GISD Elementary Students Now in Focus Thanks to Gift of Sight Program
Article Date: 12/05/07
Fifth-grader Manuel Reyes will observe this holiday season with a much clearer perspective on life, and for good reason. The Sellers MS student was among several GISD schoolchildren who received a free pair of glasses Tuesday morning through LensCrafters and its “Give the Gift of Sight” program.
Partnering with local chapters of Lions Club, LensCrafters conducts the Gift of Sight program nationwide, throughout the year. Each fall, stores across the country participate in “Hometown Day,” allowing the optical retailer to work with local school districts in helping their students achieve the gift of sight.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for us to give back,” said Chris Deorocki, general manager of LensCrafters in Fire Wheel Town Center. “We’re not really a retail store. People don’t generally come here to buy gifts so, during the holidays, we change it up and give gifts of our own.”
Deorocki’s store partnered with the Dallas Association for the Blind to help make those gifts possible. The group found two local optometrists who conducted volunteer eye examinations on GISD students. Afterward, prescriptions were written for the kids and sent to LensCrafters to produce the glasses.
On Hometown Day – the first Tuesday of December – children visited LensCrafters where the glasses were double-checked for proper fit and performance. In all, Deorocki’s store serviced 41 GISD elementary students.
“Our kids need to be healthy to take advantage of the quality education we’re providing at GISD, and that includes taking care of their vision,” said Maggie Willis, director of Health Services for GISD. “So many of our kids come from hard-working families but, often, vision isn’t covered on their health insurance. This program remedies that and offers assistance on even more levels.”
LensCrafters supports international and North American mission programs throughout the year. Old eyeglasses can be turned in to any company store where they are cleaned, repaired, classified by prescription, then hand-delivered to those benefiting from the Gift of Sight.
In November, the program donated its six-millionth set of glasses during a two-week mission to Thailand.
For more information on the Gift of Sight program, contact Amy Ridgeway – Gift of Sight captain at Firewheel’s LensCrafters – at (972) 530-2500.