MOBILE CLINICS TO PROVIDE FREE EYE SCREENINGS, EYE EXAMS, AND PRESCRIPTION GLASSES TO CHILDREN OF LOW-INCOME COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT NEW JERSEY
What: Children from low-income communities to receive free eye exams and glasses
When: Tuesday, July 27, 10 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. ET
Where: Hands In 4 Youth/ Camp Vacamas, 256 Macopin Road, West Milford, NJ 07480
On July 27, 2021, Jonas Philanthropies’ Vision Health program will be partnering up with Vision to Learn, to provide free screenings, eye exams, and glasses to the children of Hands In 4 Youth, Camp Vacamas. On Tuesday, Vision to Learn will be disseminating glasses to the children, where media will have the opportunity to capture images/video of the mobile clinic and the children trying on their glasses for the first time. Media will also be able to speak with health professionals and partnership leaders about the incredible work they are doing to set these children for success — one pair of glasses at a time.
Prior to the pandemic, Jonas Philanthropies as part of its Vision Program were supporting exams and glasses to the students of New York schools from low-income communities. Since schools are out for COVID, Jonas Philanthropies saw an opportunity to partner with Vision to Learn to set up an alternative route of accessibility by bringing mobile clinics to the children in summer programs throughout the state of New Jersey to provide them with proper vision care. At Camp Vacamas, Jonas Philanthropies and Vision to learn will provide the children with 330 eye screenings, 75 eye exams and donate 60 pairs of prescription glasses.
Running as a full summer program, Jonas Philanthropies and Vision to learn will continue bringing accessible vision care to 10 summer camps throughout the state of New Jersey this year. In total, their work will be able to provide 2,695 screenings, 1,057 exams and provide 864 pairs of glasses to children.
Available Spokespeople:
- John Jonas, Vice President of Jonas Philanthropies
- Giovanni Restrepo, Regional Manager of Vision to Learn
- Monica Wilburn, Optician
- Dr. Christienne Aure, Optometrist
About Jonas Philanthropies
Jonas Philanthropies is transforming our communities for the better by investing where it matters most, in solutions that can be scaled for the greatest impact. Its programs address high-need issues and audiences with high-impact solutions: promoting leadership in nursing and veterans healthcare, preventing and treating low vision and blindness, protecting our children’s environmental health, and taking care of our climate. For more information about Jonas Philanthropies, visit jonasphilanthropies.org, follow us on Twitter, or like us on Facebook.
About Jonas Vision Health
Jonas Vision Health is a program of Jonas Philanthropies. Jonas Vision Health has been working with Vision To Learn to eliminate the barriers that prevent kids from getting proper vision care. Since COVID-19, Jonas Vision partners administer vision screenings and eye exams on location and provide prescription glasses, which each child handpicks in a trunk show setup at location. For many kids, this is their first pair of glasses and a truly special moment. For more information about JCH, visit jonasphilanthropies.org, follow us on Twitter, or like us on Facebook.
About Vision To Learn
Vision To Learn, a non-profit charity, started with one van in Los Angeles in 2012 and now helps kids in low-income communities in over 330 cities in 13 states. Vision To Learn serves the needs of the hardest-to-reach children; about 90% of kids served by Vision To Learn live in poverty and about 85% are kids of color. Since its inception, Vision To Learn has helped provide vision screenings to over 1,000,000 kids, provided over 225,000 kids with eye exams and over 190,000 with glasses, all free of charge to students and their families. For more information on Vision To Learn, please visit www.visiontolearn.org.