AN IRVINE opticians has raised £1,300 over the summer to help provide pupils starting back at school with supplies and uniforms.

The Rivergate store team took part in a series of activities over the past month, including the North Ayrshire 10K marathon, in support of the North Ayrshire Food Bank School Uniform collection raising enough to fund 65 school uniforms for children across the region.

This was led by store fundraiser Lauren McNairn, who organised in-store raffles and raise vital funds for the foodbank collection. Store director Lynsey Dunlop, optometrist William McKinnon and store assistants Lauren Paxton and Saffron Gemmell also went the extra mile, taking part in the annual 10K run which took place on August 25.

Store director, Lynsey Dunlop, said: “As we know preparing to go back to school can be a hectic and costly time of year for parents. We decided that our team wanted to play our part in supporting people across Ayrshire to make preparations a little bit easier.

“I’m proud of the whole team getting behind this campaign, and running side by side in the marathon with them was such a rewarding experience and all for a good cause.

“We’ve seen so much support from customers throughout the past month and we’d like to thank everyone who has kindly helped to support families that need that extra help.”