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This is Fred Ball for Zions Bank, speaking on business.
It all started more than 20 years ago. A Native American youth came into Joseph Carbone's optometry office to get his eyes tested. The youth had exceptionally bad vision and could only see about four feet in any direction. His family's financial circumstances were such that he had never been to get his eyes checked so he thought everyone saw things as blurry as he did. After receiving his new eyeglasses, the boy looked outside for the first time and started to cry because he could see everything so clearly.
The event had left such a deep impression on Joseph, a board-certified pediatric optician, that in 2001 he co-founded a non-profit organization to serve those who can't afford vision care. Eye Care For Kids Foundation provides vision screenings, eye exams and eyeglasses to low-income families. Joseph says children are referred to the foundation, and once they become patients, the foundation takes on the rest of the family as well.
In the current economic climate, it's been difficult for many families to afford proper vision care. Without glasses, some people can't do their jobs. Eye Care For Kids can now provide comprehensive computerized eye exams and can make glasses to someone's exact specifications by using the lab in the clinic.
Joseph tells me that since its inception in 2001, Eye Care For Kids Foundation has helped more than 20,000 children to receive free or low-cost eye care. In August, the clinic, which now employs eight people, will be moving into a brand new 6,000 square foot facility in Midvale. Joseph said the expanded facilities will help the foundation better serve its patients and their families. Eventually he'd like to add a surgical center for anyone who can't afford sight-saving surgeries.
Eye Care for Kids Foundation is unique in the degree to which it helps low-income families statewide with the latest state-of-the-art equipment. He credits the foundation's many sponsors and board members with its continuing success.
For Zions Bank, I'm Fred Ball. I'm speaking on business.
Eye Care For Kids Foundation 6895 S. State St. Salt Lake City, UT 84047 801-285-5443 www.eyecare4kids.org
