30 Dunleith Elementary students receive new glasses in milestone distribution

Thirty students at Dunleith Elementary School in Marietta, Georgia, received new prescription glasses during a ceremony held on Oct. 21. The event marked a key step in a partnership that plans to provide vision care to 137 students at the school during the current academic year. The initiative includes free vision screenings, eye exams, and corrective lenses.

Greg Ott, vice president for Georgia and Alabama at UnitedHealthcare, attended the distribution. He described the moment when students opened their cases and tried on their new frames. Ott said some children told him, 'I can finally see' or 'I didn't realize that it could be this clear.' He noted that the reactions were a touching moment for the staff present.

The program targets a specific gap in care for low-income families. Vision To Learn, a nonprofit founded in 2012, operates mobile clinics that bring eye care directly to schools. This approach removes transportation and financial barriers that often prevent families from accessing routine medical visits. Approximately 90% of the children served by the organization live in poverty.

Nationally, Vision To Learn has provided vision screenings to nearly 4 million children. More than 830,000 children have received eye exams, and nearly 700,000 have received glasses across 20 states and Washington, D.C. The organization selects schools in communities where families face financial hurdles to accessing health care. Ott stated that the collaboration with UnitedHealthcare began five or six years ago to expand this access.

Untreated vision problems can affect a student's ability to learn without their knowledge. Ott recalled a high school student in the Atlanta area who had been wearing his father's old glasses because his family believed they corrected his vision. After receiving an examination through the program, the student received properly prescribed lenses and could read clearly. This case illustrates how appropriate vision care supports a student's educational journey from kindergarten through high school.

During the Oct. 21 event, students from kindergarten through fifth grade selected their own frames before their prescriptions were prepared. They took photographs wearing their new glasses and decorated picture frames to bring home. Ott observed that the energy in the room changed as the event progressed. Initially nervous students became more confident as they saw their reflections and shared the experience with their classmates. The program aims to make this medical milestone a shared celebration rather than an individual burden.