A man who is raising money for Manx Blind Welfare Society by having his hair and beard shaved off has achieved over half his fundraising target in just one week.

Within seven days of announcing his plans, Ian Macaulay saw online donations reach more than ?100, over half the ?200 he was aiming for. Now the 62-year-old grandfather is hoping the final total raised for the Society will go even higher than he originally planned.

He said: ‘I’m absolutely blown away by the support I’ve received. I wanted to raise money for Manx Blind Welfare Society to say thank you for the support it gave my late Dad when he lost his sight. I thought hoping to raise ?200 was ambitious, but within a week donations were at more than half that amount!

‘I’d like to thank everyone who has donated so far, I’m truly overwhelmed.

‘Donations are still coming in and now I’m hoping we’ll go past my original target and even more money will be available to help the Society continue to provide vital support and services for visually impaired people in the Isle of Man.’

Ian, the Accounts Administrator at Target Tools, has been growing his hair and beard since October last year, and will go under the razor on 26th March at The Executive Barber Shop in Douglas.

You can support Ian’s fundraising by visiting https://www.gofundme.com/f3675euk and making a donation. There are also collection buckets at Corrin Court in Onchan and The VIP Store in Strand Street, Douglas.

Manx Blind Welfare Society Volunteers Coordinator & Events Organiser Debbie Thomson said: ‘I’m delighted for Ian that the Isle of Man community has, once again, come together to support a fundraising effort and helped him reach the halfway point in just a few days.

‘Every penny donated to the Society helps us to continue providing services for blind and visually impaired people in the Island, so we join Ian in hoping the donations keep coming in and he smashes his ?200 target.’

To find out more about the work of MBWS, visit www.facebook.com/manxblindwelfaresociety.