The Benefit to Providing Students With Glasses at No Cost Is Easy to See

By Giving List Staff   |   November 4, 2024

Eyeglasses are such a commonality that most people go through the day assuming that everyone who needs a pair of glasses already has them. Most people, perhaps, but certainly not the team behind Vision To Learn, who knows first-hand how children everywhere are having trouble learning at school solely because they can’t properly see. It’s a problem they’re all too familiar with and work to eradicate.

Since its founding in 2012, Vision To Learn (VTL) has been delivering glasses at no cost to children who need them in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and all over the country.

“Vision To Learn works to solve a widespread problem in American education,” says VTL’s National Director and Chief of Staff, Damian Carroll. “One in four students needs glasses to see the chalkboard, read the book, or otherwise engage in the classroom.” 

How can there be so many students without their necessary glasses? Carroll points out that the issue for students isn’t necessarily one of affordability, usually it’s about a lack of access, stemming from the seldom-addressed effects of institutional poverty. It could be parents working two jobs and not having the time to take their child to an eye doctor’s appointment. Other times, it’s a transportation issue.

These are barriers easily overcome thanks to the services that Vision To Learn provides. Instead of getting the child to the eye doctor’s office, they deliver the doctor’s office straight to the children at their schools in the form of a “mobile vision clinic.” Licensed optometrists roll up to the school grounds in a fully-equipped office within a Sprinter van, providing students with vision screenings, eye exams, and a pair of glasses for each student who needs them – all at no cost to the student or their family.

You can think of Vision To Learn as a sort of Santa Claus for visually impaired children. One might be surprised by the sheer number of students who benefit from these mobile visits: Anywhere from a quarter to a third of each school’s students will get the glasses they need thanks to these programs.

And while clear vision is a wonderful enough benefit in its own right, there are still several more benefits, namely that students empowered with proper eyesight show remarkable improvement in learning at school. According to a John Hopkins School of Education study on the subject, providing glasses to students in need is the equivalent of adding two to six months of classroom time to their school year. That’s more effective than providing students with an iPad, and for kids with the toughest learning challenges, as effective as providing one-on-one tutoring.

“It’s rewarding to see how tangible and concrete our impact is,” says Carroll. “On any given school day in Los Angeles, there are eight mobile clinics helping hundreds of kids. There were 100,000 eye exams conducted within the 2023-24 school year alone.”

Vision To Learn’s program is a well-oiled machine and children across California are all the better for the services they provide. “I would say we are the leader in this field nationally,” says Carroll. “Other cities and states are taking note of our success.” 

 

Vision To Learn

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www.visiontolearn.org
(310) 893-2336
National Director and Chief of Staff: Damian Carroll

Mission

Vision To Learn was founded to make sure every child has the glasses he or she needs to succeed in school and in life. Its mobile clinics solve the problem by bringing eye exams and glasses, free of charge, to children at schools in low-income communities.

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Vision To Learn is making sure that access to a pair of glasses never stands between children and their ability to see the board, read a book, or participate in class. It is such a cost-effective yet powerful way to improve a child’s learning experience and make sure they do not fall behind. Vision To Learn helps some of the hardest-to-reach children and your donations will mean more students receiving the eye care and glasses they need to learn and live clearly.
Nicholas Kristof
Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning
New York Times columnist

Helping Young Students Get the Eyeglasses They Need to Succeed

Providing glasses to students with vision issues really is among the low-hanging fruits of educational interventions. The problem is simple to understand, easy to remedy, and Vision To Learn has been very successful executing that remedy. 

Heading into 2025, Vision To Learn (VTL) and Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles announced a groundbreaking new initiative to provide all 19,000 children in the Compton Unified School District with comprehensive eye care at no cost to the children or their families. 

But more than anything, VTL is seeking funding for their core operation, expanding their fleet of mobile clinics that are the base for their free eye exams and servicing an expanding number of school districts. The program is as strong as ever, and they’ll keep going to ensure that no student is left in the dark.

Key Supporters

Beutner Family Foundation
Blue Meridian Partners
Boeing Global
Engagement Foundation
Deerbrook Charitable Trust
Focusing Philanthropy
Frank McHugh-O’Donovan
Foundation, Inc.
L.A. Clippers Foundation
L.A. Dodgers Foundation
MetLife
OneSight Essilor Luxottica
Foundation
Panda Cares
Shea Family Charities
Silicon Valley
Community Foundation
Sobrato Philanthropies
The Eli and Edythe Broad
Foundation
Warby Parker
Warriors Community Foundation