“I always like to come back to the basics, and I can’t think of anything more basic than a child being able to see the blackboard.”
— California Governor Jerry Brown
“Vision To Learn is providing services to the hardest-to-reach, poverty-stricken communities throughout California and today they bring this critical service to Oakland schools. I have been a staunch advocate for eradicating truancy in our schools and one key component of that work will be ensuring our students receive the resources they need to succeed in school. I applaud Austin’s leadership in creating Vision To Learn and his whole team for the work they are doing to help so many kids across the state.”
— Kamala D. Harris
U.S. Senator and Former Attorney General of California
“The UCLA results… confirm what our teachers have been telling us – kids need to see the board and read the words on a page to learn. It’s nice to see real results that will help improve public education in California.”— Dean Vogel
Former President of the California Teachers Association
“I’ve worn glasses for a very long time, including when I pitched for the Dodgers. I’m happy that Vision To Learn will help thousands of LA kids see better so they have every chance to succeed in school and on the field.”— Fernando Valenzuela
Dodger Great
“Vision To Learn will not only improve a child’s performance in the classroom, but have positive influence on a child’s self-confidence and home life.”— Dr. Wendelin Slusser
UCLA School of Medicine and Public Health
“If you don’t have glasses and you have to go home and do homework, or you’re trying to read or you’re trying to learn, you know, that’s not a productive environment for students and you’re already going to be behind…this just gives them an opportunity to stay with the rest of the pack and make sure they all have the same opportunity to be the best students they can be in the classroom, and outside the classroom.”
— Robert Garcia, Mayor of Long Beach
“When you can improve the vision of a child, you open up an entire new world to them.”— U.S. Senator Christopher Coons
“No wonder so many kids struggle in school. Many students identified as ‘problem learners’ actually have vision problems.” “As Brown rightly noted at Jefferson Elementary, ‘a child being able to see the blackboard and trees with clarity and precision’ is basic stuff and easy to fix.”
— By the Editorial Board of the Sacramento Bee
“Too Many Schoolkids Don’t Get Eyeglasses; Learning Suffers”
“Vision To Learn is a model that the federal government and the state government should embrace.”— Antonia Hernández
President, California Community Foundation
“Vision To Learn is a wonderful reminder that we don’t need to wait for elected leaders to make a difference on community problems.”
— By the Editorial Board of the L.A. Downtown News
“Vision and Leadership”
“Vision To Learn’s innovative delivery method, a Mobile Eye Clinic… equipping students with glasses to reach their full potential will not only help students perform optimally in the classroom; it is a significant tool to help them excel in life.”— Mark Ridley-Thomas
Los Angeles County Supervisor
“Vision To Learn is an innovative program… Austin Beutner is applying the experience he learned as a successful entrepreneur and former Deputy Mayor of Los Angeles to help solve problems in the public sector.”— Mickey Kantor
Former Secretary of Commerce
“We live in a city that offers unlimited world-class medical resources and easy access for the more fortunate among us… Across the highway and into the next area code, kids are lined up outside a van because they can’t see the blackboard.”— By Steve Lopez, LA Times
“Giving kids a view to a better future”
“It is a wonderful program that’ll benefit… all those who are without resources.”— Pastor Xavier Thompson
Southern Missionary Baptist Church
“Thanks to this gift from Vision To Learn, Partnership for LA Schools elementary students will not only gain a clear vision of the classroom whiteboard, but also a clear vision for a successful future”.— Antonio Villaraigosa, former Los Angeles Mayor
“Free eye exams and free glasses provided by the Vision To Learn program remove one of the major barriers to success in school.”— Kevin Johnson, Former Sacramento Mayor
“Vision To Learn is helping to ensure our students can learn in school – see the board and read a book. We know this makes a significant difference – both in and out of the classroom.”— Herb J. Wesson Jr.
Los Angeles City Council President
“By providing kids with glasses they are giving them the chance to succeed both in the classroom and on the field.”— Former San Diego Charger Dwight Freeney
“Vision To Learn is doing great work in providing kids the tools they need to succeed in the classroom and on the field.”— Mark Walter
CEO of Guggenheim Partners, Chairman, Los Angeles Dodgers
“These eyeglasses right here changed my life. I wear contacts when I play, but I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t get my eyesight checked.”— A. J. Ellis, catcher for the Miami Marlins
“I think Vision to Learn is a God sent program. Just being able to provide such a great service to our kids is amazing. A lot of our youths will be placed in certain categories for certain reasons without this great organization. When I first learned from Austin that so many kids have been perceived as being “challenged” in school learning, when it was simply due to them not being able to see the board clearly – I was shocked. Now we have a solution and we can provide them clear vision, a fair chance at learning and prospering. I am honored to be a part of this movement.”
— Big Boy, Radio Host
“Because of Vision To Learn, the prospects for these children, like the words they now see on the page, are clearer and brighter,” said Ralph Smith, managing director of the Grade-Level Reading Campaign. “And the Beutner Family Foundation has offered a model that can inspire funders and communities across the nation to stand up and take on an urgent but solvable problem.”
— Ralph Smith
Managing Director, The Campaign for Grade-level Reading
“Being able to see is huge for learning and being able to read, but it also extends past that into sports… Their whole life will be changed because they’re able to get these glasses.”— Elena Della Donne
WBNA Player, Washington Mystics
