What would you never want to lose sight of?
So much of the magic of Christmas is in what we see.
The sparkle of Christmas lights, children's faces as they open their presents, loved ones gathered around the Christmas lunch table, Christmas Day at the beach and a brilliant Western Australian sunset at the end of Christmas Day.
They're the sights that make Christmas so special. We treasure them, look forward to them and assume they'll always be there. Because when you've always had your sight, you never expect to lose sight of the moments you love most.
But for many people, losing sight of the moments they treause most can become a very real possibility.
This Christmas, you can help support sight-saving research at the Lions Eye Institute and help protect a lifetime of moments worth seeing.
12 special moments. A lifetime of reasons to give.
Every picture tells a story. Hover or tap each polaroid to discover more.
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Sight 1The Synergy Xmas Lights Trail is mapped out, the kids are piled into the car and little faces are pressed against the windows as the neighbourhood sparkles. A magical tradition that never gets old.
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Sight 2Untangling the fairy lights and finding that one ornament you’ve had forever. Every decoration tells a story, and every Christmas adds another memory to the tree.
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Sight 3There’s always one child beaming with excitement and another bursting into tears on Santa’s lap! Somehow, those imperfect photos become the ones we treasure most.
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Sight 4Familiar handwriting, a heartfelt message, a card kept long after the decorations come down. Sometimes the smallest Christmas traditions hold the biggest memories.
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Sight 5Finding the perfect spot along the street and waiting for the floats to appear. For a few magical moments, everyone feels like a child again.
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Sight 6The car packed to the roof, towering forests, beautiful beaches and long summer days with nowhere else to be. Sometimes the best memories are made simply by getting away together.
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Sight 7The early morning wake-up, the excited whispers and the desperate wait for Mum and Dad to get out of bed. Nothing quite compares to seeing Christmas through a child’s eyes.
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Sight 8The table overflowing with food and everyone arriving with a plate in hand. It’s never really about what’s on the table, but who’s gathered around it.
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Sight 9Presents opened, swimmers on and everyone racing to the beach before it gets too hot. There’s nothing quite like an Australian Christmas by the water.
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Sight 10The stumps go up, the whole family is playing and there’s always a questionable umpiring decision. It’s not Christmas without a little backyard competition.
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Sight 11Someone blinking, someone looking the wrong way and someone insisting on just one more. Years later, those photos become priceless reminders of the Christmases we’ve shared.
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Sight 12After a long Christmas Day, there’s something magical about watching the sky turn gold and pink as the sun sets over the ocean. A beautiful ending to a day filled with memories.
Your gift can help protect a lifetime of sight
Myopia, or short-sightedness, is more than simply needing glasses. As a child’s eye grows too long, it stretches the delicate retina and surrounding tissues at the back of the eye, increasing their risk of serious eye conditions and permanent vision loss later in life. With myopia projected to affect one in two Australians by 2050, finding ways to act earlier is increasingly important.
Here in Western Australia, Dr Gareth Lingham is among the researchers studying how young children’s eyes grow – what normal eye growth looks like, what could be an early warning sign of myopia, and how we can identify children who may be at greater risk.
The goal is to intervene earlier – before those children develop higher levels of myopia and the increased lifetime risk that can come with it.
Your gift can help make this vital research possible, giving future generations the best possible chance of protecting their sight – and enjoying a lifetime of moments worth seeing.
A gift of more moments
Some Christmas gifts can't be wrapped.
With your help, we can protect the moments worth seeing
Click on a present below to unwrap a Christmas wish.
You’ve unwrapped a Christmas wish…
More Magical Christmas Mornings
A wish for every child to keep seeing the magic as they grow.
Give $35$35
Give the gift of an eye growth check
Your gift could help support the measurement of a child's eye growth, helping researchers better understanding how children's eyes develop.
You’ve unwrapped a Christmas wish…
More Moments to Treasure
A wish for every child to see the milestones still to come.
Give $75$75
Give the gift of patient informed research
Your gift could help support a child's participation in research, following how their eyes grow, and co-creating an experience that works for families.
You’ve unwrapped a Christmas wish…
A Lifetime of Moments Worth Seeing
A wish for every child to see everything life has to offer.
Give $150$150
Give the gift of genetic analysis
Your gift could help support specialist time analysing children’s eye scans and genetic data to find out who is most at risk of short-sightedness.
Help protect the moments they're yet to see
When we think about losing our sight, we rarely stop to consider everything it could take from us. Not just the independence we've always known, but all the moments we thought were still waiting for us.
Perhaps that's what makes losing your sight so heartbreaking. It's not just what you can no longer see today, but everything you may never see tomorrow.
For someone facing permanent vision loss, seeing the people and moments they love just one more time could become their greatest Christmas wish - one that may never come true.
Your gift this Christmas can help support vital sight-saving research at the Lions Eye Institute, giving future generations the chance to experience all the moments worth seeing.
Together, we can protect the sights that make Christmas extraordinary.
Prefer to donate by phone?
If you'd prefer to make your gift over the phone, our friendly team would be happy to assist you.
Carolyn is here to help and would love to hear from you!
Call Carolyn on 08 9381 0777
Your privacy: Lions Eye Institute handles your personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). We collect and use your details to process your donation, issue your tax-deductible receipt, and keep you informed about our sight-saving research and fundraising activities. Your payment is processed securely by our payment provider, Stripe, which may process your information outside Australia, including in Ireland and the United States. Every email we send includes a link to update your communication preferences, and you can opt out, access, or correct your information at any time by emailing donorcare@lei.org.au or calling (08) 9381 0777. To learn more, please read our privacy policy.
