SEATTLE — Eyes on Africa is a charitable foundation looking to “provide eyeglasses at no cost to Africans through distribution in communities with no access to vision care.”
Since 2005, Eyes on Africa has been distributing reading glasses to various communities in need.
While having poor vision in a developing country may seem like a minuscule problem, more than a billion people in developing countries don’t have the necessary access to glasses or eye care. This alters the way one can learn or work.
Founder Sherry Grigsby has traveled to Africa to meet with communities in need of glasses. She has met both children and adults who haven’t been able to read for years just because they have bad eyesight, like many people in developing countries do.
Eyes on Africa relies on help from NGOs, volunteers, medical clinics, mission teams and church leaders to distribute glasses and keep the charity up and running.
Recently, Bachelorette star JoJo Fletcher launched a new sunglasses line called Live Loud. Through both her Instagram and Snapchat account, Fletcher explained that for each pair of Live Loud sunglasses sold in the first 24 hours, two pairs of reading glasses would be donated to Eyes on Africa.
Other Bachelor and Bachelorette stars have utilized social media to promote Fletcher’s new gig, so she can sell as many pairs as possible within the first 24 hours. These celebrities include Becca Tilley and Andi Dorfman.
Fletcher has upwards of 2 million Instagram followers while Becca Tilley and Andi Dorfman have almost 2 million followers combined. This not only influences more people to buy the glasses for a good cause but also spreads awareness of the Eyes on Africa campaign.
Eyes For Africa accepts donations from anyone through PayPal or via check with each dollar providing a pair of glasses to someone in need.
They also run a campaign known as Cars for Causes where one can donate their car to Eyes on Africa.
– Casey Marx
Photo: Flickr