It was a vision worth seeing when more than 60 students received free prescription glasses at West Park Elementary School.
“I can see much better,” said Annabelle Quick, 8, a second grader at West Park Elementary, when she put on her pink square frames.
To celebrate the students’ sight of passage, West Park Elementary School, in collaboration with nonprofit organization Vision To Learn, had a ceremonial Eyeglasses Celebration on Wednesday, Nov. 20, in the school gymnasium.
“There are kids in urban and rural communities in every state who go to school and they can’t see the board because they don’t have a pair of glasses,” said Damian Carroll, national director for Vision to Learn. “We really think no student should go without the vision care that they need to be able to see clearly at school.”
West Park Elementary School Principal Juan Rodriguez said every year the students get vision screening, but this is the first year some received free glasses.
“I was honestly really excited. We found out about this in September that Vision to Learn wanted to come through and do this program with us,” Rodriguez said. “So obviously I jumped at the opportunity. Anything we can do to kind of give our kids a little bit of help and even a head start in some cases.”
Students gathered inside the school gymnasium to receive their glasses and listen to a few guest speakers discuss the importance of vision in learning.
Hermiston School District Superintendent Tricia Mooney was among the speakers, along with Dr. Stephanie Uggen, an optometrist for Lifetime Vision Source.
Uggen said she has met children with visual impairments, who mix certain letters that share similar shapes and are mistakenly diagnosed with reading problems or a learning disability.
“When they start at a young age not being able to read and learn properly, it’s a little bit tough to get caught up,” Uggen said to the crowd. “So getting glasses as soon as they need to is very important. So thank you for the program for helping optometrists like me be able to reach our communities.”
After the speeches the young children filed in a long line in front of two tables, where they received their pair of prescription glasses.
Kaniyah Jenkins, 7, a second grader, said she felt better after donning her new eyewear.
Evelyn Jacob, 7, also a second grader, put on her frames and said it felt awesome and gave two thumbs up.
According to the Vision to Learn press release, about one and four children need glasses, but in many low-income communities, children often go without access to eye care. In Oregon, an estimated 40,000 students lack glasses they need.
An estimated 900 students in Hermiston lack the glasses they need to succeed in school, the press release said.
Christy Myers, lead secretary for West Park Elementary School, said this was the first group of local students to receive glasses. In a couple of months a second batch of young recipients will be provided with a free pair.
“Anything to help the kids is great,” Myers said. “Anything we can do to help them and keep them in school and make school easier for them is beneficial.”
Carroll said all glasses and vision exams are provided at no cost to the students or their families.
Toward the end of the event the kids celebrated their new vision with pastries and juices and sat for one final frame fitting.
