Clearer Vision for American Indian Students
150 Zuni and Navajo students from the Futures for Children program will get new free glasses April 21 -23 from 9-5 pm at the Rio West Mall, space #196, in Gallup, NM.
Glasses for Students is part of the Futures for Children mission to improve the quality of education for the 2500 American Indian students in the program.
�Students can�t do well in school if they can�t see the blackboard or read their assignments,� says Keith Slim-Tolagai, Program Team Leader at Futures for Children. �This is a significant problem, especially in remote areas where access to eye care is limited and hard to reach. With superior vision it�s a whole lot easier to perform well in school, and to enjoy your education.�
Glasses for Students, introduced in 2003, receives enthusiastic responses from students, parents and teachers alike. In partnership with Signature Eyewear, an international eyewear company based in Los Angeles, and Native Vision, a Colorado based, Native owned optical business, over 200 free glasses have been distributed to FFC students.
The program is designed to make it easy for students to receive new glasses. Futures staff and volunteers travel to a central location, where all services are provided. Students and their families arrive with current prescriptions and spend about 3 hours. There are many fashionable frames to choose from, courtesy of Signature Eyewear.
Karl Minzenmayer (Ojibwe), owner of Native Vision, donates the lenses and does frame fitting on the spot. �There are too many Indian kids who do not get what they need in glasses. You can�t expect an Indian kid not to grow up and see the world�. Students leave looking great and seeing even better.
