VISION TO LEARN

Vision To Learn has developed a low-cost model to equip children in underserved communities with vision care. Our goal is to ensure that every child in America has the glasses they need to succeed in school and in life.

*Serve children in underserved communities throughout the nation.
*Continue to provide access to basic vision care and deliver consistent high-quality vision services.
*Ensure program remains cost effective.
*Continue to support independent research on the impact of Vision To Learn.
*Build additional partnerships so that Vision To Learn reaches as many children as possible.

In our nearly ten years of operation, Vision To Learn (VTL) has grown from a single clinic in Los Angeles to a nationwide organization with 31 clinics operating in 13 states plus the District of Columbia. Along the way, we have developed key capabilities, which we highlight below.
• Proven Service Model – VTL has established a scalable, low cost, high-quality service delivery model.
• Extensive Community Based and Local Philanthropic Relationships – To achieve our rapid growth, VTL has stewarded partnerships with school districts nationwide, major sports organizations, medical partnerships, Rotary Clubs, Boys and Girls Clubs, local funders and champions, and coalitions of private and public funders.
• Measurement - Vision To Learn tracks vision screenings, eye exams, glasses dispensed, and vision correction in a secure, cloud-based Electronic Medical Records (EMR) database, updated in real-time by optometric staff in our mobile clinics. We use this data to support reporting requirements to our funders and internally against geographic goals for the number of exams and glasses provided across all our clinics operating in the region.
• Evidence of Impact – Two rigorous independent studies have validated the impact of our work.

UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital Study found that children helped by VTL can expect to receive the following benefits:
• Improved Access to Care: 92% of teachers and 90% of parents surveyed felt their students would not have received glasses without Vision To Learn.
• Prevention of Blindness: Students with more serious eye conditions like amblyopia and strabismus were referred to follow-up care, reducing their future risk of permanent blindness.
• Academic Improvement: Students receiving glasses from Vision To Learn showed improvements in math and reading GPAs in the year following the intervention.
• Higher Self Esteem: Group screening and exams reduced the stigma traditionally associated with wearing glasses for students and encouraged children to wear and protect their glasses.

Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins University Study
Students with glasses made higher gains in reading and math, at levels exceeding the gains of other common educational interventions like charter schools, extended school days, or one-on-one technology. In fact, on average, students made additional gains on the level that would be expected from adding an additional two to four months of class time. For students previously scoring in the lowest quadrant of test scores, and those taking Special Education classes, the gains were even larger – comparable to adding four to six months of additional class time.

Since our founding in 2012, Vision To Learn (VTL) has helped provide more than 1.5 million children with vision screenings, 328,000 with eye exams, and 262,000 with glasses in more than 500 underserved communities across the country. VTL currently operates in 13 states (California, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina), and the District of Colombia.
VTL has received national recognition for our work helping children in underserved communities. In 2013, VTL received the "State Gold Award" from the California Teachers Association. VTL was recognized by the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics by President Barack Obama, named one of the Initiative's 2015 "Bright Spots In Hispanic Education." In addition, VTL was called a "Pacesetter Program" by Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, reflecting VTL's commitment to improving academic achievement and a child's life prospects. In 2019, Senator Chris Coons (D-CT) and Joni Ernst (R-IA) presented bi-partisan Senate Resolution 222, co-signed by 43 U.S. Senators, recognizing VTL's contributions. Additionally, The Washington Post, PBS, NBC Nightly News, and ESPN have all spotlighted our critical role in supporting children's health and education.

What’s next? Currently, we have an urgent plan to provide children in need with vision services so that they can recover from learning loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ultimately, we believe that Vision To Learn has the opportunity and the potential to serve the majority of the two million children who need glasses and cannot access them today.