Category: News

Donations to Optometry Giving Sight make an impact by giving sight to people in need through the projects we fund. One of our funding priorities is to train local people as optometrists in the communities in which they live, all over the world. One of the most successful optometry schools we fund is in Mzuzu, Malawi. 

Dr. Allan Jones, an optometrist and one of our “boots on the ground” through our funding of Canadian Vision Care, offered the following testimonial about the work at the school and some of its students:

“I was setting up vision screenings with the optometry school in Mzuzu, Malawi. They were interesting as we had two buses of students at these clinics. We have another fifteen children screenings planned. I brought five suitcases of new ophthalmoscopes, retinoscopes, Volk lenses and a portable autorefractor for the school, along with numerous small items like occluders, near point cards and arclights for all the students.

I have spent a fair bit of time getting equipment functional and teaching repairs. The school is doing great, and OGS can be proud of this school. By February, there will be over 100 graduated optometrists! Quite the accomplishment – thanks to OGS!! With the increased class size, this number will increase quickly.

I am now in the southern part to do some clinics with graduates. Hopefully, another 600 children will receive first eye exams. There are three eye hospitals I am visiting with hopes of placing optometrists there.”

As Dr. Jones attests, the students in Mzuzu are making a tangible difference in their communities. You can see their pride as they graduate and receive their OGS white coats! Their dreams of becoming optometrists have come true. Their dreams of helping their fellow citizens are coming true. YOU have helped make those dreams come true.

Donations from people like you make possible the training of future optometrists around the world. The school in Mzuzu, Malawi is just one example of the training your dollars help fund. Each graduate will go on to help hundreds of people each year. Together, we can continue to grow optometry wherever it is needed.

Donations to Optometry Giving Sight make an impact by giving sight to people in need through the projects we fund. One of the projects we support established the Pediatric Refractive Error Training Center (PRETC) in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Dr. Minh Anh Tran, an optometrist, educator and supervisor at PRETC, tells the story of how a young boy’s life changed because of this support:

“It has been a few months since I first examined a little boy called Kiet. He was six years old at the time he first visited me. His mother raised concerns about his ability to see in daily life. He had been diagnosed with a rare disease that his mother couldn’t name, but it badly affects his visual acuity.

I still recall his presence enlightening our clinic. He seemed so intelligent and active that I observed a very ordinary boy despite knowing his history.

I did a low vision assessment on Kiet to evaluate his visual function. Kiet has nystagmus, macular atrophy, and high myopic astigmatism. Due to the condition, his visual field was intact, but his central vision was impaired badly. He struggled to read, write, watch television, look across the street, and spot anyone from a distance. He needs light to read at near, even larger print. He can walk well in bright conditions. 

After refining his glasses, the Teaching Assistants and I took out a series of low-vision devices for him to trial. His vision improved with a simple device, the telescope. This device magnifies the image to six times bigger and helps Kiet see objects from a distance. Kiet was overtly happy that he could now read what was far away. In fact he was ecstatic about it. I saw tears of joy in his mother’s eyes. That night, his mother texted me that she was so happy to see Kiet using the telescope and reading a letter on the community board. We call it ‘the moment’!

I am looking forward to seeing Kiet again in the next few months when the pandemic reduces; we can try other near devices that may benefit him even better.

The PRETC is where my students learn from all the cases we treat. I hope, like me, they enjoy ‘the moment’ with their patients. My best wishes to Kiet; I hope he studies well in school and will always be happy in life.”

Donations from people like YOU make the lives of people like Kiet’s much brighter. The Pediatric Refractive Error Training Center (PRETC) project in Hanoi, Vietnam is implemented by funding partner Brien Holden Foundation through funding from Optometry Giving Sight donors.

Stay tuned for more stories about the impact you are making every day.

Optometry Giving Sight (OGS) is pleased to announce that Lois Schoenbrun, CAE (Ret.), FAAO, has been appointed Interim Executive Director, effective April 11, 2022.

Ms. Schoenbrun formerly served as Executive Director of the American Academy of Optometry and the American Academy of Optometry Foundation from 1996 to 2019. Ms. Schoenbrun’s tenure at the Academy saw substantial growth in membership, annual meeting attendance, and assets, as well as significantly enhanced standing within the optometric community. She is now president of Schoenbrun Consulting, LLC, providing fund-raising, strategic planning, governance, and executive coaching services to such other clients as the Sport and Social Industry Association, the World Council of Optometry, and the World Optometry Foundation.

“We are delighted to have Ms. Schoenbrun’s experience and knowledge of the profession during this time of critical need for global eye and vision care services. She brings many years of proven organizational and leadership skills, and the interpersonal skills needed to represent OGS well to our global partners,” said Dr. Juan Carlos Aragon, Board Chair for the US and President, CooperVision Specialty Eye Care.

1.2 billion people need help to see. Communities around the world suffer from unnecessary blindness or vision impairment simply because they don’t have access to eye exams and appropriate glasses. With the support of the optometry industry, optometry professionals, patients, and donors, Optometry Giving Sight funds programs to deliver desperately needed vision care, train local eye care professionals, and develop sustainable infrastructure in developing countries.

OGS expects to launch a search for a new Executive Director in 2022.

Optometry Giving Sight (OGS) is pleased to announce that for 2021 it has awarded over $800,000 in grant funding for eye care projects around the world for communities in need.

In a joint statement from Juan Carlos Aragon OD, Chair of the U.S. board, and Susan Cooper OD, Chair of the Canadian board, “We are delighted that we were able to designate funds for 26 projects in over 21 different countries, including the United States and Canada, during our Spring and Fall funding cycles. We want to thank all our donors for their incredible support this year.”

Anne Marie Hand, Executive Director at Optometry Giving Sight, stated, “Our donors truly make a difference in the lives of thousands of people every year and we are so grateful for their support. All the projects we funded represent our dedication to the three pillars of OGS:

• Train community members to become eye care professionals
• Establish and support schools of optometry and vision centers
• Deliver eye care services to communities in need ”

Starting in 2022, and in subsequent years, OGS will move from two funding cycles per year to one, which will occur each summer. More information will be available early in 2022 on our funding page.

The following table provides the names of all our implementing partners who received a  grant in 2021.

Your donations to Optometry Giving Sight helped fund Canadian Vision Care’s support for eye care in Manila, Philippines. Their partnership with the SPECS Eye Train Clinic provides eye care out of two creatively converted railway cars.

In the month of March 2021 alone, the clinic was able to help 195 walk-in patients and provided 145 free eyeglasses. As well, the clinic serves local orphanages and schools. COVID is causing some challenges but they are getting as much work done as they can.

Dr. Eustaquio who works at the clinic said, “I know, even though we can’t see their smile behind the facemask, their heart is full of gratitude to the SPECS Foundation, Canadian Vision Care and Optometry Giving Sight for helping them to have better eyesight through providing them with free eyeglasses.”

The Eye Train Clinic also provides clinical experience to Central Manila University optometry students. In the future, there are plans to build a small Eye Centre side-by-side with the clinic to serve as a training centre for graduating optometry students.

Because of funding from Optometry Giving Sight, the Eye Train Clinic has benefited by receiving new lens kits, trial frames and an autorefractor helping them to continue providing quality vision care to those in need.

Thank you for giving sight and opportunity to people around the world!

Over 1,000 Eyecare Professionals Participate in Charitable Giving Initiative.

Eyes On Dry Eye, held April 23-24, 2021, was pleased to choose Optometry Giving Sight as the charity of choice for the event. The charity was spotlighted in the Virtual Conference Bag, and attendees were invited to click a button for which Eyes On Dry Eye would donate $1 in their name. At the end of the event, Eyes On Dry Eye donated $1,500 to Optometry Giving Sight on behalf of the event attendees, and $500 each to Sjogren’s foundation, Dry Eye foundation, and VOSH International on behalf of the participants of the Dry Eye Game Show.

Eyes On Dry Eye was created with the intent to equip optometrists and other eyecare professionals with free continuing education, live talks with leading experts in dry eye diagnosis and management, virtual vendor booths, raffle prizes, and a hefty dose of the fun and inspiration Eyes On event attendees have come to expect. Founded by Damon Dierker, OD, FAAO and Ahmad Fahmy, OD, FAAO, Dipl ABO in 2020, the event was first held as Everything Dry Eye.

“We couldn’t be more excited to partner with Optometry Giving Sight for this event,” says Matt Geller, OD and co-Founder of Eyes On Eyecare, the parent company of Eyes On Dry Eye. “It’s a truly great organization doing tremendous work on an initiative that as optometrists we’re all passionate about: restoring vision and providing eye care.”

Eyes On Eyecare will continue to hold virtual events for the eyecare community, including events focused on disease states such as dry eye, glaucoma, and others, as well as the optometry conference Eyes On 2022. The organization plans to continue with charitable giving initiatives like this one, that keep event attendees engaged and raise awareness about visionary organizations in the eyecare industry.

“Even if attendees don’t donate themselves—though we hope they will—we’re looking forward to getting them involved in the donation process,” says Dr. Geller. “Our events are built around the experience, and we want to make sure there’s something for everyone wherever they look.”

Click here to make a donation to Optometry Giving Sight.