A Milwaukee-based nonprofit is making sure all Wisconsin children can see clearly by providing free vision screenings at schools and day care centers.Across the country, there are hundreds of thousands of kids with vision problems, many of which go undiagnosed until screenings at their school. But in Wisconsin, there’s no statewide mandate requiring schools to check kids’ eyes. Prevent Blindness Wisconsin has been working to fill that gap for over 65 years. On Thursday, all eyes were on the little eyes of students at Glendale Heights Child Care as volunteers administered eye tests for 3 and 4-year-old preschoolers.Glendale Heights and Prevent Blindness Wisconsin have been working together for over a decade. “I feel that they test better at facilities such as this, because they’re comfortable with the teachers,” said Cheryl Peters, the administrator of Glendale Heights Child Care. “Prevent Blindness comes in, they read stories to them first, they’re talking about glasses, so by the time they’re actually doing the testing, the kids are comfortable and I feel they test better.”Prevent Blindness Wisconsin has been around since 1958 and serves the entire state of Wisconsin. According to the nonprofit, approximately 1 in 5 preschool-age children in the United States has a vision disorder that requires monitoring by an eye doctor.”When you think of vision, it really does help you with everyday activities for kids and adults, and that’s why we’re there,” said Courtney Murphy, the director of community health at Prevent Blindness Wisconsin. “We do those vision screening services, and then we help connect people to further vision care so they can continue to go into the doctor as often as they need.”Traditional vision exams have people identify letters on a screen or board. However, when testing 3 and 4-year-olds, not everyone knows their alphabet just yet. That’s why Prevent Blindness Wisconsin has the children identify shapes like a square, a circle, a house, and an apple. The screenings are completely free for schools and families, and Prevent Blindness Wisconsin isn’t government funded. Instead, it relies on donations, and a thousand volunteers to administer vision tests in 72 counties.”All of our vision screening partners are school nurses, or community volunteers,” Murphy said. “They’re really doing it out of the goodness of their hearts and also because they see such a benefit for their students.”Prevent Blindness Wisconsin volunteers don’t need any medical training and can sign up for shifts on their own time. If you’re interested in volunteering, click here. Adult screenings are also administered by Prevent Blindness Wisconsin. For more information on the services they offer, how to donate, or how to get involved, visit their website at wisconsin.preventblindness.org.
A Milwaukee-based nonprofit is making sure all Wisconsin children can see clearly by providing free vision screenings at schools and day care centers.
Across the country, there are hundreds of thousands of kids with vision problems, many of which go undiagnosed until screenings at their school. But in Wisconsin, there’s no statewide mandate requiring schools to check kids’ eyes. Prevent Blindness Wisconsin has been working to fill that gap for over 65 years.
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On Thursday, all eyes were on the little eyes of students at Glendale Heights Child Care as volunteers administered eye tests for 3 and 4-year-old preschoolers.
Glendale Heights and Prevent Blindness Wisconsin have been working together for over a decade.
“I feel that they test better at facilities such as this, because they’re comfortable with the teachers,” said Cheryl Peters, the administrator of Glendale Heights Child Care. “Prevent Blindness comes in, they read stories to them first, they’re talking about glasses, so by the time they’re actually doing the testing, the kids are comfortable and I feel they test better.”
Prevent Blindness Wisconsin has been around since 1958 and serves the entire state of Wisconsin. According to the nonprofit, approximately 1 in 5 preschool-age children in the United States has a vision disorder that requires monitoring by an eye doctor.
“When you think of vision, it really does help you with everyday activities for kids and adults, and that’s why we’re there,” said Courtney Murphy, the director of community health at Prevent Blindness Wisconsin. “We do those vision screening services, and then we help connect people to further vision care so they can continue to go into the doctor as often as they need.”
Traditional vision exams have people identify letters on a screen or board. However, when testing 3 and 4-year-olds, not everyone knows their alphabet just yet. That’s why Prevent Blindness Wisconsin has the children identify shapes like a square, a circle, a house, and an apple.
The screenings are completely free for schools and families, and Prevent Blindness Wisconsin isn’t government funded. Instead, it relies on donations, and a thousand volunteers to administer vision tests in 72 counties.
“All of our vision screening partners are school nurses, or community volunteers,” Murphy said. “They’re really doing it out of the goodness of their hearts and also because they see such a benefit for their students.”
Prevent Blindness Wisconsin volunteers don’t need any medical training and can sign up for shifts on their own time. If you’re interested in volunteering, click here.
Adult screenings are also administered by Prevent Blindness Wisconsin. For more information on the services they offer, how to donate, or how to get involved, visit their website at wisconsin.preventblindness.org.
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