City of Charleston to fund Association of the Blind vision clinics
April 25, 2018
Grant to Provide Funding at Two Charleston County Elementary Schools
Association for the Blind & Visually Impaired – Charleston (ABVI) is pleased to announce it has received a $7,180 grant from the City of Charleston’s Community Assistance Fund to provide funding for vision clinics at two Charleston County elementary schools. These funds will support the continuation of ABVI’s Focus on Children program which provides free vision screenings, comprehensive eye exams, prescription glasses, referrals and eye care education to Charleston County students.
Through Focus on Children, ABVI performs vision screenings on students in 22 Charleston County schools, 21 of which are Title I. ABVI then provides comprehensive eye exams for children not passing the initial screening and, when indicated, provides free, prescription glasses and/or referrals to a doctor for follow-up care.
“We are excited to announce the City of Charleston’s clinics will be held at Memminger Elementary and Mitchel Elementary School during the Fall of the 2018-19 school year,” said Courtney Plotner, Executive Director for ABVI. “We are grateful for the continued support we’ve received from the City of Charleston as we provide critical access to vision care for Charleston County preschool students.”
The children served by Focus on Children are all ages 3 to 5, and are mostly Head Start and Child Development students. The primary goals of Focus on Children are to restore vision and prevent the incidence of unnecessary vision loss. Through our program, we aim to catch and address vision impairments in children at an early age before permanent damage or interruption in the child’s educational career occurs.
For the 2017-18 school year, ABVI screened 1,579 preschool-aged students and 134 of those students received free prescription glasses. For more information on the Focus on Children program, please visit http://www.abvisc.org/who-we- are/.
For more information on the City of Charleston Community Assistance grants, please visit https://www.charlestoncounty. org/departments/community- development/PY18-RFA.php.
About Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired – Charleston
The Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired – Charleston’s mission is to empower individuals with blindness and visual impairment to lead safe, dignified, independent and rewarding lives and to prevent vision loss for adults in Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester Counties and children in Charleston County Title I schools. Founded in 1936, we have been serving the Tri-County area for over 80 years. We have three main programs supporting our mission: Focus on Adults, Focus on Children and Own Your Life. Focus on Adults and Focus on Children are preventative programs aimed at catching vision impairment in the early stages and restoring vision when possible. Own Your Life is geared towards helping our blind and visually impaired clients attain independence in their personal and professional lives. In addition, we provide guide dog scholarships for our clients as well as opportunities for social engagement.
