Ophthalmic industry supports World Sight Day Challenge 2012

Eye care practices, optometry schools and corporations supported this year’s World Sight Day Challenge by raising awareness and funds to combat blindness due to refractive error.

Fun runs, bake sales, raffles, carnivals, giving trees, patient donations and personal donations were some of the ways more than 500 doctors, staff and practices joined with thousands of others to support the cause, according to an Optometry Giving Sight press release.

Transition Optical’s photo mosaic resulted in a $50,000 donation and an entry into the Guinness Book of World Records. Image: Optometry Giving Sight.

“The World Sight Day Challenge is perhaps the most unifying event in the eye care profession crossing all areas from the dispensary and the exam chair to the front desk as well as industry and colleges,” Mary Anne Murphy, OD, chair of Optometry Giving Sight USA, said in the press release. “As we join together to meet the challenge, we are reminded of the tremendous global scale the profession faces to end refractive error blindness.”

The World Health Organization reported in 2011 that the numbers of blind and vision impaired people had been reduced by 10% globally. With support from the World Sight Day Challenge, Optometry Giving Sight will be able to fulfill its commitment to fund 42 projects in 24 countries this year, which is up from 18 projects in 16 countries in 2011, the group reported. Two of these projects are funded in the U.S. and six are in Haiti, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Argentina.

Every optometry school in North America hosted fundraising events, according to Optometry Giving Sight. The Springfield Vision Clinic in Missouri staged a 5K run that raised nearly $5,000.

“The 5K was fun and easy to do,” Katie Robertson McElvaine, OD, said in the press release. “Our staff was energized and unified by such a great event to support the World Sight Day Challenge. What better team-builder than a project that builds community locally and helps people improve their lives globally?”

CooperVision sold bracelets and hosted fundraising events for staff, with the goal of raising $20,000. Once that goal is reached, the company will match it.

“Optometry Giving Sight is a global charity that we believe is having a substantial impact on the delivery of sustainable eye care services in underserved communities throughout the world,” CooperVision President John Weber, said in the press release.

Alcon made a donation for every child screened through the "Kids Sight for Life" program in schools in the Dallas/Fort Worth area on World Sight Day. Every child screened on that day was partnered with a child from a school in El Salvador, with letters and photos exchanged, celebrating the fact that they could now see clearly.

For the third year running, Optos made a donation for every Optomap taken on World Sight Day.

In its fifth year to participate in the World Sight Day Challenge, PRIMARY CARE OPTOMETRY NEWS publisher SLACK Inc. hosted a loaded baked potato bar and a “jeans day” on World Sight Day. The employees raised $700, and the company contributed an additional $300 to round up the donation to $1,000.

Salus University’s Pennsylvania College of Optometry sold t-shirts and raised $2,000.

TLC Laser Vision Centers donated $5 for every completed consultation between June and October, pledging $25,000.

Optometry Giving Sight was the beneficiary of the Transitions Optical “Sight of the Day” photo contest whereby a small donation was made for every photo uploaded to the company’s Sight Seeing website – resulting in a $50,000 donation. More than 175,000 photos were assembled at the Florida State Fair on World Sight Day, making the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest photo mosaic.

For more information, go to www.givingsight.org or call (800) OGS GIVE.

PRIMARY CARE OPTOMETRY NEWS provides this information as a service to its readers.