ALEXANDRIA, Va.—The Vision Council has announced that, to-date, more than $150,000 has been raised for the Open Your Eyes Scholarship Program through a virtual auction, optical company pledges and individual donations. The Open Your Eyes Scholarship Program, a 501(c)(3) charity created by The Vision Council through the Better Vision Institute, is designed to support high school students in marginalized communities throughout the U.S. who have an interest in pursuing a career in the optical industry. The scholarship will support selected students through monetary scholarships to opticianry school, paid internships and mentorships. The intent of the program is to launch a far-reaching effort that can expand to other segments of the industry.

From January 20 to January 27, The Vision Council hosted a virtual auction to kick off the program launch. The auction featured exceptional items and experiences donated by The Vision Council’s members, including limited edition artwork, celebrity memorabilia, fashion pieces and unique experiences, and raised $19,821, all of which will be donated toward the scholarship program.

Organizations that donated items to the virtual auction include: AHLEM Eyewear; Barton Perreira Eyewear; Blake Kuwahara Eyewear; CEV Eyewear; Christian Roth Eyewear; DRAGON; Eyewear Designers of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (edCFDA); Fierce Clarity; l.a.Eyeworks; Marchon; Privé Revaux; Reed Exhibitions; Safilo; Selima Optique; Thélios; Tura; The Vision Council; and Zyloware Eyewear.

The auction concluded on January 27 during a celebratory virtual happy hour hosted by Ashley Mills, The Vision Council’s CEO, at the organization’s 2021 Executive Summit. Hosted under the banner of “A Celebration of OPTImism,” the happy hour included several special guests and announcements, including a surprise appearance from multi-Grammy-award winning artist, Maxwell, who was announced as the newest member of the Open Your Eyes Scholarship board of directors.

Maxwell also announced a frame collaboration with STATE, launching on February 1. The limited edition Maxwell x STATE frame is called Reunion, after a song on Maxwell’s debut album, Urban Hang Suite. STATE will be donating a portion of proceeds from the frame to the scholarship program, with a minimum of $5,000 being donated to the program. The frames will be available for purchase at stateopticalco.com; through Maxwell’s website, musze.com; and through a small number of STATE’s independent eyecare partners.

Maxwell said, “I remember getting my first pair of glasses and I remember what that did for me, how it changed by ability to learn and how it changed my life. The little boy in me wants to thank everyone here and I am excited to give this gift to others.”

Scott Shapiro, vice president at Europa Eyewear, said, “This is an amazing program because opticianry is a gateway to the rest of the industry. We can start to include more diverse people in the industry through opticianry.”

Several optical companies also made pledges during the event to contribute to the scholarship program, including:

• Tim Mayhew, CEO at Luxury Optical Holdings, announced the company would donate $25,000 to the scholarship program. Mayhew said, “Two years ago, LOH founded an opticianry school. Last year, LOH hired Dr. Tenny Mickey PHD and embraced a conscious journey to a more inclusive culture. But neither effort will be successful without the direct community outreach and development that the Open Your Eyes Scholarship is spearheading. We are incredibly grateful to be included.”

• Tracy Scott, director of philanthropy/diversity/equity/inclusion at National Vision Inc., announced that National Vision Inc. would sponsor six $15,000 scholarships over two years, for a total pledge of $90,000 over two years. Reade Fahs, CEO at National Vision, Inc., said, “The ability to see clearly is something needed by people of every background, race, gender, and demographic, and we believe the optical industry should be led by highly educated professionals who reflect the diversity of the people we care for. Our investment in this scholarship improves access to education for talented students and honors our commitment to building a more inclusive future for the next generation of optical professionals.”

• Sue Downes, CEO of MyEyeDr., announced that the company would contribute $5,000 in 2021, with the intent of donating incrementally larger amounts each year. Downes said, “MyEyeDr. is proud to be a part of this important initiative to support high school students in marginalized communities to access the training and education they need to launch careers in opticianry. We have an exciting and vibrant profession and we have a caring and welcoming community within opticianry. Let’s celebrate that and bring even more people into our field. This program will build a pipeline of diverse and deserving students, and we all benefit when our teams represent the communities that they serve.”

• Alessandro Baronti, CEO at DeRigo Rem, pledged to donate $5,000 to the program.

Additionally, during the event, Wendy Salle, founder of Salle Opticians, an independent boutique in Atlanta, made a $1,000 pledge to the program and challenges her fellow independent retailers and designers to match her.

The Vision Council also announced a new collaboration between Tarrence Lackran, The Vision Council’s director of partnerships and programming, known as @theopticalpoet on social media, and U.K.-based company, Frame Chain. The collaboration, The Optical Poet X Frame Chain, will feature the “Time for Change Chain,” which will be available for pre-order soon. Additionally, until February 28, the optical community is encouraged to shop Frame Chain’s website with the code “OYES” to receive 50 percent off their order, 10 percent of which will be donated to the scholarship program.

The Better Vision Institute is an Educational Foundation connected to The Vision Council. While largely inactive for the last several years, The Vision Council has continued to maintain the Foundation until it was needed. The Foundation will now be activated to make educational grants.

The Open Your Eyes Scholarship program is still accepting contributions. To donate to the Open Your Eyes Scholarship Program directly, please click here