80 percent of learning is visual, so having strong vision is crucial in the classroom, especially for young children. It’s reading your first book, finally understanding the math equation on the whiteboard, or scoring your first goal in gym class.
Did you know that 1 in 4 students has an undiagnosed vision problem? The unfortunate reality is that not all children see clearly, and many cannot afford the care they need. By law, public school students must undergo simple vision screening in school, but according to the Colorado Optometric Association, these screenings miss between 70 and 80 percent of vision problems. Some families are unable to seek this follow-up care due to inconvenience and cost. Therefore, without proper vision correction, these students cannot thrive in the classroom.
At 2020 On-site, our vision is to restore the eye health of children in such scenarios. We believe that no one - especially today’s youth - should have to compromise their vision due to inconvenience or cost. Therefore, a portion of the proceeds from our corporate business enables us to give free eye exams and eyewear to children in need. Philanthropy is at the very heart of what we do and why we exist.
As we approach 2020 (our namesake year!), we’ll be kicking things off with our biggest philanthropy project yet. In partnership with Boston Public Schools, the New England College of Optometry, Boston Medical Center, Prevent Blindness, and Children’s Vision Massachusetts Center, we will ensure that over 10,000 underprivileged children have access to vision screenings and necessary follow-up care, including an eye exam and glasses, at no cost. In January, we will conduct over 20 school visits in Boston to deliver eye exams - and our entire company is participating! Our eye care team and headquarters team will conduct pre-testing and fit the children for their glasses, and our licensed optometrists will perform the comprehensive eye exams. Together, we will make sure that every child can see.
This program builds on the partnership we’ve had with Boston Public Schools since 2016. To date, we have given eye exams to over 1,000 students, and have donated over 500 pairs of glasses. We are thrilled to significantly expand the program this year.
Are you interested in helping us see more children by bringing 2020 On-site to your company? Learn more by contacting us here. You can also scroll to the bottom of this page to follow us on social media. We’ll be keeping our followers updated on our school visits during the month of January!
Stories from Public Schools
“Thank you to 2020 On-site for coming to Paul D West Middle School to provide much needed convenient vision screenings and glasses for our scholars! Just being able to see clearly makes a world of difference in a student’s life.” - R. Gilliam, Paul D West Middle School
“Ivanildo’s glasses arrived! Thank you so much! I [gave] them to him tonight at Prom! Ivanildo looked great and when I said I brought his glasses, you should have seen his face. He said, “Where, here? They came already? Can I please have them?” And he put them on and said “that’s much better” and said to thank you so much. Please thank everyone. The team either broke or tied previous record for students seen. And it went so smoothly! On Valentine’s Day we received 17 pairs of glasses - talk about happy students! A teacher came by afterward and said the whole class clapped when a young man came in wearing his new glasses.” - Patrice Ryan, former nurse at BCLA/New Mission
"Chelsea High is in its third year of partnership with the 2020 On-site mobile optometry clinic! The CHS Outreach Worker initiated this collaboration upon noticing the volume of students with vision impairments. Students reported that their top barriers to obtaining glasses were health insurance, cost, time, wait-lists at local agencies, and being recent arrivals and not knowing resources. After today's visit, the 2020 On-site mobile clinic will have supplied over 100 Chelsea High School students with FREE glasses REGARDLESS OF INSURANCE, thus having a direct impact on our students' ability to learn. For many teenage newcomers, this is the first vision screening and exam of their lives! We are so thankful for this agency's amazing work.” - Elizabeth Portnoy, Chelsea High School