The Joanna Foundation supports focus on children vision clinic at Chicora Elementary School
August 8, 2018
Association for the Blind & Visually Impaired – Charleston (ABVI) announced it has received a $4,128 grant from The Joanna Foundation to provide funding for a vision clinic at Chicora Elementary school. The clinic is part of ABVI’s Focus on Children program that provides free vision screenings, comprehensive eye exams, prescription glasses, referrals and eye care education to Charleston County students.
“The Joanna Foundation vision clinic will be held at Chicora Elementary school on Tuesday, October 2 for students who are enrolled in the Head Start and Child Development programs at the school,” said Courtney Plotner, Chief Executive Officer of ABVI. “We are grateful to The Joanna Foundation for recognizing the importance of our Focus on Children program and the work we do to ensure that Charleston’s youngest students are not placed at an academic disadvantage due to an undiagnosed vision problem.”
Through Focus on Children, ABVI provides free, comprehensive vision care, including prescription glasses and referrals to Charleston County students, mostly from Head Start and Child Development programs. Annually, the clinics serve more than 1,500 students in 22 schools, 21 of which are Title I. A comprehensive eye exam for children not passing the initial screening is provided on site and, when indicated, ABVI provides free, prescription glasses and/or referrals to a doctor for follow-up care.
ABVI is currently looking for volunteers to support the Focus on Children clinics, which are being held August – October 2018. For more information about how you or your organization can help, contact Brooks Harken at [email protected].
The Joanna Foundation supports organizations and programs that strengthen community capacity and enhance individual involvement in achieving a better quality of life in Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester Counties as well as the communities of Newberry and Joanna, SC. For more information on The Joanna Foundation, please visit https://joannafoundation.org/.
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.
