Fort Worth students receive free eye exams and glasses

September 9, 2010

Approximately 2,000 students in Forth Worth, Texas, received free eyeglasses through Kids Vision for Life, an initiative sponsored by the charitable division of two lens manufacturers - Alcon and Essilor Vision, according to The Star-Telegram.

Krystal Lopez, a student at an elementary school in the city, was among the lucky students who received the free specs. "Sometimes I can't really see far without glasses," she told the news source. "And I got [new glasses] in my favorite color, like the ocean."

The program has been operating in Dallas since 2008, but this year it expanded to include a total of 21 Fort Worth elementary schools. Next year it will expand to other districts in the area.

According to the officials involved with the program, almost 20 percent of elementary school students in Fort Worth were in need of corrective lenses. The schools who were able to participate in the program had the highest instances of students who failed vision tests but did not have glasses.

According to the American Optometric Association, children of school-age should visit their eye doctor for a comprehensive exam at least once every other year.