Ava's Allies Partnership with OneSight 

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​OneSight is an amazing non-profit that holds a very special place in my heart because they make a huge difference in the lives of children and adults. I choose to have Ava's Allies partner with OneSight because they help kids and adults get access to free vision screenings and eyeglasses around the world.

OneSight's  Mission is to create a world where a lack of access to vision care is no longer a barrier to human achievement and possibility.  Right now, 1 in 7 people in this world lack access to vision care, but I didn't realize how important vision care was for kids until I experienced it for myself. 

 

Over the pandemic, I was diagnosed with convergence insufficiency and other eye issues that I had since I was born, but my condition was never caught in regular eye exams and eye tests in elementary school. I just thought seeing double and seeing blurry was how everyone else saw because I didn't know any better. It started affecting my grades and my eyes would hurt all the time. If my issue was caught earlier, my school journey could have been so much easier and I have started advocating for better vision screening in schools because I want to help other kids not go through the same thing I did. 

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According to the American Optometric Association up to 75 percent of schools' vision screenings miss vision problems and 61 percent of children with a vision issue never see a doctor. This personally affected my educational journey, because my condition wasn’t caught in school either. It’s very hard to learn and excel in school and life if you can’t see well. Research also shows that only 10 percent of children ages 9 to 15 years who needed eyeglasses, received them. Vision problems are one of the most common, handicapping conditions in childhood and undetected vision problems can inhibit academic success, and even athletic performance. Preventblindness.org also reports that 1 in 4 school aged kids have a vision disorder, so I really want parents to know how important it is for them to get their kids an eye exam and not just a vision screening in school.

For World Sight Day, I helped OneSight with vision screenings and raising awareness in person, online and on televised media outlets. I also held a one-of-a-kind Zumba fundraiser that raised almost $1,500 and 100% of the funds went directly to OneSight . In addition, I have advocated for better vision screenings in school by meeting with local government officials and my Board of Education. I have also become a Jr. Glasses Champion for OneSight and Nickelodeon in the “Framing the Future” campaign and I visit libraries and do story times to share the importance of vision screenings to kids and their parents.