HISTORY
Give the Gift of Sight started in 1988 with the belief that “vision is not a luxury, but the right of every human being.” Originally operating as part of LensCrafters, it gradually expanded its reach across North America and internationally. Luxottica Group’s acquisition of LensCrafters in 1995 enabled the program to expand more rapidly by including the other entities of the Group. In 2004, the “Recycle Huts” program by Sunglass Hut, another of the Group’s chains, helped collect sunglasses which were recycled for international missions, especially in regions where direct exposure to sunlight is particularly harmful to the eyes.
The Foundation’s original goal of helping one million people by 2003 was achieved ahead of schedule in 1999, when a mobile facility in Oregon gave a pair of eyeglasses to a six-year-old girl named Jessica. In 2001, in Bolivia, Julia became the two millionth person to receive eye care from Give the Gift of Sight. The three millionth person to receive help was Gabriel, a boy in Guayaquil, Ecuador, in 2003. In 2005, Give the Gift of Sight helped its four millionth recipient, a 14-year-old girl at the Fresh Air Fund Camp in Fishkill, New York. In October 2006, the five millionth recipient, LaVonte, an 11-yearold boy from a Chicago Public School, received eye care during the course of a mission in the city of Chicago. In the same year, a third recycling center in the United States was opened.
Several other important achievements in 2006 were: in Mexico, there have been 35 missions since 1994, reaching 615,291 people; in China there have been two missions since 1999, involving 24,000 people; and in Cambodia, there have been two missions since 2005, benefiting 53,000 people. In 2007, the vision of Gift of Sight is 20/20: to deliver the gift of sight on 20 international missions and in 20 weeks of North American missions.
INTEGRATION
Give the Gift of Sight ties together Luxottica Group associates across the globe. Associates from Italy and elsewhere in Europe, Australia, China and North America work together, through recycling efforts and international mission teams, toward a common goal. During this process, associates get to know one another and learn to work together. This is an integrating influence on the different company and country cultures brought into the Group through acquisitions of companies.
RESPECT FOR DIVERSITY
Meeting people from different parts of the world and visiting different countries provide experiences that training courses do not offer. People learn to recognize and appreciate new languages, foods, customs and unusual situations. They form relationships and learn that diversity may unite rather than divide. These missions, particularly the international ones, require intense teamwork to optimize the use of resources and time and reach as many people as possible.
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