Promiyse Quick (first from left) and her friends loved their new eye glasses.
It’s the gift of vision and it looks good! Earlier this spring, XP Health and Eye Q Wear distributed new glasses to our Sulphur Springs PK-8 Community School students. XP Health, a Los Angeles-based company dedicated to democratizing vision care with a digital-first vision benefits platform partnered with the Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA for their 20/20 VISIONaries social impact initiative - so there is one less barrier towards childhood literacy for those who need glasses.
Promiyse Quick, 7, a first grader loved her purple and blue “cool and new glasses.”
“The YMCA is awesome for doing this for us,” she said.
As shared by the group, XP Health's 20/20 VISIONaries social impact initiative was established to combat barriers to childhood literacy. Childhood literacy impacts more low-income families and groups with 70% of low-income 4th-grade students being unable to read at a basic level. A pair of prescription glasses can dramatically change a child’s trajectory since 80% of what we learn is through vision. And according to research, of children who are 9 to 15 years old, only 10% of those kids who need eyeglasses, actually have them, which is why XP Health decided to focus on childhood literacy.
Cynthia Spitalny, Chief Marketing Officer, XP Health was on hand for the distribution. She appreciated the partnership to help underserved communities.
“The event was a pilot launch and we had about 20 kids go through the XP Health experience. Children were able to try on glasses live, courtesy of Eye Q eyewear, and then order the frames on XP Health, or go through XP Health's virtual fitting experience and choose personalized frames online. It was so heartening to hear how excited the kids were to receive a new pair of glasses and talk to them about what the glasses meant to them. The program was a huge success, so we plan to expand with a second program later this summer, ahead of the new school year.”
Candace Culver, VP of Community Partnerships for the Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA was also in attendance helping students with their glasses.
“We are incredibly grateful to XP Health and Eye Q Wear for providing and distributing glasses to our students. It was a huge success. The kids were thrilled with their new glasses, and their smiles said it all. Vision care is a critically underserved need for our families, and partnering with XP Health to address this gap in support of childhood literacy is incredibly meaningful to us and the families we serve. This initiative will help remove a significant barrier to reading and enhance literacy rates,” she noted.
Please donate here to support the Sulphur Springs YMCA to help prepare youth for success.
Published Monday, June 17, 2024.