MAY 16, 2019
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) today led a bipartisan coalition of Senators in recognizing national nonprofit Vision To Learn for reaching the important milestone of helping 200,000 children nationwide. Vision To Learn travels to schools across the country, providing free eye exams and free glasses to children in low-income communities.
To view the resolution, please click here.
“When you can improve the vision of a child, you open up an entire new world to them,” said Senator Coons. “Too many students in Delaware who need glasses to see the board, conduct an experiment, or participate in class, go without. Vision To Learn solves this problem by helping thousands of kids get the glasses they need to succeed in school and reach their full potential. I’m proud to join with Senator Ernst and my colleagues to recognize Vision To Learn’s success and celebrate this important milestone.”
“As one of the most rural states in the nation, many Iowans have limited access to eye care, with the nearest optometrist being as far as 50 miles away for some families,” said Senator Ernst. “That’s why I’m so appreciative of the tremendous success of Vision To Learn in providing our children greater access to eye care by bringing eye exams directly to our local schools. I’m proud to join my Democratic colleague Senator Chris Coons of Delaware in putting forward our bipartisan resolution to recognize and celebrate Vision To Learn’s success in helping more than 200,000 children across our nation, including thousands of kids in Iowa.”
As many as two million children across the United States lack the eye glasses they need to succeed in school and life. Vision To Learn’s common sense approach allows licensed eye care professionals, working out of state-of-the-art mobile clinics, to provide services directly to schools and students. Established in 2012 by the Beutner Family Foundation, Vision To Learn has already provided free vision exams to 200,000 students.
The bipartisan resolution was cosponsored by Senators Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), David Perdue (D-Ga.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Pat Toomey (R-Penn.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Bob Casey (D-Penn.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Doug Jones (D-Ala.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), Deb Fischer (D-Neb.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), John Kennedy (R-La.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), and Tom Udall (D-N.M.).