BELLFLOWER – Eighty-nine students from Albert Baxter Elementary School received free eyeglasses Tuesday from nonprofit Vision To Learn, the third vision assistance program at a Bellflower Unified campus funded by the Rotary Club of Bellflower in just over a year.

The program began with a visit from a mobile clinic in which optometrists from Vision To Learn, which provides vision services to children in low-income communities, identified prescription needs. Then, on June 14, Vision To Learn and the Rotary Club returned to Ramona with glasses for the students.

The Rotary Club of Bellflower began sponsoring the visits in 2015, with 102 students at Washington Elementary receiving glasses in May. In February, the Rotary Club funded a mobile clinic visit to Ramona Elementary School, where 68 students received glasses.

“We are truly thankful for the generosity of Bellflower’s Rotarians as they continue to step up to help the students of our community,” Bellflower Unified Superintendent Dr. Brian Jacobs said. “This is a gift that will resonate throughout these students’ lives and which emphasizes the powerful of community partnerships.”

The events have been facilitated by Caring Connections, a nonprofit dedicated to helping meet the needs of children and families in the Bellflower Unified School District.

One in four adolescents in the U.S. suffers from common vision ailments that can be corrected with glasses. Studies show students with proper eyeglasses participate more in school, demonstrate better behavior and dramatically improve their self-confidence.

“Any time we can eliminate a barrier to learning, we have helped our students take another step on the path to success,” Board of Education President Dr. Paul Helzer said. “I’d like to thank the Rotary Club and Caring Connections for helping our students past this hurdle.”

PHOTO CAPTIONS

BAXTERVISION1: Baxter Elementary School students celebrate the delivery of new eyeglasses on June 14, 2016. Eighty-nine students received free glasses thanks to the Rotary Club of Bellflower, Vision To Learn and Caring Connections.

BAXTERVISION2: Eighty-nine students at Bellflower Unified’s Ramona Elementary received free eyeglasses June 14 after nonprofit Vision To Learn identified their vision challenges. The visit was funded by the Rotary Club of Bellflower and facilitated by Caring Connections.