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Clinic Blog: 2011 Los Angeles Clinic Blog

April 8, 2011

We DELIVER the Gift of Sight!!

By rquinn

After some technical difficulties, the blog is BACK, and better than ever - and boy, did we had some amazing experiences in the last two days. 

Normally on these types of clinics, you rarely get to participate in the process of dispensing all of the glasses that the children chose.  Thankfully, because of how great out team was, and how quickly we were able to get the glasses manufactured, we have been able to send small groups BACK out to the schools, and give them the gift of sight PERSONALLY!

Our first group included SGH’s Jen Garcia and Todd Racho from LC, and they were floored at the reception the kids gave them!  The kids were amazing, even writing us letters on how much they were thankful, how much they enjoyed the experience, and even how they really liked having their eyes examined!   You know they really needed those glasses!

SGH's Stephan Ivester and LC's Virve Moore had a great story too - "I had the privilege of distributing brand new glasses a young boy", said Stephan.  "This boy had never had glasses before and had a prescription of -4 in each eye, which meant he could only see clearly for about 2-3 feet. When we put his new glasses on, he sat back wide-eyed and said everything was so close! He was super pumped to finally be able to see clearly and left with a huge smile!"

Jo-Ann McGuffin said of her new recipient - "When we took the old glasses off, they flopped open, as if they were being held together by string - She was so excited at being able to get glasses that not only she could SEE so much better with, but would actually stay on her face!"

Michelle Carter from the CSC-OneSight department got a ‘gift’ of her own, with one of the kids giving her some candy, saying “I wish I had more to give you.” 

Pearle’s Shirley Thompson was moved as well, noting “The kids just couldn’t stop smiling!”

Alicia Tidwell said it best – “This is why we are here!”

April 6, 2011

The Team meets Grape Street School

By rquinn

What an amazing day we had!!

Today was a day near and dear to our Clinic Co-ordinator, Cyndi Jones.  We had a special group of kids in today, from inner-city LA.  The school is in the middle of a notorious gang area, and has such little funding that they don’t even have a school nurse.  That didn’t deter Cyndi and her group one bit!  She took a team of people, all giving their time, and did all the pre-screenings themselves. 

Today was the payoff!  Those kids were SO happy to be there, and receiving the gift of sight!  We saw a grand total of 142 kids, with a whopping  126 of them needing glasses!

We even started a new tradition today!  Mary-Kay Devereaux, a core team member from Colorado, was getting the kids SO excited today that they were doing HAPPY DANCES in the frame selection room!  Way to connect Mary-Kay!

April 5, 2011

150 People Helped in Day 1

By rquinn

Hey OneSight followers!  We had a FANTASTIC first day at clinic today, seeing a total of 164 kids, and determined 149 of them needed glasses!! 

The team has already pulled together very quickly, proving to be a very dedicated and cohesive unit!  No typical ‘first day’ kinks – everything ran smoothly, and the kids were happy and very thankful to be there!

We had one special story today.  We had a young girl show up, who was new to the area, didn’t speak much English, and wasn’t registered at the clinic.  She had been sent by her school nurse, as she had concerns about her vision.  The girl went through the clinic (with the help of one of our local volunteers who graciously helped translate), and we determined this girl had a fairly strong prescription. The core team pulled together and not only helped the girl pick out a GREAT little frame, but our jack-of-all-trades Andy Anderegg ran them over to the lab area, had her lenses made, and she was able to LEAVE with her new glasses, a HUGE smile, and was profusely thanking everyone!   What a great experience, and it shows just WHY OneSight is such an important program, especially in our own communities.

March 30, 2011

Welcome, everyone, to Los Angeles 2011!

By rquinn

Hey everyone!  We want to take this opportunity to welcome you all to the 2011 OneSight Clinic in Los Angeles! 

We have assembled a FANTASTIC team of volunteers and doctors from around the world, and will be spending a week providing exams and eyewear to the youth of the Greater-LA area, who would otherwise not be able to afford them.  Every day we will be updating our experiences at and around the clinic, giving stories of fantastic recipients, and the experience of the team.  We will be arriving on April 3rd, and updating daily until our departure on the 9th, so please be sure to check often so you don't miss anything!

If you are interested, our team will be doing some fundraising for this amazing clinic, simply drop by our team page at - http://onesight.donordrive.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.team&eventID=514&teamID=5067 - All donations will come with a charitable tax-receipt, and the thanks of hundreds of kids at our site.

Here's a little background about OneSight and our Global Clinics: OneSight is a family of charitable programs dedicated to improving vision through outreach, research and education. Sponsored by Luxottica, OneSight programs have helped more than 7 million people over its 20-year history.

Each year, OneSight conducts two-week clinics where our doctors and trained volunteers provide free eye exams and eyewear to thousands of people in need. To date, we’ve run nearly 200 clinics in 37 different countries. This year, we have 15 clinics planned around the world. For a complete list of Clinic locations, visit www.onesight.org .

Thanks for your support, and please check back often!

Rob, and the 2011 LA Team!