- Vision To Learn has provided more than 9,000 children in Connecticut statewide with eye care, including 2,800 with glasses, at no cost to the child or their family.
- Hartford Public Library locations host Vision To Learn appointments during summer months
HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT – Representatives of Vision To Learn, the Connecticut Sun, and Hartford Public Library joined children at the Hartford Public Library Albany Branch to recognize the impact of Vision To Learn’s program in the state. Vision To Learn provides no-cost vision screenings, eye exams and glasses to children in Connecticut’s Alliance Districts, libraries and Boys & Girls Clubs.
Approximately 35 children at the Albany Branch were provided with eye exams and 22 with eyeglasses, all at no cost to the child or their family.
Since Vision To Learn launched its efforts in Connecticut in 2022, it has visited 42 schools and community groups, providing more than 9,000 students with vision screenings, 3,300 with eye exams and 2,800 with glasses.
Vision To Learn is a nonprofit charity that provides children at schools in low-income communities with free vision screenings, eye exams, and glasses. Founded in 2012 by Austin Beutner, the organization has since provided more than 2.5 million students with vision screenings, 477,000 with eye exams, and 388,000 with glasses, in 15 states and the District of Columbia.
“Every child, every school, everywhere in the country should have the glasses they need to succeed in school and in life,” said Austin Beutner, Vision To Learn founder. “Here in Connecticut our work, together with the Connecticut Sun Foundation, Hartford Public Library, and many local funders, has improved the lives of more than 9,000 children.”
The Connecticut Sun Foundation supports Vision To Learn’s work in the state through grant funding and participating in glasses events with students. The Connecticut Sun is Vision To Learn’s first WNBA partner. Vision To Learn’s Connecticut mobile vision clinic, decorated with a stylish Connecticut Sun design, was on display at today’s event. Children attending Thursday’s event will be invited to attend a Connecticut Sun game the evening of August 18th.
“The Connecticut Sun Foundation is proud to partner with Vision To Learn in Connecticut, to help students see clearly in class, and on the basketball court,” said Morgan Tuck, Connecticut Sun Director of Franchise Development.
During the school year, Vision To Learn helps kids in “Alliance Districts” throughout the state, including East Hartford, East Haven, Waterbury, Thompson, Manchester, Winchester, and Ansonia. During summer months, the program provides appointment-based eye exams at community organizations like the Hartford Library.
“Hartford Public Library provides wide-ranging literacy and cultural programming for thousands of children through its multi-collaborative Summer Learn initiative and Summer Lunch programs. The Vision To Learn program is a perfect fit for us and we are grateful that through its free services, students receiving glasses this summer will come to school better equipped to learn this fall,” said Hartford Public Library President and CEO Bridget E. Quinn.
About one in four children, whether from a family with means or a family struggling to get by, will naturally need glasses. Children who need glasses and don’t have them are more likely to be misdiagnosed with behavioral issues in kindergarten, be considered “slow” learners by 5th grade, and to drop out of high school. Unfortunately, in low-income urban and rural communities, most children who need glasses don’t have them due to financial constraints, language barriers, unresponsive health bureaucracies or the simple fact there are no eye care professionals in their neighborhood.
This program solves the problem by bringing the glasses to the kids where they are almost every day—their local neighborhood school. So far in Hartford Public Library locations, 116students have been provided with an eye exam and 98 with glasses, all at no cost to the student or their family.
In addition to the Connecticut Sun Foundation, Vision To Learn supporters in Connecticut include Barbara Dalio and Dalio Education, Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, Connecticut Community Foundation, United Healthcare, Farmington Bank Community Foundation, SBM Charitable Foundation, and The Eder Family Foundation Inc.
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About Vision To Learn
Vision To Learn, a non-profit charity, was founded in 2012 by Austin Beutner and the Beutner Family Foundation. The program has helped children in over 750 low-income communities in 15 states and the District of Columbia. Vision To Learn serves the needs of the hardest-to-reach children; about 90% of kids served by Vision To Learn live in poverty and about 85% are Black and Latino. Vision To Learn has provided 2,586,131 children with eye care and more than 388,000 with glasses – all at no cost to children or their families. For more information on Vision To Learn, please visit www.visiontolearn.org.
About The Connecticut Sun Foundation
The Connecticut Sun Foundation was established in 2007. Through private donations, fund-raising events and contributions from the Connecticut Sun and its owners, the Connecticut Sun Foundation looks forward to impacting the lives of youth in Connecticut. The Connecticut Sun takes pride in giving back to the community where our fans live, work and play. We are committed to using our resources to leave a lasting legacy in Connecticut, supporting fitness and education programs that will help create the foundation for healthy and rewarding lives. For more information, please visit connecticutsun.com.
About Hartford Public Library With seven locations throughout the city, the library provides education, intellectual enrichment and cultural development for thousands of children, youth and adults every year. Hartford Public Library has also gained local and national recognition for its wide range of new initiatives and partnerships designed to meet the needs of a diverse and dynamic city and region, including immigration services, employment assistance and youth leadership training. www.hplct.org
Senator Chris Coons and Vision To Learn Founder Austin Beutner Speak About the Crisis in Eye Care for School-Age Children