Dunleith Elementary students get free glasses in Mobile County clinic

Thirty students at Dunleith Elementary School in Marietta opened their cases on October 21 to find their first pair of prescription glasses. The distribution event marked a specific milestone in a larger effort to correct vision for 137 students at the school this academic year.

The collaboration between UnitedHealthcare Vision and the nonprofit Vision To Learn began five or six years ago. The group brings mobile clinics to campuses to remove financial and transportation barriers that often prevent families from accessing routine eye care. This approach allows staff to identify students who need corrective lenses, including those who do not realize their vision is impaired.

Greg Ott, vice president for Georgia and Alabama at UnitedHealthcare, attended the October 21 event. He watched as kindergarten through fifth grade students selected their own frames and tried on their new eyewear. Ott noted that the shared experience changed the mood in the room.

"Some of the kids actually saying to me and others like 'I can finally see' or 'I didn't realize that it could be this clear' was a really touching moment," Ott said. He added that the energy in the room shifted from nervousness to confidence as the students took photographs and decorated picture frames to take home.

Vision To Learn was founded in 2012. Nationally, the organization has provided vision screenings to nearly 4 million children. It has performed more than 830,000 eye exams and distributed nearly 700,000 pairs of glasses across 20 states and Washington, D.C. About 90 percent of the children served live in poverty.

Ott cited an example of a high school student in the Atlanta area who wore his father’s old glasses because his family believed they would help. After an exam through Vision To Learn, the student received properly prescribed lenses and could read clearly. This case illustrates how untreated vision problems can affect educational experiences without students realizing it.

The organization selects schools in communities where families face financial barriers to health care. Ott said growing relationships in metro Atlanta could allow the program to reach more campuses in the coming years. He encouraged families and community members to support similar local initiatives.

"Healthcare is delivered locally," Ott said. He recalled a message that resonated with him during the celebration: "It becomes increasingly more difficult to go out and chase down your dreams when you can’t even see them."