CORAL SPRINGS, Fla.—ABB Optical Group announced the winners of the second annual ABB Cares program. The winners will receive grants ranging from $1,000 to 5,000 in recognition of the charities’ exceptional programming and community impact.

The 2015 ABB Cares grant recipients include Marengo Community Center of Marengo, Iowa; Family Promises of the Verdugos in Burbank, Calif.; South Jersey Eye Center in Camden, N.J.; the Domestic Violence Crisis Center of Minot, N.D.; Backpack Buddies of Fort Dodge, Iowa; the Lestonnac Free Clinic in Orange, Calif.; and Butterfly Dreams in Watkinsville, Ga.

"The optometry industry is well known for philanthropy, and we are proud to be a part of that,” said Angel Alvarez, founder and CEO of ABB Optical Group. "Last year, we launched ABB Cares to support the favorite charities of eyecare professionals and received an overwhelmingly positive response. This year proved to be even more challenging in selecting only seven finalists out of nearly 100 outstanding nominations. It’s obvious from all of the nominations that our industry has an extraordinary impact on the communities where we live and do business."

The Platinum ABB Cares grant, which is $5,000, was awarded to the Marengo Community Center. The grant will help to continue the Marengo Community Center’s senior dining program.

Gold ABB Cares grants which are $2,500 were awarded to Family Promises of the Verdugos a non-profit organization that serves homeless children and their families. Additionally, the South Jersey Eye Center (SJEC) was awarded a $2,500 grant that will help fund Sight First for Families, a new program that provides ides free, comprehensive eye examinations and eyeglasses to Camden city children and individuals who are poor, low income, underinsured or uninsured.

Silver ABB Cares grants, which are 1,000 each, were awarded to the Domestic Violence Crisis Center of Minot, N.D. to help provide shelter bedding, lockers for domestic abuse victims’ personal items and transportation for families; Backpack Buddies, a program out of the Fort Dodge Noon Sertoma, a regional organization in Iowa dedicated to speech and hearing, and patriotic causes in the community; the Lestonnac Free Clinic to help provide equipment and staff for its eyecare program, specifically, an ophthalmoscope/otoscope diagnostic set and a gonioscopy lens, as well as the services of a case management nurse; and Butterfly Dreams Farm Therapeutic Riding Program, a program that provides equine therapy to children and young adults who are disabled, at-risk, have special needs, are in the foster care system, or otherwise need mental health support.