• Search:

Clinic Blog: 2011 Chicago Clinic Blog

May 19, 2011

Day 10:  We’ve got this down!

By dhall

"When a team outgrows individual performance, and learns team confidence, excellence becomes a reality."  Joe Paterno

Born in 1926, Joe Paterno has been the Head Football Coach at Penn State University for 41 seasons. In this time, 11 U.S. Presidents have been through the White House. Throughout his career, Coach Paterno has had five undefeated seasons, 33 bowl appearances, and two National Championships. Coach Paterno has been more than a football coach, especially to the Penn State community. He has been involved with numerous charities and fundraises that have gone to improving Penn State. After being elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006, Coach Paterno has permanently left his mark on college football and Penn State University.

Two final days of clinic.  We have kids to help. Leadership to build.  Go team Chicago!

May 18, 2011

Day 9:  The Auction

By dhall

After clinic yesterday, we held the OneSight Silent Auction headed up by Teri and Sandy.  It was such a fun experience.  The auction itself raised over $3000 for a total for our Clinic team of $10,200.  We made our goal!  Thank you Teri and Sandy for creating a delightful experience for all!

Sandy ended up with a beautiful quilt--via some sort of secret society for $285 (some of us were confused--imagine that!).  The Quilt was incredible and many team members said they had never seen such an elaborate clinic quilt (see attached pictures).

Kim bought her husband a pair of Oakley's--she tried them on and modeled them. 

Dr. Carol Richards bid and won the Chicago White Sox tickets.

Tiziana bought the scrapebook made by Dr. Mita.

Jamie did a great job getting everyone excited!  Congratulations to the Chicago Clinic team for meeting their fund raising goal!

May 16, 2011

Day 7:  Another Free Day Filled with Sightseeing and Rain

By dhall

We endured another day of rain and wind in Chicago.  That didn't stop the clinic team from seeing the Science and Industry Museum and the Aquarium.  The Jelly Fish were the stars of the show at the Aquarium--just amazingly beautiful!  Most of team figured out how to use the public transportation around town--which was real simple. 

After a day in the rain, Amy and Teri spent the evening at the "Back Door" jazz bar downtown.

It's back to work on Monday and more kids!

May 15, 2011

Day 6:  FREE TIME!

By dhall

Well there was a lot going on yesterday as the Clinic team made good use of their time off.  Some destinations were Navy Pier, Bloomingdales, the movies and, of course, the laundry room.  It was a cold rainy day in Chicago so our 90 degree days were gone.  The wind blew and people were running around town with umbrellas up.  Not many members of the team came prepared for this type of weather so I heard many folks talking about how cold they were.  Could have been the reason for all the indoor activities!

One thing that is great about clinic, the deep friendships that are forming.  The way people look at each other is changing...a look of respect and admiration.  Henry Ford once stated, "Coming together is a beginning.  Keeping together is progress. Working together is success."  I think our next week on clinic we will see an amazing increase in our productivity because we've had some quality time together to learn about each other and grow our relationships.

For Day 7, I've heard plans of museums, shopping and movies.  The weather is still cold.  Let's think hard about some sunshine.

May 13, 2011

Day 4: We helped 208 children today for a grand total of 1,227 for the first week!

By dhall

Today was a great finish to week one here at the One Sight Clinic. We had seven of the most well-behaved schools with us and we had a blast with each of them. As we joked around with the kids between rooms, the flow was steady and we only had a COUPLE of drama queens in "Trauma Room: 1", otherwise known as Dilation.

The best part of the day was when we met a school named Piccolo. Several students were tiny, little ones who didn't speak English. They were shy and didn't let us know right away that they did not understand anything other than Spanish. There were eight girls in total, who were personally taken through the clinic by Jamie Doppelt from the core team. She doesn't speak much Spanish herself, but the girls were patient and very receptive to Jamie. Each recognized their shapes in Acuities, traced their numbers in Color/Depth, toughed it out in Dilation, and stayed still and brave in Tonometry/Autorefraction.

At the end of their route, each girl was excited to see Jamie now sitting at the control desk where they turned in their glasses choice. A bunch of them did not need glasses and were high-fived for "ojos perfectos"!! We're glad they had a good time at clinic, as we had a great time helping them along the way.

We also took out Chicago 2011 Core Team picture--see attached.

May 13, 2011

Day 3:  262 Kids Helped and Our First Dispense all in Day 3

By dhall

The best thing about participating in the Chicago Clinic or any clinic for that matter is the friendship and relationships that we all make. It is only day 4 and you can see really quickly the friendships and the family we have all become. Not only do we take care of ourselves in the school, everyone running water for other people, making sure everyone eats, but also making sure that if a station is backed up, that someone who is an expert is in to help expedite.  Our little family has really grown into a well-oiled machine, it doesn’t matter the brand or the background, we, are all in.

Today, Deni Hall shared a story, a little girl was getting a pair of glasses that our Clinic leader has, a pair of RayBan’s, and she told the little girl that someday she will be a leader. Her face started off confused then lit up really brightly, and quietly she told Deni, “I’m going to be a leader?” and with that smile and the hope in her eyes she picked out those frames and is looking forward to tomorrow. It is amazing to see the power of what we do here today and how it impacts these children for tomorrow.

This clinic and family is amazing, the stories keep growing and I hope you all get a chance to feel the love and excitement as we keep blogging.

Be the difference today, you never know who you will help out tomorrow.

May 12, 2011

Follow Two Friends Through the Clinic

By dhall

On Day 2, we saw 273 children at the clinic.  We decided today we would follow two best friends through the clinic.  Denise (12) and Madison (11) are students at the Alexander Graham School in Chicago.  Denise and Madison have been friends for about nine months—ever since Madison moved to the school district at the beginning of the year.  They quickly became friends, according to Denise.  She says, “they because best friends faster than she had ever made friends before.”  It was a joy to see them experience our clinic.  They will have this memory forever and so will we!

For the most part, Denise went first at each station.  Madison was a little timid, but Denise was always there to encourage her, to laugh with her and do what best friends do…support each other.  This was interesting because when we asked Denise why she chose Madison as a best friend, she said, “she is really funny and helpful in tough situations.”  Seems to always be true—we find friends that are the best reflection of ourselves.   A famous quote from Arnold H. Glasgow states, “A loyal friend laughs at your jokes when they're not so good, and sympathizes with your problems when they're not so bad.”  Denise is wise beyond her years. 

Denise has two brothers and four sisters and her stepmother has another sibling on the way!  She loves the big family because she plays baseball, football, and softball with her whole family.  She took up cheerleading this year.  Madison comes from a smaller family and enjoys spending time with Denise’s large family.

It was a joy to spend the day with these two best friends.  They learned a lot about eye health and had a lot of fun doing it!  At the end of the day, they both picked out some very cute frames.  Today the OneSight team helped build a memory for two best friends!

May 10, 2011

Day 1:  227 Children and a Whole Bunch of FUN!!!

By dhall

Good Morning!  Day one was a huge success here in Chicago!  We saw 227 children from 7 schools.  The entire day went very smoothly without a hitch!  After our day at the clinic we had dinner at the Su Casa across the street from the hotel.  After dinner several team members headed out in pusuit of some Mountain Dew (it's a main staple for some team members) and other team members ventured out to Trader Joe's for some provisions to help them through "Dancing with the Stars."  All in all it was a great day!