A CHARITY set up to help alleviate poverty among Inverclyde's young people has been given a much-needed helping hand by staff at a local opticians.

Children in Poverty Inverclyde were the beneficiaries of a three-month long fund-raising campaign by the team at the Greenock branch of Specsavers.

The team at the Oak Mall store put their best pedal forward for a 10-mile sponsored team cycle around the Isle of Cumbrae to raise money for the organisation.

Staff managed to raise £910 in total, £710 of which was raised by the store through the physical fundraiser, which saw 19 members of the team take part.

An additional £200 was raised via an in-store raffle offering one lucky winner the chance to win some holiday goodies and a £150 voucher for a pair of Specsavers prescription sunglasses, with customer Jean Brown's name drawn from the hat to receive the prize.

Children In Poverty Inverclyde focuses principally on areas of Greenock and Port Glasgow which contain the areas of highest deprivation and low income resulting in child poverty.

The charity provides assistance to those children whose families face daily challenges within these areas through enjoyable and active days out packed with recreational and outdoor activities.

Claire Kincaid, director at Specsavers Greenock, said: "As we started this fundraising across the summer holidays, our main aim was to ensure that every child, regardless of their living situation, had the opportunity to have something fun to look forward to.    

"That’s why we wanted to support the fantastic team at Children In Poverty Inverclyde with our charity goal, with hopes we can help every child in Inverclyde access to fun and active days out throughout the year. 

"I’d also like to extend my thanks to our family, friends and our customers who helped us reach this fantastic total."