- Partnership With Ford Philanthropy Will Provide 15,000 School Children in Cleveland and Lorain County With Eye Care
- Vision To Learn, the nation’s largest provider of school-based eye care, is building on its well-established program in Ohio to help kids in Cleveland and Loraine County.
EAST CLEVELAND, OH (October 17, 2024) – With a $650,000 grant from Ford Philanthropy, 15,000 Cleveland and Lorain County students will be provided with vision care, including 5,000 with eye exams and over 4,000 with new prescription glasses – at no cost to students or their families.
Today, nearly 40 students at Northwood Middle School were able to try on and receive their new eyeglasses during a celebratory event, kicking off the partnership.
Vision To Learn operates the most comprehensive and cost-effective school-based program for children’s eye care in Ohio. Since its 2021 launch in Cambridge, Vision To Learn has helped nearly 45,000 children in 25 counties, including providing 15,000 with eye exams and 12,000 with glasses. Vision To Learn has helped K-12 students throughout Southeastern Ohio, Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley.
“More than 3 million children across the country go to school every day without the glasses they need. When children come to school hungry, we feed them. We make sure students have the books and school materials they need. Why not glasses?” said Vision To Learn Founder Austin Beutner. “Every child in every school, everywhere in the country, should have the glasses they need to succeed in school and in life. Ford Philanthropy’s support is helping to ensure more children in Ohio get the help they need.”
“Vision To Learn’s mobile vision clinics are an inspiring example of mobilizing essential services like health care to reach people where they are,” said Joe Provenzano, director of Mobility at Ford Philanthropy. “We’re proud to partner with them in reducing barriers and expanding access to eyecare.”
“The program offered by Vision to Learn is an outstanding resource for our students and their families,” said Superintendent Ann Schloss. “We truly cannot express enough gratitude for partners like Vision to Learn, who provide essential educational tools on campus and support students in reaching their goals.”
About 1 in 4 children need glasses, but in many low-income communities, children often go without access to eye care. In Ohio, an estimated 250,000 students lack the glasses they need.
About Vision To Learn
Vision To Learn, a non-profit charity, was founded in 2012 by Austin Beutner and the Beutner Family Foundation. 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 or Latino. Vision To Learn, the largest provider of eye care at schools in the country, has helped provide more than 3.2 million children with vision screenings and provided more than 600,000 with eye exams, and almost 500,000 with glasses, in 17 states and the District of Columbia, all at no cost to children or their families. For more information on Vision To Learn, please visit www.visiontolearn.org.
About Ford Philanthropy
Ford Philanthropy, formerly known as Ford Fund, champions equitable access to essential services, education for the future of work and entrepreneurship, using transportation and technology to connect people with opportunities they need to move upward and forward. With a 75-year legacy and $2.3 billion in contributions since 1949, Ford Philanthropy and Ford Motor Company partner with nonprofits and community organizations to invest in and co-create solutions that meet unique community needs. For more information, visit fordphilanthropy.org or join us at @FordPhilanthropy on Facebook and Instagram.
Wayne County Chief Executive Warren C. Evans, Health Director Dr. Abdul El-Sayed and Vision To Learn Founder Austin Beutner Address Vision Care Crisis Among School Children