Responding to real barriers in March 2026 with Gift of Sight packs
Gift of Sight packs were a limited-time initiative and are no longer available. They were designed to respond to real barriers people face when it comes to eye health.
In 2025, research in New Zealand showed something important. While most people understand that regular eye checks matter, real barriers still get in the way, even though early detection is one of the most effective ways to protect sight from glaucoma.
For many people, it is not a lack of awareness. It is the practical barriers that make it harder to act. Some people feel their vision seems fine, so there is no urgency. Others are put off by the cost of an eye check.
During Glaucoma Awareness Month in March 2026, we introduced Gift of Sight packs as a way to respond to those barriers in a practical and human way. The aim was to make it easier for people to take that next step, not just understand the risk, but act on it to protect their sight.
By combining financial support, real-life simulation, and clear information, the packs helped turn awareness into something people could see, feel, and act on.
What the initiative included
Each Gift of Sight pack was designed to support people in a simple and practical way. It included:
- A subsidised eye health check at Matthews Eyecare, OPSM or Specsavers during March
- Simulation glasses to help people experience glaucoma-related vision loss
- Clear, easy-to-understand information to support conversations and next steps
Together, these elements helped make the risk more visible, the conversation easier, and the decision to book a check more achievable.
Made possible through partnership
This initiative was delivered with the support of Matthews Eyecare, OPSM and Specsavers, alongside funding from Pelorus Trust.
Their contribution helped make eye health checks more accessible for people across Aotearoa and brought this idea to life in a a way that could reach people in real, everyday situations.
Continuing the work
Gift of Sight packs were a limited-time initiative and are no longer available.
What remains is the reason behind them.
Regular eye checks are still one of the simplest ways to protect your sight. We continue to look for ways to make that step easier, more accessible, and more relevant to everyday life.
Please keep scrolling to explore other awareness initiatives and see how we are working to prevent avoidable sight loss in New Zealand.
Thank you to those who joined the movement!
This summer, Glaucoma NZ took part in Round the Bays across Christchurch and Auckland. We walked and ran 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 needed to show up.
We asked you to bring your whānau, and to bring your mates. To walk for yourself, or for someone you love or donate to their page. Glaucoma doesn’t stop us. It moves us. Every move we make together brings us closer to a future where glaucoma awareness can’t be ignored.
For the first $100 fundraised on your page you will receive a free Awareness campaign t-shirt to wear proudly. Fundraise in the way that suits you best, or let us help create a page for you.
Learn about Miles' inspiring journeyWhere you would have heard and seen 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.