ABDO benevolent fund

The ABDO Benevolent Fund provides support to its members, past and present
(or their dependants) who are struggling generally due to an unforeseen
change of circumstances such as redundancy, bereavement, illness,
relationship breakdown etc.

Who is eligible:

Members, past and present, of the Association of British Dispensing
Opticians. The Fund may also help dependents of members.

We cannot award grants for:
Private healthcare
Private education
Legal fees
Debt

How to apply:

Contact Jane Burnand on 020 7298 5102,

or email jburnand@abdo.org.uk

Confidentiality

All enquiries will be handled in strictest confidence. Any ABDO member can make a charitable donation to the fund.

Help for students

The Benevolent Fund occasionally receives requests for help from students who are self-funding and having difficulty paying for course fees. In this situation, students should apply to the ABDO Education Trust which exists for this purpose.  Students in severe financial need, however can apply to the Benevolent Fund, provided they are ABDO members.

A further source of help for students (who have completed one year of study)  is the Wiseman Memorial Fund, which is administered by the OSA.

The Spectacle Makers’ Charity offers a limited number of bursaries for first year students across all optical professions.