Indiana Daily Student: :: MLK Day inspires free eye care

The IU School of Optometry provided free-of-charge eye exams and eyeglasses Monday to members of the Bloomington community who do not have access to vision care.

The school came together with the Salvation Army, Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity students, the City of Bloomington and the Bloomington Lions Club.

“Today is a day of service,” Monica Clemons, president of the Bloomington Lions Club, said. “It is our duty to give back to such an amazing cause.”

This day of service at the IU School of Optometry started when a group of IU students approached the school, which had been sending students to Mexico once a year to facilitate free exams and eyeglasses, about wanting to contribute in a local setting as well.

The doctors were all professors in the IU School of Optometry and the student volunteers were all members of the Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity students.

“This has been a tradition and a great opportunity to serve others too,” Hannah Downey, vice president of the Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity students and the IU representative of the event, said.

The Salvation Army handled necessary paperwork for each patient, the Lions Club was in charge of the patients themselves and their overall well-being and the volunteers and doctors were all facilitated by the school’s volunteering network.

First- and second-year students helped with maintenance and administrative work, third-year students assisted with eye exams and fourth-year students served as assistants to the doctors themselves.

Curated from Indiana Daily Student: :: MLK Day inspires free eye care