Opening Eyes with Santinelli
Written by Shirley on August 8, 2010 – 9:33 pm -
Jaysun Barr from Santinelli with participating athlete Mark
We like to bring you reports of our sponsors that are involved in programs that help with the vision requirements of those in need. It is good for the industry as well the people given vision assistance. It helps bring awareness of vision care to the general public and we encourage all in the optical industry to get involved with “Opening Eyes” for those in need whether in a big way like Eyes of Faith Optical who give back 10% of total sales or like Santinelli featured here in our post below who are heavily involved in the Special Olympics or even in a small, local community event one day a year. It is all good.
Today we are featuring Santinelli’s participation in the 2010 National Special Olympic Games held in Lincoln, Nebraska by providing lens edging equipment for the Opening Eyes portion of the Healthy Athletes program, while several company associates volunteered their time and services. Through the program, a total of 564 pairs of prescription eyewear were distributed to athletes.
According to the Special Olympics organization, research has shown that among Special Olympics athletes, 68 percent have not had an eye examination in three years and 37 percent are in need of eyeglasses. Opening Eyes provides diagnosis for vision related problems, as well as corrective and protective eyewear all free of charge. At the end of the screening, athletes receive a certificate detailing their vision needs and follow-up referrals for health care providers in their home areas, if needed. Athletes are also taught how to take better care of their eyes.
Two Santinelli lens edging systems were humming all the way through with company representatives Rick Noonkester, Jaysun Barr, Steve Ruef, Henry Bode and Donald Rosene processing the several hundred jobs for the athletes. Santinelli International has been a supporter of the Special Olympics games for over 12 years.
Great Job Santinelli!
Tags: Health, Marketing, News, Non-ProfitsPosted in Non- Profit | 2 Comments »
World Sight Day Challenge- Get Involved
Written by Cathy on June 30, 2010 – 7:32 pm -Creating a brighter future through the World Sight Day Challenge
Optometry Giving Sight invites all optometrists to take part in the fourth annual World Sight Day Challenge from September 1-October 14 (World Sight Day). Help transform lives through the gift of vision by making a personal or practice donation, donating your eye exam fees and / or having a practice celebration.
“Roughly 1 out of every 10 people on this planet are blind or vision impaired simply because they do not have the means of obtaining an appropriate pair of glasses,” explained Dr. Scott Gunderson, optometrist at Front Range Eye Associates. “The idea that someone could go through life with debilitating blindness that could be cured in an instant with a pair of glasses is unacceptable to me.”
World Sight Day Challenge
There are 670 million people around the world who are blind or vision impaired simply due to uncorrected refractive error – that’s more than double the population of the US.
By taking the World Sight Day Challenge you and your practice can help children, like 9 year old Nlando, who lives in a local township in South Africa where there is high unemployment and the average family income is just US $7 per day. Nlando’s only real hope to escape the poverty she has been born into is education. By the year 2020, Nlando will be 19 and, thanks to her new glasses that help her see to learn at school, her future will be much brighter.
“Optometry Giving Sight is challenging the optical profession and industry to help fund the delivery of sustainable vision care and glasses to all who need them”, said Dr Vic Connors, CEO of Optometry Giving Sight. “This World Sight Day marks the half way point in global efforts to eliminate avoidable blindness by the year 2020.
We have made significant progress already by training thousands of new eye care professionals to provide services in underserved communities, as well as the infrastructure to support them. We have the strategy – we now just need your help to raise the funds to achieve the goal.”
Register for the World Sight Day Challenge at www.givingsight.org. Optometrists PO Box 6327, UNSW, Sydney, NSW 1466, Australia W | www.givingsight.org T | +61 (0)2 9385 4867 F | +61 (0)2 9385 7401 E| ogs@givingsight.org
Optometry Giving Sight is a collaboration of the World Optometry Foundation, the International Centre for Eyecare Education and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness. can make a donation online or pledge their eye exam fees from one day between September 1 and October 14. They can also request a free practice kit that contains everything they need to promote their involvement to patients including our new Giving Poster. Optometry Giving Sight can also provide assistance with placing an article in local papers.
Optometry Giving Sight guarantees that 85% of all donations go directly to programs that give sight to those most in need. It currently funds projects in more than 18 countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia.
Register today at www.givingsight.org, call 1-888-OGS-GIVE or email usa@givingsight.org.
About Optometry Giving Sight
Optometry Giving Sight is a joint initiative of the World Optometry Foundation, the International Centre for Eyecare Education and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness. National industry sponsors include CIBA VISION, the Brien Holden Vision Institute, Marchon, Vision Source! and AllAboutVision.com. Optometry Giving Sight is a tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code.
About World Sight Day
World Sight Day is an initiative of VISION 2020: The Right to Sight and is supported by the World Health Organization (WHO); the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness and non government organizations with the shared goal of eliminating avoidable blindness by the year 2020, in order to give all people in the world the right to sight. This year, World Sight Day will be held on Thursday October 14, and focuses on VISION 2020’s theme of the ‘Countdown to 2020’.
About the World Sight Day Challenge
The World Sight Day Challenge is a major fundraising campaign coordinated by Optometry Giving Sight which is designed to raise funds for projects that provide vision care, local training and infrastructure support for people who are blind or vision impaired due to uncorrected refractive error – simply the need for an eye exam and a pair of glasses.
Optometrists are invited to participate by:
• Donating their eye exam fees from one day between September 1-October 14;
• Or becoming a regular donor on or before World Sight Day (October 14); and
• Inviting patients to make a donation during the World Sight Day Challenge.
Tags: Customer Service, Health, Non-Profits, RetailPosted in Marketing-Events | No Comments »
Vision Rescue Brings Eyeglasses To Needy Students
Written by Cathy on June 23, 2010 – 7:47 pm -Vision Rescue is a non-profit organization committed to providing new eyeglasses for impoverished students in third world countries.
Tags: Non-ProfitsPosted in Non- Profit | No Comments »
Special Olympics broke the “Opening Eyes” World Record
Written by Shirley on June 22, 2010 – 8:07 pm -This great story comes from Santinelli International’s Facebook page and we would like to share it with our readers. Good job guys:
According to the official report, the folks at Special Olympics broke the “Opening Eyes” world record of number of exams and eyewear produced/dispensed at any one event this weekend!
There were 950 exams and over 500 pair dispensed! Congratulations and thanks to all involved, especially Santinelli’s Jaysun Barr who… volunteered his time and effort during the three days of this special event! Santinelli supplied the eyeglass maker.
Kerry Hincka congratulates Sam Suchanek for placing first in the 25 meter butterfly swim during the Special Olympics. Sun Photograph by RYAN EVON
The Opening Eyes Vision Screening is where Special Olympics athletes can get an eye exam, and eye glasses, swim goggles, recreational specs, and sunglasses for free.
“We do it to help the athlete,” said Dr. Phil Irion, clinical director for Opening Eyes. “To help them see better to participate in their sport and in life.
“As a volunteer, there is the satisfaction of working with athletes with special needs.”
Irion said that the screening process to vision screen those who may not be readers, or who can’t speak, offers a learning opportunity for students and doctors.
“When we ask which one is better of the two, sometimes we just get a stare,” said Irion. “So, we ask, ‘Can you see a shape?’ and we have them show what shapes they are seeing.
“Our testing is pretty accurate. It would be better with a verbal athlete, but we can do objectives.”
The Opening Eyes program has been a part of the Michigan Special Olympics for 11 years.
“It started after Dr. Irion got involved with International Special Olympics,” said Nancy Walton, volunteer coordinator for Opening Eyes. “Eunice (Kennedy) Shriver said she wanted it at every Special Olympics.
“She wanted to see that every state has it.”
Walton said the three-day screening is funded by the Lions International Foundation and the American Foundation for Vision Awareness.
“Some states can only have this for half a day,” said Walton. “We’re lucky we have the funding.And we fabricate the glasses right here.”Walton said that many of the athletes live in group homes, and for those over the age of 21, Medicaid no longer provides vision care.”We didn’t realize that need when we first started,” said Walton. “We serve people aged 7 to 71, but a majority of our athletes are 20 to 40 years old.”
Karen Tribfelner of Bay City was waiting in line after line with her son, Jim, an athlete from Area 9. This is the fourth year he has been getting his eyes checked.”It’s a way to make sure he doesn’t have any vision problems,” said Tribfelner. “The staff is very nice, and it is a long wait.But it’s well worth it.”
There are 114 volunteers at the Opening Eyes screening, with a majority being optometrists.
“All lenses and frames are donated,” said Irion. “Internationally, we are doing the same testing, and we save all the data (from the athletes) from around the world. There are 750 screenings going on around the world.”
Irion said the Opening Eyes program normally gives away close to 500 to 900 glasses to athletes every year.
Tags: Equipment, Non-Profits, Optical VendorsPosted in Non- Profit | No Comments »
Knitted Eyewear For Fun And Charity
Written by Cathy on June 21, 2010 – 8:13 pm -This is fun, make your own knitted eyewear- Don’t know how you could put lenses in. Did you know that over 50 Million people knit in the USA?
Source: Funky Trend
Even if you don’t like this and are a knitter, you can also knit for charity for the following causes:
Warm Up America- Knitting and crocheting for people in need.
Begun in 2001, Afghans for Afghans is a humanitarian project that brings warm blankets, hats, mittens, socks and sweaters to Afghanistan.
This group encourages yarn artists to make toys and dolls for children in hospitals and shelters. The site has a great collection of patterns as well as listings of hospitals and shelters where you might send your finished items.
The mission of Binky Patrol is to give homemade blankets to children and teens in need of comfort, often at shelters, hospitals and other relief agencies. Local chapters help distribute the blankets nationwide. There are links to many patterns, and if there’s not a group in your area you can form one.
As its name suggests, this Canadian knitting charity provides blankets to the homeless in Canada. The site offers a couple of patterns and links to chapters in the various provinces.
This charity accepts knit, crocheted and sewn blankets that are donated to servicemen and women who have been wounded in combat. The blankets are distributed through the VA system.
A British knitting charity, Bonnie Babies provides clothing, blankets and burial outfits to families of premature babies throughout the United Kingdom. The site offers links to many patterns and information on how to donate, as well as forums and memorials for babies who have died.
Chemocaps was started in honor of Heather Spoll, who died of cancer in 2000. The group encourages people to start local chapters and knit caps for chemo patients at hospitals and hospices in their own area.
For sailors who have to be away from their families at the holidays, the Seaman’s Church Institute of New York and New Jersey provides handmade scarves, socks, hats, gloves, vests and more. Use the patterns provided and plan to ship your projects in the fall.
This program provides homemade teddy bears to homeless kids. Contact the group for the standard bear pattern. Bears are collected in December and distributed to homeless shelters in time for Christmas.
Set up by an editor of Guideposts magazine, this knitting charity provides handmade sweaters to children all over the world. Nearly 400,000 sweaters have been donated in the past 10 years. Four patterns and mailing instructions are provided on the website.
Handmade Afghans to Thank Our Armed Forces
This is a project that gives military veterans blankets made out of 6×9 knit rectangles given by knitters from across the United States. They are mostly donated to Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
Sometimes it’s hard enough braving the cold weather when you know you’ve got a warm house to go home to. Imagine how much more difficult it is not to have a home in the cold winter months. Hats for the Homeless accepts store-bought and homemade items to help keep homeless people warm.
Heavenly Angels focuses on helping the community through various knitting projects. They are particularly interested in helping babies and children, in America and overseas. The site offers patterns and lots of information on ways you can help.
Knit Your Bit is a program put on by the National World War II Museum in New Orleans to provide hand-knit scarves to veterans of World War II through veterans’ hospitals and other organizations.
Use your knitting skill to help other people by knitting for charity. Here are the top five places you can lend your needles to a good cause.
Life2Orphans is dedicated to improving life for orphans in the Ukraine through donations of homemade clothing as well as food and other support. Click on “Hat Project” to find out how you can help warm the heads and the lives of Ukrainian children.
Lion Brand Yarn has an amazing searchable database of charity knitting opportunities. Search by state or country, by what item you’d like to knit, or by organization name. Sometimes the information is not very detailed, but if you’re looking for a place to donate your chemo caps in Kentucky or your afghans in Arizona, it’s likely you’ll find the perfect giving opportunity here.
Magic Mittens and Mufflers for Mongolian Children
This group collects handmade mittens, gloves and scarves (I imagine they’d take hats, too) which are sent to a children’s center in Mongolia, where winter temperatures are frigid and there are many homeless children. The site has links to some basic patterns and information on where to ship finished items.
The Mother Bear Project provides bears and other toys to young victims of AIDS in Africa. The group charges for patterns and asks for a donation to help cover shipping costs.
An aid organization for families with sick babies, Newborns in Need accepts clothing, blankets, hats and other items for babies, including store-bought items.
The Prayer Shawl Ministry encourages people to act locally by creating blessing-filled shawls for people in need of physical or spiritual comfort. You could, of course, also donate these to another charitable knitting organization.
Project Angel Kisses is a close-knit group of faithful women who knit booties, blankets, hats, pillowcases and more for babies in need at hospitals around the U.S. and Canada.
Providing clothes, bonnets, blankets and more to premature babies, this British charity’s website offers many patterns, including patterns for machine knitters. The organization also has a Yahoo group to help donors stay in touch.
Socks for Soldiers is recruiting 10,000 knitters to make socks for soldiers serving in Iraq and the Middle East. The group is run through a Yahoo group, which you can sign up for at the site.
A non-profit organization that sends homemade clothing and blankets to premature babies across the United States, the group also has a yarn store in Santa Monica, California.
This group sends knitted items to Iraq and Afghanistan based on what the troops request at any given time. Items are shipped to Florida and then gathered and shipped to soldiers once a month, so there are opportunities to help all year long.
Warm Up America is all about groups of crafters getting together to knit or crochet blocks that are joined into an afghan that can be given away locally or donated to the national organization.
Warming Families provides blankets and other warm items to people in homeless shelters. The charity works internationally with community volunteers who coordinate giving in their area. Links to many projects are provided.
Source: About
Tags: Non-Profits, Opti-FunPosted in Opti-Fun | No Comments »
Share In Africa Provides Eyeglasses To Africans
Written by Cathy on June 21, 2010 – 4:38 pm -Eyes on Africa (Share in Africa) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide eyeglasses to Africans. By cooperating with other groups they distribute glasses via clinics, schools, and churches. The people receiving the glasses are grateful for the opportunity to see, read, work, and enjoy life more fully.
Tags: Non-ProfitsPosted in Non- Profit | No Comments »
May is Healthy Vision Month
Written by Shirley on May 11, 2010 – 9:24 pm -Thank you to The Vision Voice from International Vision Expo for the following post about Healthy Vision Month.
Promote Healthy Vision Month in Your Community
May is observed by the National Eye Institute (NEI) as Healthy Vision Month. The NEI has created a toolkit of materials for eye care professionals to educate the public about the important role comprehensive dilated eye exams play in maintaining good eye health.
Use the tools and resources found here to educate your community about the importance of eye exams in detecting eye diseases and conditions, identifying and correcting refractive errors (nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism and presbyopia) and keeping eyes safe at work and at play. The toolkit includes web links, print and radio public service advertisements, sample text messages, fact sheets, posters, stickers, drop-in articles and more.
Tags: Education, Health, Non-Profits, VisionPosted in Education and Trade Shows | No Comments »
Ophthalmologists, Optometrists, Opticians Giving Vision Services To Needy
Written by Cathy on March 28, 2010 – 6:45 pm -
Orange County Mobile Eye Clinic
Both Shirley and I in the course of our blogging sometimes forget about Eyecare Professionals Who Give Back. Fortunately we have some of our subscribers who remind us of Eyecare Professionals who have made a committment to Giving Back. Optometry Giving Sight, Dr, Victory J. Connors and Stephen Schock OD devote much time to support Optometry Giving Back, Robert Bell who help with the homeless in San Francisco area just to name a few who donate time to the needy.
Then we have the Mobile Eye Care Program for the homeless and uninsured in Orange County, California. Sam Hahn of South Coast Eye is an optician who gives back. He sent us the latest update from the last Mobile Eyecare Program:
‘The Mobile Multi-Service Center clinic added Vision Care services to the list of extensive services offered free to the community. Over 250 homeless and low-income individuals received free medical and vision care, and were connected to medical and social resources.
A special thank you to all of the volunteer doctors, nurses, and supporters who stayed an extra TWO hours to ensure every client received care.
The Line For Vision Care
Vision Care services are critical for the high-risk homeless of Orange County. Federal data shows that OC has one of the highest proportions of overweight children and teens compared to the national average. The high-risk of diabetes and eye disease for these children increases the need for vision care. Last summer, the State Government cut glasses benefits to most of the adult MediCal population. Vision care services added to the MMSC provide free access to prescription eye glasses for all ages.
Mobile Eye Care Clinic for Homeless in Orange County
Mission Statement: To prevent the spread eye disease through early detection and improve the sight among the many thousands of homeless and impoverished children and adults in Orange County.
Who we are: We are a group of volunteer ophthalmologists, optometrists, opticians, and technicians working in affiliation with the Orange County Health Care Agency, The Lestonnac Free Clinic, and the nonprofit Illumination Foundation.
How we serve: We hold free clinics every couple of months at various sites throughout Orange County. All patients are seen directly by an eye doctor, screened for any type of eye disease, and prescribed eye glasses as needed. Patients with an existing eye condition or at risk for future eye disease are referred for follow up treatment. Our clinic has on-site representatives from Medi-Cal and MSI, to help patients with eye disease obtain access to the ongoing ophthalmic care they need. Those patients who are ineligible for any type of insurance will be referred to The Lestonnac Free Clinic for their needed follow up treatment. All patients in need of prescription eyeglasses will be fitted for a new pair of free prescription eye glasses which will be delivered to the clinic site two weeks later for pick up.
What we need: Our program needs support in the following ways:
1) Volunteer Eye Care Professionals: We need volunteer ophthalmologists, optometrists, opticians, technicians and other interested support staff.
2) Exam Equipment: We are in need of larger items such as an autorefractor, phoropters, and slit lamps. We also need smaller items such as optical dispensing tools, a frame warmer, and parts for repairing glasses.
3) New Eye Glass Frames and New Prescription Lenses
4) Financial Donations and Corporate Sponsorship: We are seeking individual and corporate support to purchase exam equipment and materials when we are unable to obtain donations for them.
5) Grant Writers: volunteers who can help us with grants to expand our funding sources.
Anyone interested in helping us may contact Sam Hahn at (949)338-9340 or e-mail me at optical@southcoasteye.com
Tags: Non-ProfitsPosted in Non- Profit | 2 Comments »
