Nora MacLellan is a member of the Westchester Rotary Club, which obtained a Rotary Foundation grant to support this project.
 
Vision to Learn was founded in 2012 in Los Angeles to address the problem of schoolchildren needing glasses who are unable to see the board, read a book, study math or participate in class. Most of these are low income and minorities who lack access to medical care and vision care. Vision to Learn has screened 120,000 children in Los Angeles and Sacramento, providing 20,000 with eye exams and 16,000 with free glasses and frames. If you can’t see, you can’t learn.
 
 
UCLA research showed that students helped by VTL have measurable improvement in grades, improving the learning environment for the entire classroom. It improves the children’s lives and make homework easier, and there is less acting out in class (from frustrations and boredom). Some of these had been labeled learning-disabled. There are an estimated 100,000 children who need glasses in Los Angeles County, 50,000 in California, and 1.5 million in the US. Because of its educational and social economic benefits, VTL has been considered a model for the rest of the nation.
 
Schoolchildren can be screened by a school nurse or volunteer, and those who show significant visual deficiency are referred for examination. The school gets a signed consent from the parents. A mobile eye clinic performs an exam and fits frames, and glasses are dispensed at the school 2 weeks later. (VTL has 1 large and 2 small eye clinic vehicles so far.)
 
PTL is supported by sponsors and partners, including foundations. The website is www.visiontolearn.org. There are several ways to partner with Vision to Learn:
  • Volunteer;
  • $20 buys frames;
  • $100 buys exam and glasses;
  • Sponsor a Title I school or organization, and make it a Community Project.