A volunteer from Holsworthy will be keeping the Christmas spirit alive among those living with sight loss, after the coronavirus has put a stop to their usual celebrations.

Dave Golding, who is the group leader of the Bude and Holsworthy Macular Society Support Group, for people with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), has been hand delivering Christmas hampers to members of the group and fellow volunteers.

Since March all of the Macular Society’s face-to-face services have been cancelled. But, thanks to Dave, each member has been kept in regular contact as he has been phoning them regularly to keep them up to date with Society news and provide a listening ear.

After a difficult year Dave and his wife Laraine were determined to find another way of keeping everyone’s spirits up in the lead up to Christmas.

The money, part of a generous donation by the Devon Community Fund, which would have been spent on the group’s festive meal, has instead been used to create 27 Christmas hampers, one for each member and volunteer. Dave and his committee packed each hamper themselves, which includes edible donations thanks to the local Holsworthy Waitrose “Give a little love” campaign. Dave said: “Our Christmas get together is the highlight of the year but, with this year’s lunch being cancelled, I wanted to find another way of providing some festive cheer. Hopefully, even though we can’t be together in the usual way, the hampers will help the members and volunteers to still enjoy a little of our group spirit.”

Dave, who has been group leader for five years, has wet macular degeneration. This year he won the Macular Society Chairman’s Award for Volunteering, which recognise and reward the amazing work of those providing services and care for anyone affected by macular disease, the biggest cause of sight loss in the UK.

Almost 1.5 million people in the UK are currently affected by macular disease and many more are at risk. The disease can have a devastating effect on people’s lives, leaving them unable to drive, read or see faces. Many people affected describe losing their sight as being similar to bereavement. There is still no cure and most types of the disease are not treatable. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common form of macular disease, affecting more than 600,000 people, usually over the age of 50.

Judy Pride, regional manager at the Macular Society, said: “The hampers are a wonderful idea and very typical of Dave’s thoughtfulness. He is tireless in giving his time to helping people better understand macular disease, and for those affected, to come to terms with sight loss. But most importantly, as someone who is affected by macular disease himself, Dave understands just how lonely and isolating it can be and even more so when our social contact is so restricted.”

She added: “In an unprecedented situation like this, health and wellbeing must always come first. Although our face-to-face services have had to be suspended for the time being, we are still on the end of the phone and would strongly urge anyone to call us if they do need our assistance.”

If you would like to join the group or find out more about the local services, contact Judy Pride on 01264 560 229/0794 737 3244 or email [email protected]

For general information on macular disease, call the Macular Society on 0300 3030 111 or email [email protected]