GIVE THE GIFT OF SIGHT
Give the Gift of Sight, a Luxottica Group charitable foundation, is a family of charitable programs providing free vision care and eyewear to underprivileged individuals in North America and developing countries around the world. Since the program’s inception in 1988, Give the Gift of Sight has helped more than five million people across five continents, including hundreds of communities in North America.
The Group understands the dramatic change that one pair of eyeglasses can make in a person's
life. Around the world, in developing and industrialized countries alike, millions of people suffer from
poor vision because they do not have access to eye care or they simply cannot afford it. Poor vision
impedes a child's ability to learn in school and robs an adult of independence, mobility and quality
of life. Give the Gift of Sight was founded with the belief that clear vision is a basic right, not a luxury.
Give the Gift of Sight has been woven into Luxottica Group’s culture by harnessing its vision care
expertise and empowering associates and optometrists to volunteer their time to offer their expertise
to those in need. Each year, Give the Gift of Sight volunteers and optometrists, in partnership with
Lions Clubs International members, provide eye exams and hand deliver recycled eyewear to
underprivileged individuals in developing countries around the world. These two-week missions,
staffed by 25 optometrists and volunteers, are each designed to help nearly 30,000 people. Since
1991, there have been more than 115 optical missions to 28 developing countries providing the gift
of sight to more than five million people.
The target of the current Give the Gift of Sight program is to help seven million people by 2008.
NORTH AMERICA
Every year, the program offers free eye exams and new eyeglasses to tens of thousands of people in the United States and Canada. Since its beginnings in 1988, Give the Gift of Sight has helped around three million adults and children in North America.
Luxottica Group-affiliated optometrists and volunteers provide in-store help to recipients identified by charity organizations as being in financial and vision need in their stores. Other work is done through community outreach. The Group-affiliated opticians, ophthalmologists and volunteers may assist recipients in nursing homes, shelters, schools or see them in specially-fitted Vision Vans or through other programs. Another type of aid involves distributing vouchers enabling the needy to receive discounts or free eyewear.
INTERNATIONAL MISSIONS
Eyewear distributed on Give the Gift of Sight international missions are collected in Luxottica Group stores, through Lions Clubs and community organizations. Every pair of glasses is checked, cleaned and repaired by Group employees and entered in an inventory management database, which gives volunteers greater accuracy and efficiency in distribution.
* The photographs of the Gift of Sight missions in this Annual Report were taken by Lyons Photography, Inc.
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