Dozens of young learners at Roosevelt Elementary School received free prescription glasses through the District’s partnership with Vision to Learn, a nonprofit dedicated to eliminating vision issues as a barrier to education, during a joyous dispensing ceremony on January 25.
Students from Transitional Kindergarten to fifth grade waited patiently as they were called one by one to receive their new eyewear from representatives from Vision to Learn and the Frank McHugh-O’Donovan Foundation, Inc. The 36 students previously went through free screenings at Vision to Learn’s mobile eye clinic, where optometrists conducted full exams, wrote prescriptions and fitted students for glasses with frames of their choice.
The joyous moment arrived for students when they donned their new glasses, with expressions of amazement and gratitude filling the air.
“I feel good today because I have my new glasses,” first-grader Christian Pimentel said. “I can read, I can see and I can learn.”
For these scholars, the gift of clear vision translates not only to improved academic performance but also to heightened self-esteem. Studies show students with proper eyeglasses participate more in class, demonstrate better behavior and dramatically improve their self-confidence. The collaboration between Vision to Learn and Lynwood Unified underscores the power of championing accessible and quality vision care and creating a brighter future for Lynwood’s youth.