Help 100,000 U.S. Students in Low-Income Communities Receive Critical Eye Care with Vision To Learn
Help 100,000 U.S. Students in Low-Income Communities Receive Critical Eye Care with Vision To Learn
As always, Focusing Philanthropy covers all overhead costs. 100% of every donation will go to the 2024-2025 Helping Kids See Clearly in School Campaign.
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THE NEED
80% of learning during a child’s first twelve years is visual. Students with uncorrected vision avoid reading, can’t focus in class, and are less likely to read at grade level proficiency by 3rd grade. They are more likely to be misdiagnosed with behavioral issues, be labeled “slow” learners, fail at least one grade, and drop out of high school. Up to 70% of juvenile offenders have uncorrected vision issues.
Healthcare inequities and lack of access to vision care are most pronounced in low-income communities. About one in four children in school naturally need glasses to see the board or pages of a textbook clearly, but in underserved communities, 95% of kids who need glasses do not have them.
THE GOAL
Focusing Philanthropy and Vision To Learn are launching a two-year campaign to raise $5 million to help 100,000 students in low-income communities receive vision screenings and, as needed, eye exams and glasses. Through Vision To Learn’s mobile, school-based program, approximately 34,000 students will be provided with eye exams and 27,000 with glasses.
Over the last decade, Vision To Learn has partnered with classroom educators and school nurses to address the “glasses gap” for ~2.5 million children across the country. The program uses mobile vision clinics, staffed with trained and licensed eye care professionals, to deliver critical vision services directly to students at schools and community organizations – all free of charge to the child and their family.
Researchers from Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute and UCLA have independently validated the model’s ability to boost children’s academic performance and emotional well-being. According to the largest and most rigorous U.S. study on providing eyeglasses to students at their schools, children who received glasses from Vision to Learn gained the equivalent of 2-6 months of additional learning time, with students in the bottom quartile of their class showing the biggest gains. The impact was greater than much more costly measures such as lengthening the school day, providing computers or creating charter schools.
THE GIVING MATCH
From March 1, 2024 to December 15, 2025, every $2 raised by Vision To Learn will be matched with $1 raised by Focusing Philanthropy, until the campaign goal of $5 million is reached.
To qualify for the match, donations must be directed to Focusing Philanthropy and a minimum of $1,000. Donations are fully tax-deductible and 100% of funds contributed will go to the “Helping Kids See Clearly in School” campaign. All Focusing Philanthropy costs are covered by its founders.