Press Release
Denver, CO (September 25, 2012) – The World Sight Day Student Challenge is in full swing at Colleges of Optometry across North America. American Optometric Student Association (AOSA) Trustees
and student representatives from the Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity (sVOSH) are taking the lead and planning events such as talent shows, bake sales and other creative fundraisers to help put an end to uncorrected refractive error in the 600 million people around the world without access to eye exams and eyeglasses.
All of the North American Colleges of Optometry are participating in the Challenge, along with Pre-Optometry Clubs and undergraduate students at colleges in over 30 states! The student challenge is a great opportunity for these future optometrists to begin giving the gift of vision now.
Unique to the Student Challenge is the award of three travel stipends generously provided by VOSH International. The stipends are given to the schools that raise the most donations.
“VOSH International is delighted to be able to provide these travel stipends, so that these student leaders can experience firsthand the vital work being done to train and mentor people in underserved communities to become degree qualified Optometrists and deliver affordable and accessible eye care services to people in need,” said Dr. Greg Pearl, immediate past President of VOSH International.
Martin Spiro led the 2011 World Sight Day Student Challenge fundraising event at the University of Montreal and was awarded one of the travel stipends. “It was wonderful to see the students, teachers, clinicians and the administration of UM Optometry School participate in our activities with such enthusiasm. What came out of our World Sight Challenge was a huge success in both raising funds and awareness for a fantastic cause,” said Martin.
The World Sight Day Challenge is a major fundraising campaign coordinated by Optometry Giving Sight which is designed to raise funds for projects that provide vision care, local training and infrastructure support for people who are blind or vision impaired due to uncorrected refractive error – simply the need for an eye exam and a pair of glasses.
Please join the students by participating in the global movement to eliminate avoidable blindness by taking the 2012 World Sight Day Challenge. Visit www.givingsight.org for more information.
