Students provide eyeglasses to 41 residents in need through ‘Gift of Sight’ program

BLOOMINGTON – Optometric Technology students concluded their Gift of Sight program in June. Students, under the supervision of a certified optician, served 41 underserved members of the community with prescription eyeglasses. Local optometrists also provided patients with free eye exams.

Ivy Tech identified these individuals through an application process to determine financial need.

“Students spent several hours outside class time and after the semester ended, completing measurements, cutting, dispensing, and adjusting frames,” said Leanne Short, Ivy Tech optometric program chair. “This truly shows their dedication to our week of sight patients. We couldn’t have asked for a better pairing of college and community!”

Circle of Ivy, an Ivy Tech Community College women’s giving circle, provided the first $2,970 required to fund the Gift of Sight program. An additional $2,055 was raised through a crowd funding effort in November. Funds directly supported the consumable expenses incurred in the process of prescription eyeglass creation, including lenses, frames, end pieces, nose pads, temples, cable temples, hinges and spring hinges.

In the 2017-18 academic year, Ivy Tech Bloomington Circle of Ivy members provided $16,623 total in funding to support seven projects. Information about Circle of Ivy can be found online at ivytech.edu/circleofivy.