Lake Country Optometry donated 100 per cent of its fees from eye exams on World Sight Day earlier this month, continuing its long support of a program designed to help what’s called avoidable blindness.
Dr. Karla Reimer and Dr. Paul Rollett of Lake Country Optometry have been taking part in the World Sight Day Challenge this month to help give the gift of vision to people in under-served communities around the world.
Now in its ninth year, 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.
On World Sight Day (October 8) Dr. Reimer donated 100 per cent of her eye exam fees to help the more than 600 million people in the world who are blind or vision impaired because they do not have access to an eye exam or glasses. The practice is also raising awareness of the cause and welcoming donations from the public throughout October. The campaign is run by global charity Optometry Giving Sight.
“I have supported Optometry Giving Sight for several years,” said Dr. Reimer. “Preventable blindness is a solvable problem and we are proud to help give better vision to those in need. Most people are surprised to learn how little it takes to provide someone living in an under-served community an eye exam and a pair of glasses which can transform their lives. Everyone can make a huge difference and we are thrilled to be contributing to universal eye health.”
Participating is easy – simply make a single or monthly donation before the end of October. Members of the community are welcome to visit Lake Country Optometry during October to make a donation.
Transforming Lives:
Annie and Sonia are two of 1,500 children who benefitted from a recent screening program in Cap Haitian, Haiti. Poor vision made it very difficult for them to see the teachers’ writing on the blackboard. They were identified as having astigmatism and were referred to the Vision Plus Clinic, partly funded by Optometry Giving Sight, for a full examination and to obtain glasses. “Thank you for helping my daughters see the world,” a grateful Mrs. Charles said after her 6-year-old daughter, Sonia, put on her first pair of glasses.
To date, Optometry Giving Sight has disbursed more than US$10 million in funding from donors and sponsors to 72 projects in 42 countries. For more information, go to www.givingsight.org.
Lake Country Optometry is located at 49-9522 Main Street in Lake Country.
Call 250-766-4240 to schedule an appointment.
World Sight Day is an annual day of awareness held 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) as part of the VISION 2020 Global Initiative. It is supported by eye health organizations around the world – including Optometry Giving Sight – and is included on the official World Health Organization (WHO) calendar. This year’s World Sight Day was on October 8th. This year’s call to action is: Eye Care for All.
Optometry Giving Sight is the only global fundraising initiative that specifically targets the prevention of blindness and impaired vision due to uncorrected refractive error (URE) – simply the need for an eye examination and glasses.
It was established in 2003 by the World Council of Optometry, the Brien Holden Vision Institute and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness as a means of mobilizing support from the global eye care profession and industry to help eliminate the backlog of people who are needlessly blind or vision impaired – currently estimated at more than 600 million worldwide. It is a registered charity in Canada and the USA.
Optometry Giving Sight funds the development of sustainable eye and vision care projects in communities where these do not currently exist. These projects focus on local training and capacity building; infrastructure development and the delivery of accessible and affordable vision care services.
How donations can help:
$50 can help provide a study kit to an optometry student
$100 can help provide 20 people with access to an eye exam and glasses
$300 can help to provide a child size trial frame for a community based vision center
$1,200 could pay a month’s salary for an optometrist to see up to 40 patients a day
