VisionSpring

Would you rather be unable to see or have to wear eyeglasses that embarrass you? That's the question that opened the eyes of VisionSpring founder, Jordan Kassalow, when he was volunteering in Colombia in 1987. Dr. Kassalow met Noka, a woman from a rural community who took a full day to visit their eye care outreach camp. "By U.S. standards, Noka was legally blind," wrote Jordan in his book, 'Dare to Matter.' "After examining her eyes, however, I was able to find the one pair of used eyeglasses we had that were a 100 percent match for the prescription she needed." But three days later, Noka returned because her friends and family were mocking her and Jordan understood why — the glasses he had given her were 1950's cat-eye style with rhinestones and Coke-bottle lenses. Not something she would have chosen for herself. Jordan brought this insight to the founding of VisionSpring, "[It's] the difference between what it feels like to have to take whatever someone has to give, and having the power to choose for yourself." Since Day 1, we have offered style options for eyeglasses. We proactively seek feedback, and update our designs to match what people want. By providing choice, we respect people's dignity, confidence, and identity. And by supporting our partners in adopting stylish, affordable, glasses, we can ensure that everyone has the 'Dignity of Choice.' #DignityOfChoice #SocialEntrepreneurship

World Sight Day is almost here! This year, it falls on Thursday, October 10th. This year’s themes – Love Your Child's Eyes and Love Your Eyes At Work – embody our commitment to providing students, as well as working age adults, with the 'dignity of choice.'  Since our founding, we have offered design options for eyeglasses. We proactively seek feedback and update our products to match what people want. By providing choice, we help others feel confident, empowered, and stylish in their glasses. If students and working age adults are excited to wear their glasses, they will fully benefit from their power to boost performance, productivity, and safety. We are thrilled to join hands with the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) and our eye health peers to make clear vision a reality for young people and workers everywhere. #WorldSightDay #Livelihoods #LoveYourEyes #WSD2024 

To all our Vietnamese team members, customers, and partners, we wish you a happy Independence Day! #Vietnam #Independence #VietnamNationalDay

Last week, we gathered with representatives of 20 NGOs, corporations, and government agencies in New Delhi to develop a collaborative action agenda that will close the clear vision gap experienced by 550 million people in India. Through this consensus-building, multi-sector discussion, we landed on a set of near term priorities that will: A) Create an enabling environment for many eye care models to grow and thrive, and B) Support the government in expanding refractive error services particularly at the primary care level. A huge thank you to all of the organizations and individuals who each shared insights rooted in unique areas of expertise. As Ella Gudwin (our CEO) put it, "We are going to move from being a club, with shared interests, to a team with a shared goal – to increase the eyeglasses coverage rate in India by 40%” #Collaboration #India #Teamwork #SocialEntrepreneurship

Please join us in welcoming Mushtaque Chowdhury to the VisionSpring Global Board of Directors! Mushtaque Chowdhury, PhD, is a renowned public health expert with more than 40 years of experience in international development, focusing on public health, education, and poverty reduction. He has long had an interest in VisionSpring's work through his tenure as Vice Chair at BRAC, one of our longest standing partners. He is currently a professor at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, where he became the first Bangladeshi to hold a professorial position at an Ivy League university. Dr. Chowdhury has also held senior roles at Harvard University and The Rockefeller Foundation, and contributed to global health initiatives such as the Global Health Equity Initiative and GAVI. He has published nearly 200 articles and has received numerous awards, including the Medical Excellence Award from Ronald McDonald House Charities and the Innovator of the Year Award from Brigham Young University. He holds a master’s in Demography from The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and a PhD in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Dr. Chowdhury remains a leading voice in promoting health equity and sustainable development, both in his home country of #Bangladesh, and beyond. Welcome to VisionSpring, Mushtaque! #Leadership #Eye #Health #SocialEntrepreneurship

"Our biggest challenge in the art industry is our sight. Without our eyes, we can't do anything." – Nike Okundaye, Owner and Founder of Nike Art Gallery Two months ago, we teamed up with Nike Art Gallery to show how important clear vision is for artists' creativity and livelihoods. Madame Nike described how many of the artists she works with are beginning to lose their sight, affecting their ability to create and make a living, and also putting hashtag #Nigeria's cultural heritage at risk. We visited Nike's flagship gallery in Lagos, where we got to know the stories of the many artists in her network and offered them the eye care they needed, helping them to see well and do well. At VisionSpring, we tend to focus on the economic impact of eyeglasses because of their immediate, transformative outcomes. But eyeglasses open up opportunities of all kinds – they help us maintain craft as we age, allowing us to pass our traditions on to new generations. Clear vision helps us appreciate all of life's beautiful details. Who better to help us remember that than our artists? #Nigeria #Eye #Health #SocialEntrepreneurship #Art #Creativity

We had a blast at charcha 2024 last week! It was 3 days of connecting among more than 2,000 like-minded changemakers focused on improving livelihoods across India. Our CEO, Ella Gudwin, took part in a lively conversation with Amit G., Narasimhan Narayanan, Abigail Steinberg, and Peyush Bansal. The event marked the launch of an in-depth report — Reading Glasses and Livelihoods — on the challenges and pathways to create universal access for across India. Sincere appreciation goes to the report authors and champions, atul satija (CEO, The Nudge Institute), Amit Gupta (COO at The Nudge Institute), and Dr. Indu Bhushan (Founding CEO of Ayushman Bharat). We can feel momentum building for a Clear Vision India. Congrats to The/Nudge Institute team for an inspiring #charcha! #India #Collaboration #SocialEntrepreneurship

Our Clear Vision Assam initiative just received the 'Large Impact' award at the India CSR Leadership Summit! Clear Vision Assam, which ran from September 2022 to August 2024, screened the vision of more than 250k tea garden workers and provided more than 140k of them with the eyeglasses they need to see well and do well. Many thanks to India CSR Network and the jury for the recognition – we did it! And a big shout-out to all team members and area managers for the Assam initiative: Abishek Biswa, ARUNAV GOGOI, Arup Chakraborty, Clement Songate, Debmallya Chatterjee, Gayatri Gogoi, Lebia Mohanand, Partha Nath, and Rumon Konwar. #India #Eye #Health #SocialEntrepreneurship

We're looking forward to this year's India CSR Leadership Summit this week! If you will be there, please join our CEO, Ella Gudwin, on Thursday, August 22nd, for a panel on our journey to getting 7 million Indians into eyeglasses and what's next in our work towards a Clear Vision India. Thank you, India CSR Network, for sharing your platform with us once again. Book your seat through the link in the comments below. #India #CSR #SocialEntrepreneurship