GOLDEN, Colo.—As World Sight Day 2016 wraps up its 10th year, the success and industry participation surrounding the Challenge continues to build as thousands of eyecare professionals, companies, students, staff and patients, in the U.S. and around the world, all contributed to raise funds to help eliminate avoidable blindness and impaired vision. From partners in Optometry Giving Sight's Coalition to independent NGOs and ECPs worldwide, the participation in World Sight Day spanned a vast range of initiatives and activities.
Clive Miller, CEO of Optometry Giving Sight, stressed that the Challenge runs until the end of October and encouraged all those who have been fundraising to remit their funds as soon as possible. Anyone still wishing to make a donation can do so online at givingsight.org or by mail to the Optometry Giving Sight office in Denver.
Optometry Giving Sight gave a shout out to the
management and staff at Bausch + Lomb
for their support of the Challenge. Optometry Giving Sight said the overall response to its World Sight Day Challenge this year has been very positive, with an increase in the number of practices, individuals, companies and schools who have rallied together to either make a donation or undertake fundraising events. There have been many highlights which the organization is posting on its Facebook page.
In addition to efforts by the Coalition, as reported by VM, ECPs, optical retailers and dozens of other optical industry companies and organizations held special events to raise general awareness and dollars around the cause of undetected refractive error and the needs of so many patients. Social media amplified many of the activities this year.
Coalition members include ABB Optical Group, Alcon Foundation, AllAboutVision.com, Bausch + Lomb, CooperVision, Essilor, EyePromise, FYidoctors, Vision Source, VOSH International and VSP Global.
More than 60 companies are engaging their staff in donation drives and fundraising activities, as a way of raising awareness among their own employees about the importance of good vision. They include A&A Optical, Acuity Pro, Advance Optical, Allergan, Amcon, Art Optical, Bard Optical, ClearVision, DAC Vision, De Rigo REM, Europa, Eye Recommend, GPLI/CLMA, Heidelburg, Hilco, Jobson, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care (Canada), Linden Optometry, Match Eyewear, Modo, Nikon/Elaine Turner, Optos, OSI, PECAA, Primary Care Optometry Magazine/Slack Inc., Reptile Sun, Ron's Optical, RX Optical, Signet Armorlite, Synergeyes, Texas State Optical, Tura, Vision One Credit Union, VmaxVision, Wave Contact Lens, WestGroupe, White Ophthalmic Supply Ltd, Wiley X, and Zeiss (Canada), all of whom are participating in the Challenge in some way.
Thousands of optometrists, their practices and staff, students of optometry, and members of industry raised funds or made donations to give sight and hope to people who are blind or vision impaired simply because they can’t access the services of a qualified optometrist.
This year, for the first time, all 24 Schools of Optometry in North America participated in the Challenge, reinforcing the strong connection that exists with the nine Schools of Optometry in Latin America, Asia and Africa that are funded in part by Optometry Giving Sight, and which are currently educating 700 future optometrists and optometric technicians.
Eye Etiquette encouraged their customers to
make a difference by donating cash on
World Sight Day.
“September and October are the highlight of our year,” said Clive Miller, CEO of Optometry Giving Sight. “There is so much creativity and goodwill in the optometric community and it is always humbling and inspiring to see the fun things that people do to raise funds in support of this important issue. Whether it's having a bake sale, coordinating a fun run or a bike ride, selling wristbands, holding BBQs and pizza lunches, having trunk shows or simply going online to make a donation, there is an incredible energy and camaraderie that reminds us all about the importance of good vision and how we can all make a difference.”
Following are highlights, gathered by the Vision Monday staff, from some of the thousands of participants who raised funds and awareness of the need for eyecare and eyewear on World Sight Day:
In addition to A & A Optical’s fundraising efforts, including the selling of raffle tickets and collection donations, the company had employees take part in blindfolded challenges to experience the loss of sight.
Some of these activities included dining in the dark, picking and packaging frames in their warehouse and their annual blindfold shoot for the hoop challenge.
ABB Optical Group raised funds in support of World Sight Day by donating a portion of its Digital Eye Lab sales to Optometry Giving Sight during the month of September through Oct. 13, 2016. The company raised $30,000 for World Sight Day, according to an ABB spokesperson.
A World Sight Day Challenge coalition member, ABB Optical Group will donate 1 percent of all Digital Eye Lab sales during its six-week fundraising campaign. A division of ABB Optical Group, Digital Eye Lab was founded in 2007 as the first fully automated optical lab dedicated to freeform digital lens fabrication in the U.S.
“The World Sight Day Challenge is an important global initiative that ABB Optical is proud to support," said company CEO Angel Alvarez. "We join the optometric community with our Digital Eye Lab fundraising campaign in helping underserved children and adolescents around the world access the eye exams and vision care they so desperately need."
Acuity Pro chose to participate in World Sight Day a little bit differently this year. In the past, the company handed out the World Sight Day wristbands at Vision Expo after making a donation to Optometry Giving Sight, according to marketing and business development manager Elizabeth Hayes. “But this year, we wanted to be a little more creative in making a difference while promoting the cause,” she explained.
Acuity Pro’s digital acuity testing software utilizes a custom remote control to run the program. “We decided to work with OGS and include our logo and the OGS logo on a ‘beach chair caddy’ that holds the remote, or a cell phone, on the tech or doctor’s desk,” Hayes said. “We made these available for sale on our website, AcuityPro.com, and via social media for World Sight Day. They cost $5, with a portion of every chair sold going directly to Optometry Giving Sight.”
In addition, Acuity Pro plans to donate its Acuity Pro systems to the new optometry school that is being built in Haiti, once the school is ready to use the systems, Hayes said.
Alcon associates in 15 countries participated
in Cycle for Sight this year. Here, Alcon’s
Ana Isabel Gomez, GM Spain and Portugal,
with Cycle for Sight athletes.Alcon associates in 15 countries participated in Cycle for Sight this year, which triggered a $25,000 donation from the Alcon Foundation to Optometry Giving Sight’s Our Children’s Vision program. In addition, Alcon China provided an eyecare lecture and free eye exams to associates and their family members. Finally, Alcon India hosted an associate Lunch & Learn featuring local leaders from SightLife and in partnership with Prabha Eye Clinic, Bangalore, held an eye screening camp where 150 patients received free eye screenings.
This was the second year Alcon participated in Cycle for Sight. Alcon associates rode more than 10,000 cumulative minutes as part of their fundraising efforts.
“Awareness and education to preserve vision is critical. Today, Allergan, is joining the global eyecare community to recognize World Sight Day," said Allergan chief executive officer Brent Saunders, in a post on his CEO blog that coincided with World Sight Day. Saunders believes that “awareness and education to preserve vision is critical.”
He also noted that Allergan has “invested—and will continue to invest billions and billions of dollars in new treatments for the most difficult eye conditions.” These include glaucoma, chronic dry eye, AMD and retinitis pigmentosa.
“Our eyecare R&D pipeline has never been stronger or more innovative,” he said. “But our efforts in supporting education and awareness have been equally impactful. Through efforts with advocacy groups and the Allergan Foundation, we have provided direct support for education and awareness initiatives for more than 150 organizations around the world.”
Bausch + Lomb kicked off World Sight Day fundraising efforts with an employee meeting showcasing the company’s recent medical outreach trip to Haiti as well as the positive impact of partnering and supporting Optometry Giving Sight. During the meeting, employees were encouraged to participate in various fundraising opportunities throughout the month of October. The company also ran a social media campaign to raise awareness of the importance of eye health in people’s lives.
ClearVision Optical celebrated World Sight Day with an employee sunglass sale on Oct. 13 and 14. Employees had the opportunity to purchase select styles of ClearVision Optical sunglasses for a discounted price. This year’s sale was their biggest yet, and all proceeds from the sale were donated to Optometry Giving Sight. ClearVision is planning also match all donations.
CooperVision developed a Facebook photo initiative called “Smile, Snap & Share for World Sight Day,” in which the company encouraged employees to post photos of themselves—with Fight for Sight and/or Optometry Giving Sight branded items as well as the CooperVision logo—to the CooperVision Fight for Sight Facebook page.
The goal was to illustrate CooperVision’s collective passion, pride, and dedication around its Fight for Sight campaign in a fun, unconventional way. Through the photos, CooperVision demonstrated how its employees are united in the company’s purpose to help improve the way people see each day. Teams of employees from all around the world posted photos throughout the day, showing their Fight for Sight spirit.
In addition, CooperVision planned various activities to take place at its sites around the world, including: a bake sale, recycling drive, silent auction, gift basket raffle, free eye exams for employees, special breakfast and various walks/runs. Seminars were held with the Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired to provide employees with a sense of what it is like to live with vision loss, and create better understanding of how to interact with people who have lost their sight. This included instruction on how to work alongside guide dogs.
DAC Vision employees put their hands together
in support of the World Sight Day Challenge. DAC Vision and DAC Edge celebrated World Sight Day by providing lunch for all employees as a way of thanking them for participating in the World Sight Day Challenge. When an employee donated to the cause, they received a T-shirt and wristband as a thank you gesture for their support.
DAC Vision matched all employee contributions, and used World Sight Day as an opportunity to raise awareness about blindness and vision impairment. This is the fourth year DAC has participated in the fundraising event.
As part of De Rigo REM’s ongoing commitment to social responsibility in the community, the company planned a four-part series of fundraising events scheduled through the month of October. De Rigo REM sought to set the bar higher and raise more funds directly benefitting Optometry Giving Sight.
This year’s four-part fundraising event series included:
- Nacho average fundraiser that included a morning of serving up delicious nachos for employees and a football challenge on Friday, Sept. 30 with 100 percent of proceeds going to World Sight Day.
- Hot “Diggity” Dig Executives cook sale lunch: De Rigo REM’s executive teams’ BBQ skills were put to the test as they cooked up lunch for employees on Friday, Oct. 14 in support of the cause.
- Sunglass Sale: De Rigo REM hosted a marketing Sunglass Sale for employees to purchase frames at a discounted rate to raise money on Monday, Oct. 17.
- Company bake sale & raffle: De Rigo REM employees will come together once again for a special Halloween-themed initiative on Monday, Oct. 31 that will include a costume parade, bake sale and raffle to round out this year’s activities around World Sight Day.
On World Sight Day, EnChroma—the company bringing color to the color blind—announced a partnership with RestoringVision to distribute glasses to people in need. Through EnChroma’s new “See the Difference, Make a Difference” program, for each pair of EnChroma eyewear purchased EnChroma will sponsor the donation of a pair of glasses to someone in need through the nonprofit RestoringVision.
Nearly 2.5 billion people worldwide suffer from uncorrected vision impairment. Over 500 million people simply need reading glasses, but live in developing countries with limited or no access to glasses. RestoringVision provides glasses to those without access.
“People who buy EnChroma glasses will be pleased to know that in addition to helping someone color blind see colors better, their support will also help a person in a part of the world where getting pair of reading glasses is life changing,” said Andy Schmeder, CEO of EnChroma. “EnChroma shares RestoringVision’s goal of making all visual experiences more accessible to everyone, and we are proud to support their work.”
“We are thrilled to welcome EnChroma as a corporate sponsor, and grateful for their support,” said Mark Sachs, RestoringVision’s founder. “The goals of both organizations are closely aligned as we both work to improve people’s vision and lives. Through this unique collaboration our companies will be able to restore sight while bringing color to life!”
An Essilor of America (EOA) employee holds
up a mirror so a Dallas student can see
how she looks in new pair of glasses donated
by EOA, Essilor Vision Foundation and
Vision Impact Institute.
On World Sight Day, Essilor Group launched “Love to See Change,” a campaign to have people worldwide commit to have their eyes checked. For each pledge taken, Essilor will donate $1 to a selection of initiatives that are bringing good vision to underprivileged or underserved populations around the world. The campaign is intended to raise awareness about the importance of regular eye checks, and on the global public health issue that uncorrected refractive error represents, Essilor said.
“Having your eyes checked on a yearly basis is fundamental to protect the most important sense we have as human beings: our sight. At Essilor, we are committed to visual health for all, including the 2.5 billion people in the world who do not have the vision correction they need,” said Jayanth Bhuvaraghan, Essilor’s chief mission officer. “Through this pledge, we hope to encourage everyone to commit to love their eyes, spread the word and join us in creating the change that is needed for the whole world to see clearly.”
In just three clicks on www.lovetoseechange.com, a dedicated website available in six languages, people wishing to support this campaign can take the pledge and choose the initiative they would like the Essilor Group to support on their behalf. This campaign, which started on Oct. 13, will last until end of the year.
On World Sight Day itself, the Essilor Group organized events in some 40 countries across the world to raise public awareness on the importance of good vision for all. Thanks to the involvement of internal teams along with eyecare professionals, Essilor and its partners offered vision tests in the streets, shopping malls, train stations, schools and other public places around the world, from India and the U.S. to Germany, Australia and Thailand.
Along with Essilor’s 61,000 employees worldwide, Essilor is joining with some of its key suppliers who are committed to improving awareness on the importance of healthy vision. At the headquarters of Google, Orange and Havas in France, eye screenings and awareness events took place, encouraging the firms’ staff to take the pledge and share their commitment with their customers and families.
To celebrate World Sight Day, Essilor of America partnered with Essilor Vision Foundation and Vision Impact Institute to host more than 400 North Texas schoolchildren at their Dallas headquarters. Students received an eye exam and glasses at no cost. Essilor employees and local ODs volunteered throughout the day. In addition, all Essilor employees were invited to make their own pledge to have an eye exam as part of the company’s global Love to See Change challenge. Each pledge will generate a donation of $1 from Essilor in support of various vision related charities up to $100,000.
“At Essilor, our mission is improving lives by improving sight. World Sight Day provides a perfect opportunity for us to focus on our employees and our community, and rededicate ourselves to this mission,” the company said.
In early November, Europa Eyewear will be hosting its first annual “Europa Olympics” to help people who are blind or vision impaired. The campaign is run by Optometry Giving Sight. “We have supported Optometry Giving Sight for four years,” said Jerry Wolowicz of Europa Eyewear.
“Preventable blindness is a solvable problem and we are proud to help give better vision to those in need. People are inspired to learn that for as little as $5 someone living in an underserved community can be provided with an eye exam and a pair of glasses. Everyone can make a huge difference and help transform lives,” he said.
Participating is easy—simply make a single or monthly donation before the end of October. The campaign’s goal is to raise $1 million globally in 2016.
Jobson Optical Group held a pizza party and slices
were sold for $2 each. Above, Jobson’s Marc Ferrara
and Amanda Churchill do their part for the
Challenge at the pizza luncheon.
Jobson Optical Group held fundraising activities for World Sight Day. From Oct. 6 to 17, each of the company’s nine departments found creative ways to raise money for the World Sight Day Challenge. Some employees started GoFundMe pages, others sold snacks in the office, while others asked family members to sell WSD bracelets for $1.
On Oct. 13, Jobson held a pizza party and slices were sold for $2 each, sodas were going for $1.50 and snack-sized candy sold for 25 cents per pack. Team members were given WSD bracelets, pins and stickers for their contributions. In total, Jobson was able to raise over $2,340 for the World Sight Day Challenge.
For World Sight Day, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Companies asked people to snap a photo or walk a mile for Sight For Kids, a Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF) program that helps raise local eye health awareness and identify, refer and correct visual impairment in underserved school children in Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe. It’s a free, fun and easy way to help protect a child’s vision, the company said.
“Given the significant need to protect children’s eyesight, we encourage everyone who has a smart phone or exercises to take a moment to participate in this charitable program,” said Ashley McEvoy, company group chairman, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Companies. “So many people use social apps to share their photos and fitness achievements each day and with one easy additional step, we can all help more children get the eyecare that they deserve.”
Johnson & Johnson Vision Care asked people
to post one photo every day to the Sight For Kids
cause through the Johnson & Johnson Donate
A Photo App. Above, J & J employees Jose
Prunet and Kimberly Kim take part in the
Donate A Photo festivities.
Johnson & Johnson asked people to post one photo every day to the Sight For Kids cause through the Johnson & Johnson Donate A Photo App. For every photo uploaded on behalf of Sight For Kids, Johnson & Johnson will donate $1, up to $40,000, to help the charity provide eye health education and eye exams to children in need.
Sight For Kids has provided eye health education and free vision screenings to more than 24 million children in Asia Pacific, Africa and Eastern Europe since 2002. Participants can post up to one photo per day using the app, which is available from the iPhone App Store or Google Play for the U.S., the U.K. and Japan. The Donate A Photo campaign for Sight For Kids will run through Jan. 15, 2017.
Johnson & Johnson also encouraged people to track their walking, running or biking through the Charity Miles, a social good app that enables people to get moving for a purpose. Charity Miles donates up to 25 cents to the cause of your choice, including Sight For Kids, for every mile you walk, run or bike. The app is available globally through the iPhone App Store or Google Play.
Additionally, the company advised people to get a comprehensive eye exam by an optometrist or ophthalmologist each year. Many eye and vision problems have no obvious signs or symptoms, therefore people are often unaware that problems exist. Through a comprehensive eye exam, eyecare professionals can diagnose eye problems ranging from focusing difficulties easily corrected by glasses to sight-threatening diseases like glaucoma and macular degeneration.
In conjunction with this year’s World Sight Day
Challenge, Modo Eyewear sent out a newsletter
and made social media posts about their newest
initiative: Buy A Frame—Help A Child See.
In conjunction with this year’s World Sight Day Challenge, Modo Eyewear sent out a newsletter and made social media posts about their newest initiative: Buy A Frame—Help A Child See. Modo’s new program works to provide the early intervention necessary for children to receive eyecare. Together with the Seva Foundation, they’re providing school vision screenings with ophthalmic nurses, optometrist exams at partner hospitals and when needed, free prescription glasses and free corrective treatments and surgeries.
OneSight, an independent nonprofit founded by Luxottica Group, commissioned a study along with independent research firm Wakefield, which examined Americans’ perception of undiagnosed vision impairment in honor of World Sight Day 2016.
They found that “nearly two-thirds of Americans are unaware that lack of access to vision care and eyeglasses is a significant issue in the U.S., believing it is a problem that only plagued lesser developed countries.”
So, this World Sight Day, OneSight launched their #UNBLUR campaign. #UNBLUR is a digital movement that unites people around the world to show first-hand what lack of vision care access looks like and how a pair of glasses can have a life-changing impact.
OneSight encouraged everyone to join the global #UNBLUR movement by donating $10 at www.onesight.org/donate, watching and sharing the #UNBLUR 360 virtual reality video at www.onesight.org/unblur and joining the #UNBLUR twitter party which was held on World Sight Day.
The Major League Baseball Players Trust and Our Children’s Vision joined forces on World Sight Day to combat the unnecessary effects of childhood vision impairment by providing hundreds of children with free eyecare and glasses.
“The consequences of a child not being able to see clearly cannot be underestimated,” explained Professor Kovin Naidoo, campaign director for Our Children’s Vision. “These children are often misunderstood as being unintelligent, unathletic, and introverted. When in reality they are simply unable to see well enough to get involved and enjoy the things kids love to do.”
On World Sight Day, the Players Trust and Our Children’s Vision partnered with Illinois Eye Institute Princeton Vision Clinic, The Optical Foundation, Indiana University College of Optometry, Illinois College of Optometry, Moses Eyecare and Benavente Eyecare, to provide free vision tests to hundreds of elementary school students and youth baseball players from Gary, Indiana. Those youngsters requiring glasses received them free of charge. Former Major Leaguers LaTroy Hawkins, from Gary, Ind., and Kenny Lofton, from East Chicago, were on hand to assist with the testing and to participate in question and answer sessions with the youth.
Our Children’s Vision is an initiative of the Brien Holden Vision Institute and Vision For Life – Essilor—aiming for every child, everywhere to have access to eyecare.
Through the Players Trust, Major Leaguers contribute their time, money and celebrity to call attention to important causes affecting the needy and to help encourage others to get involved in their own communities.
Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Salus University’s American Optometric Student Association (AOSA) held their second annual Cycle-4-Sight event at the Hafter Student Community Center. The Hafter Center staff led 28, 30-minute sessions throughout the day, from 6 am to 10 pm, with 10 bikes available per session. Five dollar donations were collected per cyclist and the AOSA also sold water bottles and T-shirts in order to raise funds. Thus far, the AOSA has raised $660 and will hold another event toward the end of the month with a total goal of $2,500.
To show its support of the effort, the TSO Network provided all of the independently owned Texas State Optical offices with Optometry Giving Sight’s World Sight Day Challenge Kits and pledged to continue building the TSO brand that stands behind its mission statement. “The TSO Network is dedicated to matching the highest donation of a TSO office to ensure that Optometry Giving Sight can continue to provide to the millions of people around the world who need and deserve quality eyecare,” added John D. Marvin, TSO’s president and chief executive officer.
The University of Houston College of Optometry’s Betta Sigma Kappa (BSK) 7th Annual World Sight Day Talent Show was hel on Sept. 9, where tickets were sold for $10. In addition to the talent show, the event—held at the school’s Doctors of Texas State Optical Alumni Education Center—also included a silent auction that offered a variety of items, including pediatric kits from Good-Lite; as well as a raffle that featured handmade items from faculty members and students, and basketball/football ticket packages. Through their efforts, UHCO was able to raise over $5,000 dollars for Optometry Giving Sight.
On Oct. 13, Vision 2020 USA held a luncheon briefing at the Rayburn House Office Building, Room B-369 from noon to 1 p.m. The subject of the briefing was the new National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Health and Medicine Division (NASEM) consensus study, “Making Eye Health a Population Health Imperative: Vision for Tomorrow.”
The report examines core principles and recommends public health strategies to reduce visual impairment and promote eye health in the U.S. Panelists included:
- Lori Grover, OD, PhD, senior vice president for Health Policy, King-Devick Test, Inc.
- Eve Higginbotham, SM, MD, vice dean, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania.
- Meg McCoy, JD, MPH, senior program officer, NASEM.
Sponsors of the briefing include Alliance for Eye and Vision Research, American Academy of Ophthalmology, American Optometric Association, Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Casey Eye Institute, Helen Keller International, International Eye Foundation, Lighthouse Guild, Lions Club International Foundation, Optometry Giving Sight, Prevent Blindness, Seva Foundation and the Vision Impact Institute.
The Vision Source Network, which contributed just
over $1 million to WSD last year, has set a similar
challenge for 2016 in a fundraising effort that
began in July and runs through October.
“Our hope for this briefing is to leverage this new report to elevate the dialogue about the importance vision and eye health to our nation,” said Jeff Todd, event moderator, chair of Vision 2020 USA and COO of Prevent Blindness. “We hope to then continue these discussions to increase appropriate funding, research, and programming to improve vision services across the lifespan.”
The Vision Source Network, which contributed just over $1 million to WSD last year, has set a similar challenge for 2016 in a fundraising effort that began in July and runs through October. In addition to building upon its well-organized internal effort, Vision Source made a special effort this year to bring in new donors.
“We are so excited to again raise Optometry Giving Sight funds toward our $1 million,” said Vision Source senior vice president and chief marketing officer Bryan D. Pinciaro. “World Sight Day is a key milestone for us in our fundraising journey and we celebrated it around the country at our Vision Source member locations, at our member support center in Houston, with contests, emails, social media and a luncheon.”
Pinciaro also noted that Vision Source sent a team to Haiti earlier this year, and that the company is honored to be a part of the team launching the optometry school there. “We are proud to be a small part of something so important through OGS as we all help more people see around the world.”
For their part, VisionSpring ran an online promotion in August, where thousands of glasses were sold. Free air shipping was offered for all orders over 2,000 pairs and 1,000 free pairs were given for every 5,000 pairs ordered.
The organization partnered with the Olusegun Obasanjo Foundation which will be distributing 12,000 pairs during a coordinated outreach camp in Ogun State, Nigeria. Another distributing partner, Chainama Hills Hospital will be giving out 3,000 pairs to various smaller rural clinics in Western Zambia in order to promote more comprehensive outreach efforts. Lastly, the Comprehensive Community Based Rehabilitation in Tanzania (CCBRT), a locally registered NGO, purchased 6,000 pairs in hopes of expanding its outreach as well as optical counters.
Greg Pearl, OD and president of VOSH/California, decided to incorporate World Sight Day into his practice’s typical activities. In addition to fundraising, his office staff wore WSD T-shirts on Oct. 13 as well as every Friday in the months of September and October, and they will continue to do this in November. Dr. Pearl also donated all exam fees to Optometry Giving Sight for exams conducted on World Sight Day.
This year, VSP Global set up a partnership effort for WSD with New Orleans Mayor Mitchell J. Landrieu, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Optometry Giving Sight and Louisiana doctors. The objective was to host a four-day VSP Mobile Eyes outreach event to help achieve the goal of providing access to eyecare and eyewear for a million more people in need by 2020. The outreach event was held in New Orleans, where the VSP Mobile Eyes program originated following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. There were no-cost eye exams and glasses offered, to qualifying adults and children, at the Sanchez Center on Oct. 12 to 13, and the Rosenwald Recreation Center on Oct. 15 to16.
The Eyecessorize campaign worked to spread the word about World Sight Day through its social media channels, posting these items to Instagram in addition to a few related twitter posts:
Think About Your Eyes participated in a WSD twitter chat held by All About Vision, and further promoted the messages via their facebook page:
WestGroupe holds activities in its head office throughout the year to raise funds for Optometry Giving Sight. The company recently held a garage sale, and highlighted World Sight Day 2016 with a “Half & Half” draw and will continue its support in the coming weeks through activities, including Jeans Day and Pajama Day.
These activities allow employees to contribute to a great cause while having fun in the process. Whatever amount of money is raised by employees, WestGroupe will match.