Day Three

Whew! What a wonderfully busy day at the clinic. We saw a total of 301 kids today, bringing our weekly total so far to 690. Our need rate for the week is at a whopping 77%!!

We had some terrific kids today as well, like 9 year-old Chekyra, who was so excited by her first pair of glasses ( at a -2.00) that she refused to remove them for adjustment and cleaning. She kept exclaiming, "I love them! I love them!" Really heartwarming.

And then there was 6 year old Demario, who impressed us all very much. He was a high myope of around minus four, who unfailingly said "Thank you " at every single station. He even said "Thank you" at tonometry!! Now that's a polite kid! And he couldn't believe it when he received his new eyewear. He kept asking, "Are these really for me?"

Watching the excitement on the faces of these precious little ones really kept us going through a hectic day. We capped it off with a team dinner at a local pizza joint, where we reminisced about the day, and looked forward to tomorrow. Check back for tomorrow's update!

Day Two

Day Two was another great day for Team Richmond and the kids, after a great night of bowling and team building last night. Some serious bowlers, and some serious fun!

We ramped things up a bit today, and saw 234 children and teens during Tuesday's clinic. Out of the 234 seen, a remarkable 217 needed glasses, at a need rate of 93%!! Even more amazing, our fabulous lab team was able to create 197 of them in our on-site lab today! Great teamwork for certain.

One of our favorite stories today was about a very nice young man (11 or 12 or so) who came wearing a pair of glasses that didn't seem to be his style. When questioned, he was somewhat evasive but finally admitted that the glasses were loaned to him by his (well-meaning) mom. Imagine his delight when we outfitted with a pair that fit better, looked better, and most importantly were his prescription! Seeing his smile reminds us of what it's all about.

We had our Silent Auction tonight, and raised $794.00 for OneSight. Wonderful items were donated, and almost everyone left with a smile and a new treasure.

Check back with us tomorrow for the latest news......

Day One

Well, the fun has begun! Day One of Onesight Richmond 2009 is history. We saw 155 wonderful children today, and fit 92 pair of glasses. Many were made on sight in Iris, our mobile Vision Van, and the rest were shuttled to be created at our nearby LensCrafters store.

The kids were terrific! So many of them touched our hearts. Associate Yessica Zuniga was especially moved by a little boy who she saw at dilation. He was holding his taped together glasses (missing a temple) on his face. We came to find out that his prescription was a minus six! And many of us fell for Leon, a precocious and adorable 6 six old, who even though he told us he didn't really like girls, agreed to pose with associate Michelle Dorm, sporting his newly selected eyewear. I will never forget Themon, another young man who looked fairly worried throughout clinic, but broke into a big smile, showing off his new frames. Tomorrow is another day, and we look forward to many more children and many more stories. Check back soon!

Counting Down!!

Well, it is finally here! Our team is beginning to arrive in preparation for our clinic that begins tomorrow!! Tonight is "get to know you" dinner, then orientation. We are scheduled to help over one thousand children over the next five days---very exciting! Stay tuned for updates....

One Week to go!!

Hello!

If you are interested in virtually following our OneSight clinic to Richmond,VA, you have come to the right place!

We are one week away from our arrival in Richmond for our one week OneSight clinic. Our first day of clinic will be Monday, October 19th. We look forward to providing eye exams and eyewear to the children of Richmond. We will be posting stories and pictures throughout the week, so make sure that you log on every day for updates. Also, if you are interested, our team is raising money to help fund the clinic. Log onto http://my.e2rm.com/TeamPage.aspx?Lang=en-CA&TSID=252445 to make a donation today!

A little background about OneSight and our global and regional clinics: OneSight is a family of charitable programs dedicated to improving vision through outreach, research, and education. Sponsered by Luxottica Group, OneSight programs have helped more than 7 million people over its 20-year history.

Each year, OneSight conducts clinics in developing countries and the U.S. where our doctors and trained volunteers provide free eye exams and new and recycled eyewear to thousands of people in need. To date, we have run 155 clinics in 31 different developing countries, as well as right here in the United States. For a complete list of clinic locations, please visit www.onesight.org.

We look forward to sharing our amazing expereince with you! Please check back often! : )

Team Richmond: See you soon!