VSP Vision Care programs provide free eye care, eye wear

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VSP Vision Care estimates it has spent about $150 million to provide free eye care and eyewear to 775,000 low-income, uninsured people in the past 15 years.

Rancho Cordova, CA-More than 775,000 school children, disaster victims, and others throughout the United States have received free eye care and eyewear via charity from not-for-profit vision benefits and services provider VSP Vision Care, according to the company.

Since 1997, VSP has invested nearly $150 million to provide comprehensive eye exams and glasses, as needed, to low-income, underinsured adults and children through charity programs such as Sight for Students and VSP Mobile Eyes. Additionally, the company supports communities across the United States affected by natural disasters through its network of doctors, business partners, and relief agencies to provide eye care to those in need.

The company was founded in 1955. Its longest-running charitable program, Sight for Students, provides free comprehensive eye exams and glasses, if needed, to about 50,000 children each year. The program works with non-profit community organizations, including Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Communities in Schools, Head Start, National Association of School Nurses, and Prevent Blindness America, which identify children eligible to receive eye care and eyewear.

Partnering with the company’s network of doctors, the VSP Mobile Eyes program stemmed from company relief efforts after hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The program now features three mobile clinics with exam rooms and dispensaries; two of the three also contain finishing labs to make eyewear on site.

“Partnering with VSP has helped us provide vision products to individuals affected by disasters, which supports their recovery and keeps them moving forward with their lives,” said Antoinette Kaguyutan, director of disaster fundraising from the American Red Cross.

VSP has responded to more than 100 natural disasters, including areas affected by tornados, such as Tuscaloosa, AL, and Joplin, MO. When not at disaster sites, the mobile eye-care clinics travel to community events across the United States to provide eye care and eyewear to the underserved. Since the first mobile clinic debuted in 2007, more than 1,000 VSP doctors have volunteered their time and services at more than 480 events, according to the company.

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