TAMPA, Fla. — Every year, the Glazer Vision Foundation’s Mobile Vision Clinic visits about 80 title one schools in our area, offering free screenings and glasses to over 1,000 students.
“Now we have kiddos during these testing times that are able to see more clearly, test higher, feel more comfortable coming into the school,” said Amineh Mahfud, the Wellness Coordinator for Mort Elementary School.
Mahfud says it’s amazing what a new pair of glasses can do for a student’s grades, confidence and outlook on life.
“The more we bring the bus out, the more we are able to see the difference,” said Mahfud. “You see them light up, we had a kiddo here who put his glasses on and walked out and started reading our Mort Elementary School sign, and he was excited, it was a brighter world for him.”
The mobile clinic serves about 1,000 students a year, but it can only go to so many schools, leaving thousands of kids with poor vision.
“One of four children right now in school has a visual impairment and one in five cannot afford the services to have that repaired,” said Jason Woody, president and CEO of the Lions World Vision Institute.
The non-profit organization has partnered with the Glazer Vision Foundation to break ground on a new 30,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility in Ybor City.
“Our goal is to serve in that facility, once it’s done, 20,000 kids a year, which is amazing and for the kids that will need our assistance, it will be life-changing,” said Woody.
However, the non-profit is still looking for help from the community. They are $4 million short of their $16 million goal to open this clinic by the spring of 2027.
“So, we are still pushing, we have naming rights, room rights, things of that nature, we have done a great job and thank the community for your support,” said Woody.
“Thank you so much for your contribution. We are able to provide services like this to our low-income families, families who don’t even know that sometimes their kids need it, so so helpful, so we thank everybody involved,” said Mahfud.
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