Uncasville, CT (March 22, 2022) – Today, the Connecticut Sun announced a community partnership with Vision To Learn. Vision to Learn is a non-profit charity that helps children in underserved communities receive prescription glasses. An organization founded to ensure that every child has the glasses they need to succeed in school and in life, Vision To Learn seeks to provide a solution to the approximately 2,000,000 children in this country without the access and resources they need to see the board, read a book or participate in class.
Founded in 2012, Vision To Learn visits schools where their staff—with help from educators, school nurses, and public health departments—provides children with eye exams and glasses, free of charge. Vision To Learn has screened over 1.5 million children across the country and has provided over 340,000 eye exams and 270,000 glasses nationwide to students in 14 states and the District of Columbia.
Vision To Learn will be bringing their services to the state of Connecticut, starting with students at the Silver Lane Elementary School in East Hartford. Those students are part of an estimated 40,000 children in Connecticut’s Alliance School Districts who go to school without the glasses they need every day. Vision To Learn Connecticut also partners with and serves students in Ansonia, East Haven, Winchester, Thompson, Manchester and Vernon Public Schools, in addition to community organizations in the summer months.
Vision To Learn will be kicking off their efforts in Connecticut with a launch event at the Silver Lane Elementary School on Friday, March 25 at 10:00 A.M. EST. The organization has been a Connecticut Sun “Change Can’t Wait” partner since July 2021, and Director of Franchise Development, Morgan Tuck, will be in attendance at the event to offer her support for the Sun’s community partner. “Vision To Learn is a wonderful ‘Change Can’t Wait’ partner for the Connecticut Sun, and we could not be more excited to have them come to Connecticut to provide our community’s children with the resources to be the best they can be in the classroom and in life,” Tuck said. “Vision To Learn is bringing a fresh perspective to what equity in underserved communities can look like, and the Connecticut Sun is thrilled to be a part of the effort.”
ABOUT VISION TO LEARN
Vision To Learn, a non-profit charity, was founded in 2012 by the Beutner Family Foundation. The program has helped kids in over 500 underserved communities in 14 states and the District of Columbia. Vision To Learn serves the needs of the hardest-to-reach children; about 90% of kids served by Vision To Learn live in poverty and about 85% are kids of color. Since its founding, Vision To Learn has helped provide more than 1.5 million children with vision screenings, over 340,000 with eye exams and 270,000 with glasses – all free of charge to children and their families. This year another 100,000 children will receive glasses from Vision To Learn despite the challenge COVID-19 continues to present at schools. For more information on Vision To Learn, please visit www.visiontolearn.org.
ABOUT CHANGE CAN’T WAIT
Change Can’t Wait’s mission is to create positive change for all marginalized groups with a focus on Black and Brown communities within Connecticut and New England, through year-round partnerships, advocacy, events, educational initiatives and materials, and player appearances that move to eradicate systemic racism and oppression using four pillars—police reform, health equity, civic engagement, and community advocacy.
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