us help create a page for you.

Learn about Miles' inspiring journey

Ready to join the Round the Bays movement?

You don’t have to wait for the event to get started.

Start raising awareness and funds right now. Click one of the three boxes below to create your fundraising page:

Wellington 15 Feb 2026 is closest to me!

Create My Fundraising Page

Christchurch 22 Feb 2026 is closest to me!

Create My Fundraising Page

Auckland 8 Mar 2026 is closest to me!

Create My Fundraising Page

Where else can you expect to see and hear about this Glaucoma Awareness campaign?

On the radio thanks to funding from the Oxford Sports Trust.

Expect to hear the dulcet tones of proud Glaucoma NZ Ambassador Patrick ‘Paddy’ Gower informing you and your loved ones about the importance of checking for glaucoma.

In local media where possible, sharing lived experience of glaucoma. Special thanks to the Guy Anson Waddel Charitable Trust and the Albert Daniel Hally Trust supported by Perpetual Guardian.

On social media and the web, directing you and your loved ones to fundraise for saving sight from glaucoma or to donating to gift sight.

In select Shopping Centres around the country thanks to Shout Media and generous funding from Abbvie.

In local community spaces such as libraries, community centres and sports clubs thanks to Glaucoma NZ volunteers and supporters.

Please download and print our 2026 Official Poster to distribute it around community spaces in your part of Aotearoa New Zealand.

From fellow New Zealanders sharing their experience of what it’s like to live with glaucoma or what it’s like to support someone living with glaucoma.

 

Donate

Help us make a difference

Your donation will help us to save sight and continue helping people with glaucoma get access to the information and support they need.

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Get the support you need

Glaucoma NZ provides free information, support materials and invites to events to help you and others live well with glaucoma.

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