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Clinic Blog: 2012 Toronto Clinic Blog

June 3, 2011

Day 5: So long and thanks for everything!

By lwood

And it's all over! The last day of clinic was fantastic and ran really smoothly. The weather cooperated - not too hot and not too cold. We saw 27 kids, which brings our week total to 223 kids! All but a few needed glasses and there were only a couple of referrals. A big thanks goes out to the Lenscrafters labs at Scarborough Town Center, Fairview Mall, and the Eaton Centre. These three labs manufactured all of the surface jobs for the clinic! Everything else was manufactured onsite by our intrepid lab volunteers. 

 

We've been holding a 50/50 raffle all week. Today was the day of the big draw - and Dino's name was drawn! The pot was $361 and small change - and Dino donated his half back to OneSight! Yay Dino!

 

Please see the photo below for a lengthier list of the awesome people that helped to make this week happen. Please note - Mr. Sub should read Subway! Also a big thanks goes out to our leadership team. It was truly an honor to work with Dawn Yager, Teena Bartley, Dino Riccardi, Emily Condotta and everyone else who led the way! A big thanks to the Edelweiss Trio for entertainment on Tuesday! Thanks to all of our doctors and volunteers - it's you who made this happen! If I've forgotten anyone, I'm sorry! But know that you rocked this week. 

 

Well, we hope to see you back in Toronto next year! In the meantime, please remember to drop off your gently used glasses at any local Lenscrafters, Sunglass Hut, Pearl Vision or Sears Optical location! Monetary donations can be made online at www.onesight.org! Keep on being awesome!

June 2, 2011

Day 4: Brrr!

By lwood

Hello everyone! Day 4 of the Toronto vision van is done! The day started off with a bit of a shock to the system - rather than the fabulous heat we've been experiencing, the temperature was hovering around 11C! Everyone had dressed for the forecasted high of 20C and so many were freezing this morning. To top it off, the wind from yesterday stuck around and made it feel even colder!  The team toughed it out and the weather improved by the early afternoon.

 

We saw 55 kids today, 49 of whom needed glasses. This brings our week-to-date total to 196! Everything went really smoothly today. Many of the grade 12s we saw today were getting ready for tonight's prom. Since the kids were being pulled out of class to come to the vision van, we asked many what class they were missing and if they were upset about it. Most of the kids were happy to be missing their math, science and french classes! 

 

Well, tomorrow is the last day of the clinic. It will be a shorter day as we will have to pack up the van and get it on its way home to Cincinnati. We're sad that it's the last day but we've had an awesome time! See you tomorrow!

June 1, 2011

Day 3: Windy Wednesday!

By lwood

Hello everyone! Day 3 of the Toronto vision van went really well today! We had to contend with some serious winds - they maxed out at 59km an hour! Pretty much everything was blown away at one point or another - hats, registration forms (we chased those down right away!), pizza, and miscellaneous boxes. Just after lunch, a tree across the street from the van location was cracked in half by the wind and blown over. At least it was on the other side of the street! 

 

We saw 46 kids today, which brings our week to date total to 141! Tomorrow will be another big day, and not just in terms of glasses. It's prom day for the graduating class and many of the kids are excited to attend. 

 

We had a large group of Lions Club volunteers join us today with a huge gift. The Lions collected and brought 1525 pairs of recycled glasses to the clinic site! They did a fantastic job and we really appreciate their support of the OneSight program. Today's van team actually sorted the recycled glasses at the end of the day in preparation for the recycling process. Remember, if you have some gently used glasses that you don't need anymore, you can drop them off at any Lenscrafters, Pearl Vision, Sunglass Hut or Sears location for recycling. They'll then be used on an international clinic and given to recipients who need them!

 

Well, we'll see you back here tomorrow! Thanks again to all of the awesome Luxottica volunteers who helped out today! 

May 31, 2011

Day 2: Rock and Roll!

By lwood

Hello everyone! We had a fantastic day in the sunshine today! The heat maxed out at 38C - a bit short of the forecasted Humidex high of 41C - but no one was complaining! This intrepid journalist definitely has a sunburn tonight! 

 

Today was a big day - we saw 63 kids, 61 of whom needed glasses. One was also referred to a local doctor for further examination. All but six pairs of glasses were manufactured on site.  The ones that were manufactured offsite were done so because the van stocks lenses with a power (prescription) range of +3.00 to -6.00 with up to a -2.00 cylinder value. The glasses manufactured at local Lenscrafters had prescriptions as high as -9.00 and required a "surface" lab - extra machines that can actually cut the prescription into the lenses. Pretty awesome! One of OneSight's other vans, Eyevan, is actually a full surface lab on wheels and has the ability to create these higher powered lenses. Pretty awesome!

 

One student, Ashana, had never had glasses before. Her prescription was fairly minor, -0.75 in each eye. She had been having trouble seeing the board in school and watching movies and TV. She was super excited to get glasses because many of her friends already wore glasses and she felt like she was missing out. Ashana got a great pair of DKNY glasses and quickly rushed off to show her friends! 

 

We even had some entertainment today at the clinic site. Eric's band, the Edelweiss Trio, played several awesome sets. Subway, located at the Toronto Eaton Centre, graciously donated today's lunch. Thanks Subway! (And Lisa, GM of Lenscrafters at the Eaton Centre, for driving the food out to us!) 

 

Tomorrow will be a cooler day, so hopefully we'll all be able to recover quickly from our sunburns. We'll see you tomorrow!

May 30, 2011

Sunscreen and Classy Suits

By lwood

Day one is over and was a great success! Our fantastic team of volunteers came from far and wide - Winnipeg (MB), London (ON), and North Bay (amongst other far away places). We had a beautiful day - with the Humidex, Toronto hit a high of 33C!  We were lucky enough to avoid any rain and I think some of the volunteers from the registration and dispensing desks will be nursing sunburns! 

 

We saw 32 kids today, all of whom needed glasses. All but a couple of pairs of glasses were manufactured on site by volunteers Shak, Krista and Kyle in the lab on Seemore. The other pairs of glasses are being manufactured at Lenscrafters #906 at Fairview Mall. Natalie, Shawn and Gloria did a great job dispensing glasses to many of the kids today. All of the volunteers did a great job! 

 

One of our recipients today, Shakeel, had a big presentation he had to rush back to class for. Shakeel looked very classy in his suit and tie, and made it to his presentation on time. He came back after class to pick up his glasses and was proud to say he aced the presentation! He looked great in his new black plastic glasses. 

 

Tomorrow will be a big day - we're aiming to see over 50 kids. We'll have a whole new group of volunteers to rock the clinic. See you all tomorrow! And don't forget to bring your sunscreen! 

May 29, 2011

It’s going to be a scorcher!

By lwood

Hello everyone! Welcome to Toronto, ON, Canada! Over the next five days, volunteers from all over the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) will be giving the gift of sight to recipients at the Cedarbrae Collegiate Institute in Scarborough. Seemore, one of OneSight's vision vans, will be on hand so we can manufacture glasses on site. Kids will receive full vision testing and eye exams on site as well! 

 

Prescreening was held earlier this month on May 3-5. Volunteers prescreened over 1000 kids and determined who needed glasses. The Toronto vision van clinic is a bit different from a regular OneSight regional clinic. Rather than having a core team of volunteers for the full week, we have different volunteers everyday. Some of our volunteers are coming from as far away as Winnipeg, MB! Volunteers from Sunglass Hut, Pearl Vision, Sears and Lenscrafters will be participating. 

 

We are expecting some fantastic weather this week here in Toronto - the temperature is forecasted to be over 20 degrees C all week. With the Humidex, Tuesday should feel like 39! For our American friends, that's 102 degrees F! Hopefully the rain will stay away!

 

Well, please continue to check back all week for daily updates! In the meantime, if you're wondering how you can help, please drop off your gently used glasses at any local Sunglass Hut, Pearl Vision, Sears or Lenscrafters. Volunteers will clean and neutralize your old glasses and send them around the world to help give even more people the gift of sight! If you would prefer to make a monetary donation, you can stop by any of the aforementioned retail locations, or visit www.onesight.org for more information!