Three years ago, the EyeMobile for Children, a fully
mobile pediatric eye clinic for underprivileged children
under age six, was launched. The EyeMobile for Children
is part of the Save Our Children’s Sight program of
the Division of Community Ophthalmology in conjunction with
the Ratner Children’s Eye Center at the UCSD Shiley
Eye Center. The Save Our Children’s Sight Program
has screened over 17,000 low-income children at 140 preschool
locations in San Diego. After screening, children who need
a follow up eye examination and glasses receive full eye
exams by our optometrists on the EyeMobile for Children.
Recently, a grateful mother contacted Community Ophthalmology
after her daughter had been seen on the EyeMobile for Children.
She told us that when she picked her little 4 year-old daughter
up from school that day, she walked toward her mom wearing
her new glasses. As her daughter approached, she said, “Mommy,
I can see you!” The mother had been wondering why,
when the family would gather to watch television, the little
girl would move close to the TV, then far away, then side
to side. The mother thought maybe her daughter was hyperactive,
but now understands that she was trying to find a way to
see what the others were seeing. While she is happy that
her daughter can see now, she wonders how long the little
girl had not been able to see her or her surroundings. She
said that she was so grateful for our program, and that
she did not know when her daughter’s vision problem
would have been discovered without it.
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“This unique program gives children the vision they
need to succeed in school and in life,” states Barbara
Brody, Director of the Division of Community Ophthalmology.
Save Our Children’s Sight has been made possible in
part by First 5 Commission of San Diego, Lions Clubs International
Foundation, Lions Clubs District 4-L6, Alliance Healthcare
Foundation, The California Endowment, Mrs. Anne Ratner,
the Foster Family Foundation, Mr. & Mrs. Jerome Katzin,
San Diego Gas and Electric and other community minded philanthropists,
organizations, and professionals.
We are excited to celebrate three years of increasing success
reaching out to underprivileged preschool children. The
Division of Community Ophthalmology’s use of the latest
information technologies including electronic medical records,
dedicated multilingual staff and dozens of student and Lions
Clubs volunteers are the keys to success in optimizing resources
and benefits. As a result, we have been able to help thousands
of children see clearly. Still thousands more slip through
the cracks each year. We need your help to keep our program
growing and meeting the needs of San Diego County. Even
if your donation helps us reach out to just one more child,
that is one life that will be changed forever. Please help
us celebrate even more success in the next three years.
For more information or to donate to the Save Our Children’s
Sight program, please call 858-822-2831.
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