Spring is here, and under normal circumstances, Vision To Learn would be hard at work providing eye exams and eyeglasses to children. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 crisis has closed the schools and youth organizations Vision To Learn serves, leaving our vision program no option but to pause service. While our staff is working to mail out all remaining glasses to the kids we’ve examined, and we will continue to replace lost or broken glasses for students who received theirs from Vision To Learn, our overall vision program is on standby until schools can reopen.
But Vision To Learn is not sitting idly by. We moved quickly to repurpose our fleet of mobile clinics to assist with community COVID-19 response efforts. Instead of delivering eyeglasses to students, many Vision To Learn vans are today delivering meals and other essential services to community members in need.
Despite this extraordinary setback, Vision To Learn had a remarkable 2019-20 school year helping kids:
- During the 2019-20 school year, Vision To Learn provided 56,358 students with eye exams and 44,397 with eyeglasses. We served 818 schools and 248 community organizations across the United States.
- During the mandated stay-at-home order, our team of opticians is mailing out prescription glasses to all students who were examined before the shutdown. More than 600 pairs of glasses have already been mailed to students’ homes. Vision To Learn’s eyeglasses labs continue to operate as essential services, which means we will continue to replace lost or broken glasses for students helped by our program.
Prior to COVID-19, Vision To Learn was on track to have our most successful year to date. Vision To Learn remains dedicated to our communities, and we are eager to return to schools in the fall to continue helping students.
Until then, please be well and stay safe!
Covid-19 Response