CHICAGO—Prevent Blindness, the nation’s oldest voluntary eye health organization, is teaming up with Zenni Eyewear, the online eyewear retailer, for the new Zenni Scholarship to Advance Children’s Vision program. Prevent Blindness declared 2022 as the Year of Children’s Vision to focus efforts on raising awareness and providing education for children’s eye issues, advocating for increases in funding for children’s initiatives, and creating new programs, such as the Zenni Scholarship to Advance Children’s Vision that provides professionals with vision screening training and underserved children with access to eyecare resources.

According to the recent report, “Children’s Vision and Eye Health: A Snapshot of Current National Issues 2nd Edition,” the most common vision disorders in children are refractive errors: myopia (“nearsightedness”), hyperopia (“farsightedness”), and astigmatism (irregular shape of the front surface of the cornea). The prevalence of these disorders varies by age, race and ethnicity, but they have a disproportionate impact on children of color.

Vision screening is a public health intervention that identifies children at risk for vision disorders and connects them to eyecare and treatment. Uncorrected vision problems in children can negatively affect learning, a child’s ability to reach developmental milestones, social interactions and quality of life.

The new Zenni Scholarship to Advance Children’s Vision program supports vision screening certification from the National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health at Prevent Blindness (NCCVEH), which includes training on supporting individuals in accessing appropriate eyecare, and access to Zenni prescription eyeglasses for underserved populations across the U.S. through:

  • A limited number of full scholarships for the online NCCVEH Children’s Vision Screening Certification Course— a nationally recognized course based on current national guidelines, best practices, and evidence-based vision screening tools and procedures for preschool and school-age children. The certification is valid for 3 years, and participants also receive 5 contact hours for professional development. Course scholarships are reserved for individuals who work with medically underserved children ages 3 years through high school.

  • Access to vouchers for the full cost of one pair of Zenni prescription eyeglasses for children served by scholarship recipients who do not otherwise have public or private insurance to cover the cost of new or replacement eyeglasses.
The Zenni Scholarship to Advance Children’s Vision was created by funding through the Zenni’s Gifts That Give program, donating 25 percent of Zenni gift card purchases.

“At the very core of our mission is helping to provide access to eyecare to the most vulnerable populations, including children,” said Jeff Todd, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness. “By working in partnership with leading companies like Zenni Eyewear, we can help our children achieve their maximum potential by improving the children’s eye health system, creating more uniformity in screening approaches, and providing access to eyeglasses that will help children see, learn and achieve.”

For more information on the Zenni Scholarship to Advance Children’s Vision, the Children’s Vision Screening Certification Course, or general children’s vision information, contact Donna Fishman, director of the NCCVEH at dfishman@preventblindness.org.