Local optometrists Dr. Tanner Udenberg, Dr. Michael Rowe, Dr. Meghan Ashton, Dr. Doug Irwin and Dr. Tuck Warner of Vernon Optometry will be taking part in the World Sight Day Challenge during October and are inviting members of the community to have their vision and eye health checked during this time, to raise awareness of the annual campaign.
The World Sight Day Challenge is the largest annual global fundraising campaign to address avoidable blindness caused by uncorrected refractive error — simply the need for an eye exam and glasses.
During the month of October, Vernon Optometry will be holding a silent auction to help the more than 600 million people in the world who are blind or vision-impaired simply because they do not have access to an eye exam or glasses. The campaign is run by global charity Optometry Giving Sight. Items up for auction include shooting glasses, Fendi, Pucci, Zeal and Michael Kors sunglasses, annual and six-month supplies of contact lenses, Giorgio Armani perfume and more.
“I have proudly supported Optometry Giving Sight for six years,” said Ashton “The World Sight Day Challenge is a very positive campaign because preventable blindness is a solvable problem.”
“Most people are surprised to learn that just $5 can be enough to help provide an eye exam and a pair of glasses to someone living in an underserved community. Everyone can make a difference.”
More than $4,000 was raised in the 2012 campaign at Vernon Optometry’s clinic.
Participating is easy — simply make a single or monthly donation or auction bid before the end of October.
Vernon Optometry is at 3605-31st St. Call 250-542-4217 to schedule an appointment.
Thanks to past donations, Optometry Giving Sight has been able to fund 67 projects in 38 countries, including El Salvador, where last year local partner Fudem screened 64,000 school children in extremely poor communities.
World Sight Day (WSD) is an annual day of awareness on the second Thursday of October to focus global attention on blindness and vision impairment. It is coordinated by the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) under the VISION 2020 Global Initiative. Visit www.givingsight.org
