[ View Opportunity ]

Last updated on April 4, 2008

WE SEE, THUS WE BELIEVE...our eyes are more than just windows to the world: our eyes reflect overall health and happiness. Because we believe that one-half of all blindness is preventable with early detection, we at Friends for Sight work to protect the most valued of our senses, our vision. Friends for Sight offers this free service funded entirely by donations from Utahns who care about our vision and quality of life. Our goal is to raise awareness of the difference between normal vision and vision problems. Friends for Sight screens pre-school children for Amblyopia, high school driver's ed students for visual acuity, and adults for visual acuity and glaucoma.

When you check the box on your drivers license or license plate tag, you can make a $2 donation to FFS.

Description:
Through comprehensive vision screening programs, Friends for Sight was able to reach over 600,000 people by 2005. Friends for Sight plans to continue to dedicate time and services for the purpose of saving sight. Volunteers are the backbone of the agency, accounting for almost 70% of the service hours provided. Each volunteer is trained in the screening processes with our glaucoma and visual acuity machines. Our eyes impact our quality of life from birth to death, and like all our vital signs, our eyes work 24/7. Please join us in the awesome task of saving sight. Helen Keller said, “Alone we can do so little. Together we can do so much.”

History:
Established in 1955 to provide vision screening for children for Amblyopia, lazy-eye blindness, as Friends For Sight we have a single mission: to preserve sight. Since 1955, over 510,000 children - that’s over one million eyes - have been screened. In addition over 313,000 adults have been screened for Glaucoma, called the sneak thief of sight. Since we established the high school driver training vision screening program in March 2001, approximately 91,000 students have been screened in schools throughout the state.

Contact person: Kathleen Boner, Program Coordinator, (phone), (email)
Office fax number: (801) 322-3647

Address:

661 South 200 East Salt Lake City, UT 84111 (See a map)

Web Site: http://www.for-sight.com

Directions:

Nearest Metro/Subway Stop: Courthouse (450 South Main Street) and Library (225 East 400 South),   Walk distance (in minutes): 15

---

Be the first person to offer feedback on this agency!
Post a volunteer reflection to share your experiences with other volunteers!