DENVER, Colo.—Optometry Giving Sight—a global fundraising initiative that specifically targets the prevention of blindness and impaired vision due to uncorrected refractive error (URE)—is inviting everyone to support its major fundraising campaign, World Sight Day Challenge. The Challenge will run throughout October, with World Sight Day—an annual day of awareness held on the second Thursday of October to focus global attention on blindness and vision impairment—being celebrated on Oct. 12.

This year’s campaign aims to help raise funds for more children like Alyssa—a young girl from southwest Mexico who received her first pair of glasses last year because of a child eye health project that is funded in part by Optometry Giving Sight.

“It’s sobering to be reminded that 700 years after glasses were invented, there are still children in the world suffering from severe vision loss,” said Dr. Juan Carlos Aragon, global chair of Optometry Giving Sight. “This not only creates frustration and learning difficulties for the children affected, but can impact their future productivity and earning potential.”


For the past 10 years, thousands of optometrists, their staff, patients, students and colleagues in the industry have taken the World Sight Day Challenge by making a tax-deductible donation or by raising funds in their practice, school or company, the organization stated.

Because 10 percent of children who go to public schools in Mexico have refractive errors, as part of the Our Children’s Vision campaign, Optometry Giving Sight is also supporting the Ver Bien para Aprender Mejor (See Well to Learn Better) program. This campaign will screen more than 4 million children throughout 2017. It will perform 1.1 million eye exams and deliver 500,000 eye glasses to children who need them.

To donate or pledge your participation by selecting one of Optometry Giving Sight’s Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum Award levels, visit www.givingsight.org or call (303) 526-0430.