VSP Provides Free Eye Exams and Glasses to JCCS Students

It’s hard to read and engage in learning when you can’t see well, but not everyone is able to get their eyes checked regularly.

Nearly 70 JCCS students from East, Metro, and South regions are seeing things more clearly after getting free exams and glasses through the VSP Eyes of Hope program.

For Mariah, a student at 37ECB, it was her inability to see well while driving at night and her need to squint to see people that prompted her to get glasses.

She was excited about the frames she picked out.

“I was feeling very stylish and cute,” she said. “It will make driving so much easier, and I won’t have to squint at people – they won’t think I’m looking at them when I’m not!” she said.

The program brings in volunteer optometrists to provide eye exams and issue prescriptions for glasses. Students can select a pair of frames and will either have the glasses made inside VSP’s mobile clinic and ready that day or sent out to their lab and delivered in a few weeks.

“It’s amazing to see how many students have never had a pair of glasses or have a pretty significant deficit and need a prescription, and this is a beautiful opportunity for them,” said JCCS nurse Ellyson Slater-Kobetsky. “We want to eliminate any barriers to learning and give students every opportunity to succeed in school and life.”

Prior to VSP’s visit, Slater-Kobetsky conducted pre-exams using a Spot Vision Screener on as many students as possible and identified individuals that needed comprehensive eye exams and possibly glasses.

The VSP Eyes of Hope program travels around the country providing free eye exams and glasses to students and individuals in need.

“Vision is so important,” said VSP Mobile Clinics Operations Manager Torreyana Tripette. “Having an eye exam every year is so important. We come out to schools and identify any issues the kids might be having. After the kids get their glasses, teachers often report the students are more engaged, their grades are improving, and they pay attention more just because they can see better.”