Impact That Lasts a Lifetime
This year marked an extraordinary milestone for Vision To Learn: we provided our 500,000th child with glasses, a number that’s now grown to over 600,000. Half a million children whose lives have been changed by something as simple, yet so powerful, as the ability to see clearly.
But our work is about more than just numbers. Each child we help is unique. We know how quickly the world can change when a child finally sees the board in class, a book in their hands, and the path to their future. We have seen the difference through lives truly changed.
The children we helped years ago are now young adults pursuing their dreams. Lizeth was provided glasses in middle school, and is now the first in her family to graduate from college and is studying to become an optometrist. Brianna, who once struggled to read the board, is a Division I athlete and neuroscience major at Dartmouth. And Mello, who we provided his first pair of glasses in elementary school, is now studying applied mathematics and computer science at Dartmouth. You will read more about their journeys in the pages ahead, each one proof that the impact of a pair of glasses can last a lifetime.
Research confirms what these stories tell us. A Johns Hopkins University study of Vision To Learn’s work in Baltimore found that children who received glasses made greater learning gains than those achieved by extending the school day, adding technology, or creating charter schools. For students who struggle the most, those in the bottom quarter of their class and those with learning differences, the improvement was the equivalent of an additional four to six months of learning. This progress would not be possible without the thousands of donors, staff, school nurses, teachers, and community partners who make our work possible every day. With your continued support, we can bring help to classrooms across the country. I hope you will join us as we work to ensure that every child in every school, everywhere in the country, has the glasses they need to succeed in school and in life.
With gratitude,
Austin Beutner
Founder