Local Optometrist, Dr Carla Eamon, is taking part in the World Sight Day Challenge during October to help give the gift of vision to people in underserved communities around the world. Now in its 14th year, the World Sight Day Challenge is Optometry Giving Sight’s largest annual fundraising campaign to address avoidable blindness caused by uncorrected refractive error – simply the need for an eye exam and glasses.

On World Sight Day (October 8), Dr Eamon will hold a celebration to raise funds to help the more than 1.2 billion people who are unnecessarily blind or vision impaired simply because they don’t have access to an eye exam and a pair of glasses. This year’s call to action is Hope is Sight.

“I have supported Optometry Giving Sight for 14 years,” said Dr Eamon. “Preventable blindness is a solvable problem, and we are proud to help give better vision to those in need. Most people are surprised to learn that for as little as $5, someone living in an underserved community can be provided with an eye exam and a pair of glasses to transform their lives. Everyone can make a huge difference, and we are thrilled to be contributing to universal eye health.”

Participating is easy – simply make a single or monthly donation before the end of October. This year’s campaign will help raise funds for more people like Claudia, from Mexico. Claudia faced great difficulty in being able to walk to school, see the board, and play with her friends: simply because she could not see. The day she received a pair of glasses from an Optometry Giving Sight funded program, everything in her life changed:

“Walking home from school will be easy now,” Claudia said happily. “I can see all my friends’ faces now. I won’t be scared of falling in the river because I cannot see where the path goes. I feel part of my own life again. Maybe now I can learn sports and catch the balls I couldn’t see before!”

World Sight Day is coordinated by the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) and is supported by eye health organizations around the world – including Optometry Giving Sight – and is included on the official World Health Organization (WHO) calendar.

Here are examples of how donations can help in developing countries:

  • $250 can screen and provide access to vision correction where needed for 50 children;
  • $500 can help train teachers to conduct visual acuity tests in the classroom;
  • $1,000 can provide access to vision screening and referrals for a whole school;
  • $1,500 can help governments develop policies that prescribe eye health programs in all schools.

We look forward to your support as we help to raise urgently needed funds for this critical cause. For more information, go to www.givingsight.org

Dr. C.L. Eamon is located at 212 Van Buren St, Unit 3. Call 613.258.7438 to schedule an appointment.

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