Pearle Vision and OneSight Launch ABSee Program to Provide Quality Eye Care to School-age Children in Need
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Pearle Vision and OneSight understand that access to high quality eye care is critical to help children unlock their true potential and achieve their dreams. That’s why they have come together to launch a new program, ABSee, powered by Pearle Vision and OneSight. ABSee will provide no-cost access to eye care and corrective eyewear to children in need in neighborhoods across North America where Pearle Vision EyeCare Centers are located.
Today, on World Sight Day, volunteers from Pearle Vision, one of the largest optical retailers in North America, and OneSight, a global vision care nonprofit, will work together to provide eye exams and glasses to hundreds of students at Earle Brown Elementary School in Brooklyn Center, Minn., at the first of 10 planned vision care clinics. World Sight Day, coordinated by The International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, is held annually on the second Thursday in October to focus global attention on blindness and vision impairment.
Over the next 12 months, ABSee will bring vision care clinics to cities from Atlanta to Seattle and from Toronto to Puerto Rico. At these clinics, volunteers will conduct vision tests and optometrists will perform eye exams on board a state-of-the-art mobile vision unit.
“Pearle Vision has been a long-time supporter of OneSight, and we are thrilled to bring our relationship to the next level with ABSee,” said Alex Wilkes, General Manager of Pearle Vision. “We know that getting a pair of glasses can be life-changing for a child with a vision problem. With ABSee, we are underscoring our longstanding commitment to caring about the people behind the eyes, ensuring that every child, especially those with financial need, has access to quality eye care and corrective eyewear.”
One in four school-age children in the U.S. has an undiagnosed vision care problem, according to the American Optometric Association. Because 80 percent of learning is visual for children, it can become a challenge for students to achieve their full potential in school and in life.
Pearle Vision was founded by Dr. Stanley Pearle, whose mandate was, “Take care of the people.” Pearle Vision has long prided itself on doing just that, inspiring trust in its patients and adopting the now-iconic slogan, “Nobody cares for eyes more than Pearle.”
Wilkes said, “Every day, we see patients in our EyeCare Centers who have vision care needs, and we are there to help them see more clearly. But if we truly are the brand that cares for eyes more than anyone else, we also have an obligation to improve the lives of the community outside our doors, and especially for the most vulnerable members of that community. ABSee provides an excellent opportunity for us to do that.”
“OneSight is proud to partner with Pearle Vision to bring clear sight to students in need across our local communities,” said K-T Overbey, OneSight President and Executive Director. “We believe everyone deserves access to clear sight and by working together, we can help students see and learn to their potential this school year and beyond.”
In addition to Pearle Vision’s corporate support for ABSee, patients visiting EyeCare Centers will be invited to support the program.
For more information about ABSee, please visit www.pearlevision.com/ABSee.
About Pearle Vision
Pearle Vision was founded in 1961 by Dr. Stanley Pearle, who began the concept of one-stop, total eye care with the opening of the Pearle Vision Center in Savannah, Ga. Dr. Pearle combined complete eye exams with an extensive selection of eyewear. In 1981, Pearle Vision began offering franchise opportunities to select doctors and opticians. Today, with more than 500 EyeCare Centers located throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, Pearle Vision is built around a doctor-centered business model with a primary focus to deliver genuine eye care to patients and become the neighborhood trusted source for all their eye care and eye wear needs. Pearle Vision is owned by Luxottica, a leader in premium fashion, luxury and sports eyewear. For more information, visit PearleVision.com. To learn more about the Pearle Vision franchise opportunity, visit ownapearlevision.com or call 1-800-PEARLE-1.
About OneSight
OneSight is the leading global nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing access to an eye exam and glasses to the 1.1 billion people who have no way to get them. We have a proven model that provides permanent access to vision care and glasses and we are pioneering new ways to deliver quality vision care to the most remote communities. We believe one’s location and circumstances should not stand in the way of one’s potential. Our goal is to create a world where lack of access to vision care is no longer a barrier to human achievement, and every donation gets us one step closer to making that world a reality. For more information, visit www.onesight.org.