On Thursday, May 10th the ribbon was cut on Delano’s first OneSight school-based vision center, making desperately needed vision care and glasses more accessible than ever to over 7,000 elementary and middle school students in Delano. Located at Pioneer School, 1001 Hiett Ave, Delano, CA 93215, the vision center is being made possible through a partnership between the Delano Union Elementary School District (DUESD), OneSight, an independent nonprofit committed to eradicating the global vision care crisis, and Advanced Center for Eyecare (ACE), a local nonprofit that provides funding for eye care to Kern County’s underserved and uninsured population.
The Delano OneSight School-Based Vision Center is located at Pioneer School.
The vision center will play a crucial role in helping to remove vision barriers to Delano students’ academic success. Research shows that 80% of children’s learning occurs through visual processing and that clear vision empowers students to be twice as effective in school. Yet, one in four students in the United States has an undiagnosed vision problem significant enough to impair their academic performance. Without clear vision, a child cannot learn and live to their full potential.
“We know that children living in underserved communities are one of the most susceptible groups to undiagnosed vision problems,” said Mony Iyer, President and Executive Director, OneSight. “OneSight is proud to partner with DUESD and ACE to provide Delano students with access to quality vision care and glasses as there is no better feeling than helping a child reach their full potential.”
“At the vision center, ACE optometrists will provide DUESD students with comprehensive eye exams and glasses at no out-of-pocket cost, thus eliminating the financial burden for parents,” said Justin Cave, CEO of Advanced Center for Eyecare. “With the generous support from OneSight, we are very excited to be able to bring these much needed services to Delano and look forward to making a big impact on the lives of these local kids.”
Linda Hinojosa, R.N., Health Services Director for the Delano Union Elementary School District, knows from experience that Delano parents face many challenges in helping their students get the vision care they need. “Delano parents work very hard to provide for their children, but with Delano’s poverty rate of almost 30%, many are forced to prioritize putting food on the table over taking their child to an optometrist. This is why the school district is so proud to partner with OneSight and ACE to help our students see better and learn better. The school district will even provide students with free transportation from their school to the vision center and back, so parents do not have to take time off from work.”
This school-based vision care model has been tremendously successful at the Bakersfield City School District, and districts throughout the United States, where it has helped countless low-income students get the corrective eyewear they need to succeed academically and socially.
It’s an amazing experience to see a child’s face light up when they can finally see the world clearly again.
The Delano Union Elementary School District is comprised of twelve elementary and middle schools and serves over 7,100 students. With the median household income of a DUESD family around $36,244, over 80% of DUESD students participate in the free & reduced lunch program. In fact, the district offers a “universal feeding program,” which allows every student to eat breakfast, lunch, and supper for free at school. There are many factors that contribute to Delano’s severe health care disparity, including low median household income and related transportation issues, a large immigrant population that fears deportation, a general shortage of health and vision care providers, and generally low education levels.
The Advanced Center for Eyecare has had the tremendous pleasure to partner with OneSight on many local sight-restoring projects since 2012. Through seven multi-day vision clinics, which were held at schools, resource centers, malls, and fairgrounds throughout Kern County, ACE and OneSight have to-date helped over 4,600 local school children with free eye exams and glasses. At the OneSight School-Based Vision Centers in the Bakersfield City School District, ACE optometrists have been able to provide an additional nearly 4,300 eye exams and over 1,900 pairs of glasses to students in need, at no cost to the families.
OneSight, a global nonprofit 501(c)(3) sponsored and founded by Luxottica, is dedicated to providing sustainable access to a comprehensive eye exam and quality eyewear to those in need around the world. Over the past 30 years, OneSight has helped over 10 million people in 46 countries and 49 states see clearly. With the help of dedicated partners, over 88 permanent vision centers are operating today, providing ongoing access to vision care to more than 16 million people. By the end of 2018, 15 OneSight school-based vision centers will be open providing nearly 500,000 students and their families with access to vision care and glasses. For more information, visit www.onesight.org.
