Every year in Toronto, over 16,000 students receive free vision and hearing checks in school-based clinics as part of the Sprott Assett Management Gift of Sight and Sound program. Thanks to the retail giant ClearlyContacts.ca, every child-in-need who requires glasses receives them completely free of charge. Since 2011, ClearlyContacts has provided close to 9,000 glasses.
On Thursday, March 12, 2015, as part of their Change The View project, ClearlyContacts employees joined TFSS on a “dispensing crawl”. They went to three different downtown schools for the final stage of the Gift of Sight and Sound program- when the students get fitted for their brand new, prescription filled glasses.
First stop was Queen Alexandra Public School where the ClearlyContacts staff members didn’t waste any time and dove right in to help the TFSS optician. The enthusiastic staff are all trained Opticians and helped to fit glasses on students, allowing them see them see the world more clearly.
Next stops were Blake Street Public School and Rose Avenue Public School where for many children, the glasses they received was the very first pair they've ever owned.
It’s very simple: if you can’t see the blackboard, it’s very hard to learn. Dr. Lee Ford-Jones, paediatrician at Sick Kids Hospital and University of Toronto professor says, “When vision impairment goes unchecked it becomes a kind of invisible disability, affecting literacy, numeracy and skill development. It can also contribute to social exclusion, as a child may hold herself back from play with peers, made difficult because of poor sight.”
Thanks to the generous partnership with ClearlyContacts, the Gift of Sight and Sound program continues to positively affect the lives of children in Toronto.
For more pictures from the event check out our Facebook page.
Recent Comments