Meet Maxine Morgans

After coming to Sevenoaks in 2007, Maxine Morgans and her business partner Bavesh Hansjee bought the franchise to the high street’s very first Specsavers store.

Maxine as Mayor

With a desire to help, Maxine immersed herself in the Sevenoaks community, first becoming a councillor and then Mayor of the town in 2017. This role enabled her to form many beneficial links, and lots of opportunities to support great causes and charities, something she was passionate about. Describing her year as Mayor as ‘phenomenal’, she made it her priority to champion several charities during her time as Mayor. One of her first decisions was to make Breast Cancer Now her charity of the year, a cause she had previously supported on many occasions. Maxine says the highlight of the year was hosting the annual Mayor’s charity event at Knole. Guests including XFactor singers, acts from Britain’s Got Talent and West End musical stars who all contributed towards both a successful and uplifting evening. In addition, she helped set up the Sevenoaks breast cancer support group – a drop-in centre which supported individuals by providing massage, nutritional guidance, and general advice. During this time Maxine was chairman of the Town Team, an initiative established 10 years ago with the aim of holding different events and attractions to promote the town and its businesses. Although no longer a councillor, Maxine continues her work with the Town Team as deputy chairman.

Supporting Breast Cancer Now with Steph Harrison

In line with her charity work, Maxine has made Specsavers Sevenoaks dedicated sponsors to several local community clubs and causes, one being Sevenoaks Hockey Club. Needing sponsorship for their umpire’s jackets Maxine jumped in to save the day. She laughed when told by some club members that visiting teams love to take every opportunity to shout, ‘umpire, you should have gone to Specsavers!’. Bringing a smile to the faces of many is also fulfilled through Maxine and Bavesh’s sponsorship of the Sevenoaks Panto over the past five years. Something that is not widely recognised is that they also play a huge role in the town’s other festivities, having sponsored the Christmas lights since 2010. With the festive season again upon us, an opportunity to admire the glistening displays can be credited to Maxine and her amazing team’s efforts to keep the town’s Christmas celebrations alive. As well as the Christmas lights switch on, the store also runs an annual grotto, which is set up during the team’s spare time, testament to their enduring community spirit and charity driven mindsets. Most poignantly, Maxine reminisces about the year this special event was able to give a young girl battling with cancer the chance to see Father Christmas for one last time.

Charity fun in store

With the turbulent past two years of the pandemic having caused many struggles, Maxine and her team have gone above and beyond to help wherever they can. In providing their reliable means of optical care, they have delivered a lifeline to many. Recalling an instance when she visited the home of a vulnerable elderly gentleman needing his glasses repaired, highlights Maxine’s selfless nature. It is these little touches which undoubtedly makes a world of difference to all those in receipt of her caring efforts.