Morning Star Staff
Doctors and staff of Vernon Optometry have been acknowledged by Optometry Giving Sight as Gold award level fundraisers, thanks to their efforts during the 2013 World Sight Day Challenge.
Vernon Optometry raised funds during last year’s World Sight Day Challenge by holding a silent auction fundraiser. This money will be used to support sustainable eye care projects in underserved communities around the world, helping people who are needlessly blind and in urgent need of eye care.
“We are delighted to have received a Gold award,” said Dr. Tanner Udenberg. “I have supported Optometry Giving Sight for many years and am proud to donate to such a worthwhile cause.
“The World Sight Day Challenge is a great way to help support the millions of people who don’t have access to the basic eye care that we can take for granted.”
Thanks to the efforts of Vernon Optometry, 759 people around the world were provided with an eye exam and glasses.
Optometry Giving Sight is committed to supporting programs that focus on training local eye care professionals so that in time, people in need will have access to sustainable eye care from within their own community.
Last year saw many highlights, one of them being the graduation of 34 students from degree and diploma optometry programs in Africa. Collectively, these graduates have the potential to impact tens of thousands of lives in just their first year of practice.
Optometry Giving Sight is a joint initiative of the World Optometry Foundation, the International Centre for Eyecare Education and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness.
The World Sight Day Challenge is coordinated by Optometry Giving Sight which is designed to raise funds for projects that provide vision care, local training and infrastructure support for people who are blind or vision impaired due to uncorrected refractive error — simply the need for an eye exam and a pair of glasses.
