One out of four school children in the U.S. has vision problems, and 86% do not get their vision checked before age 12.
Many Fresh Air children do not have access to affordable vision care. Glasses break, are too expensive to replace, or are never prescribed in the first place. And often as a result, children’s performance in academics, sports and activities suffers. For the fifth summer in a row, OneSight offered to bring their traveling optical clinic to all five Fresh Air Fund camp. Together with OneSight’s Vision Vans – and a team of local doctors and volunteers, OneSight provides free eye exams and eyewear to thousands of children in need each year.
This summer at Fresh Air camp, OneSight’s staff screened 3,295 children and counselors, gave 1,757 eye exams, and made 1,629 pairs of glasses, with 1,458 of them on-site and 171 specially driven in. The team stayed at Camp Hayden-Marks for two camp sessions, to make sure every child who needed the gift of sight was screened.
Although you might think some children would be reluctant to be prescribed glasses, most of them are delighted. They’ve been missing out on the world around them for too long. (Being able to pick out their own frames helps, too.) Our friends at OneSight told us about a boy at Camp Mariah who ran to the Vision Van before the team had even begun setting up in the morning. “You guys have the van, right,” he said, clapping and jumping up and down. “The one that I can get glasses from?” We thank OneSight and you, for helping inner-city children receive the services they need.
THE FRESH AIR FUND, an independent, not-for-profit agency, has provided free summer vacations to more than 1.7 million New York City children from low-income communities since 1877. Nearly 10,000 New York City children enjoy free Fresh Air Fund programs annually. In 2009, close to 5,000 children visited volunteer host families in suburbs and small town communities across 13 states from Virginia to Maine and Canada. 3,000 children also attended five Fresh Air camps on a 2,300-acre site in Fishkill, New York. The Fund’s year-round camping program serves an additional 2,000 young people each year. Visit http://freshairvision.org
Tags: camp, children, Fresh Air, volunteers
One comment
Posted by: Joey on November 23, 2009 at 7:23 pm
This is so awesome! I know my children are dependent on their glasses and would miss so much of life, not to mention school, without them. It’s an expense our family has to budget in, and I am thankful we can afford to do so. OneSight is so wonderful to provide this opporunity to those who cannot afford it!