05/10/2017
On February 28th, 2017, 53 students at Monte Vista Elementary School in Highland Park received free glasses from a consortium of volunteers that includes the Rotary Club of Northeast Los Angeles, Rotary District 5280 and Vision To Learn. Vision to Learn is a non-profit group that has given away over 78,000 pairs of eyeglasses to elementary school students nationwide. The program attacks a problem that in some cases explains why students struggle to learn to read during their primary years: They simply can’t see the text.
“A lot of times you don’t know if the student is having trouble reading or if they are identified as having special needs,” said Nora MacLellan a Rotarian and volunteer of Vision to Learn, "Maybe the student, because they can’t see the board, they end up acting out and doing poorly on tests.”
The eye exams occasionally turn up issues more serious than near- or farsightedness. “Last week (in Los Angeles Unified), we saw a child who probably has a brain tumor,” said Nora MacLellan, a volunteer for Vision to Learn.
The Vision to Learn program at Monte Vista Elementary School cost $2,000 and was paid for by Rotary grants from Northeast Los Angeles Rotary Club. This cost paid for eye exams for every student within the school and eye glasses for all the students that needed them. Reymundo Valtierra, President of the Northeast Los Angeles Rotary Club said he is grateful for the support from Rotary District 5280 because the District provided a grant that allowed the club to have this service project this year. "Our club is so small — we have difficulty raising money, so district grants help tremendously” he said. “Rotary and Rotarians always go above and beyond. It is so nice to be part of such a great service organization”
Earlier this month, at a Rotary District event, a 9-year-old girl spoke to thousands of Rotarians about getting her eyeglasses from the Westchester Rotary Club, who had a similar service project. The girl was having trouble in class, and had been taking aspirin for what she thought were migraine headaches. “It turns out she couldn’t see very well,” said Geoff Bremer, president-elect of the Manhattan Beach Rotary Club. “It changed her life. She could suddenly read her books; she could see the blackboard. She liked to play sports — she was a softball player — she could see the ball coming at her now. It really hit home what a great project this is.”
Did you like this story? Are you interested in helping out our Rotary Club with similar service projects like these in your community? The Rotary Club of Northeast Los Angeles meets every Tuesday at 6:15 pm at Coco's in Highland Park, 6040 York Blvd., Los Angeles 90042. Please come by or find us on Facebook.
