Most of us don’t think about our vision. We see well, either thanks to good vision genetics, corrective glasses or contacts, or in some cases, vision correction surgery, like LASIK. And that is music to our ears!

Through LifeSight’s mission – Vision. For All. For Life. – vision-related outreach raises awareness about how to protect and preserve vision and advocates to ensure routine eye care is a priority, whether for a 6-month-old infant or an elderly individual. For those in our community facing barriers to routine eye care, due to cost or other concerns, LifeSight’s outreach helps to bridge the gaps that preclude access.

One of the most significant ways we do this is through KidsFIRST Free Vision Screenings. KidsFIRST administers free vision screenings to children 6 months of age through 5th grade. Nearly 64,000 children have benefited from KidsFIRST Free Vision Screenings. Often parents believe children naturally have good vision. Furthermore, children generally do not know they are having difficulty seeing. They only know their own experience and may not realize they have blurry vision. Data captured by KidsFIRST Free Vision Screenings shows nearly 15% of children screened, almost 10,000 children, have been referred to an eye doctor for treatment because of an undetected vision disorder identified by a KidsFIRST Free Vision Screening.