News

Fy-Eye December 2019

   
PBWI small FY-Eye: December 2019 

Upcoming Events
Central Standard Cocktail Give-Back
All month long!
$3 from each signature cocktail, “Mule-Tide Greetings,” will benefit our sight-saving services. 
Join us on Thursday, December 5 for our kick-off night!


Upcoming Trainings
View the Children’s Vision Screener Training Schedule

December Newsletter Articles
Giving Tuesday
A Big Thank You
Welcome Steven Schneider to the Board of Directors
Central Standard Fundraiser
Clear Vision for Creativity
Upcoming Trainings
Corporate and Community Partners
Healthy Vision is a Great Resource
School-Based Screenings Help Save Sight
Lions Club Certification
NACDD Adult Vision Health Program
Grants Galore!
December is Toy Safety Month
Shop Amazon Smile
Join our Team!
20/20 Challenge
Make a Gift!

About Us


Founded in 1958, Prevent Blindness Wisconsin improves the lives of children, adults, and families through early detection of eye conditions to prevent blindness and preserve sight. On-going vision screening activities and state-wide public health education lead to a lifetime of healthy vision.

wisconsin.preventblindness.org
[email protected]

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Support Prevent Blindness Wisconsin
Support Prevent Blindness Wisconsin throughout the year by holding an event in our honor at your work, school or church. Some ideas include:
– Jeans Day
– Dedicate your birthday
– Bake sale
– Designate your United Way contribution by using code 53904

Please contact Bridget at [email protected] for PBW marketing materials. 


Giving Tuesday

What is your first memory of when you knew the importance of giving back? Help give the gift of healthy sight!

A certified vision screening is the first step on a child’s path for healthy vision for life. Regular vision screenings ensure early detection and treatment to prevent permanent vision loss and improve treatment outcomes. Research has shown that just six weeks of vision correction can improve a child’s standardized test scores to match the scores of their peers.

We ask you to share our vision, make a donation on Giving Tuesday, and help us increase our impact to reach more children and transform lives throughout the state.

Together, we provide a lifetime of healthy vision!

Giving Tuesday


St. Lucy thank you cards

A Big Thank You

The students at St. Lucy Catholic School have done it again! Prevent Blindness Wisconsin provided certified vision screenings and presented the Your Amazing Eyes story time for students at St. Lucy. As a thank you, 3k, 4k, and 5k students created amazing vision-related thank-you cards. These eye-catching cards are now hanging in our office and act as the perfect reminder of how impactful a vision screening can be.

Thank you, St. Lucy students and staff for being such wonderful vision screening partners!


Welcome Steven Schneider to the Board of Directors



Steve Schneider

Prevent Blindness Wisconsin is excited to welcome Steven Schneider to the Board of Directors!

Steven Schneider, an optical industry veteran for more than 30 years, began his career with Stein Optical before moving to LOH Optical Machinery in Germantown, WI, which eventually became Satisloh North America. Satisloh, an Essilor-owned company, is a global leader in eyeglass lens processing equipment.

Ms. Schneider has held various positions with the company, currently serving as their Senior Vice President, and helped develop a patent for one of their products. He’s currently serving on the Board of Directors for the Vision Council of America and is Chair of their Lens Processing Technology group.

Outside of work he enjoys spending time with his wife, Tammy and their two children, watching Wisconsin sporting events and enjoying their cabin in Northern Wisconsin.


Central Standard Cocktail Fundraiser

Muletide greetings 2019 

Attend our cocktail kickoff for the “Mule-tide Greetings” give-back at Central Standard Craft Distillery on Thursday, December 5.

Can’t make it this week? Throughout December, when you purchase our signature cocktail, “Mule-Tide Greetings,” a $3 donation will support our sight-saving services. Mule-Tide Greetings is a delicious Cherry Moscow Mule featuring Central Standards’ Cherry Vodka, bitters, lime, and ginger beer. This drink will be sure to get you in the festive spirit! Share our Facebook event!


Clear Vision for Creativity

Pathways High 


Community volunteers from the Milwaukee Private Schools Group collaborated with Pathways High, an independent high school recently featured in Forbes Magazine that focuses on the unique talents of each student to “positively impact local and global communities” inside of the classroom and within the community. This was a new opportunity to ensure these especially creative students could see clearly to continue making a positive impact. If you are interested in volunteering with the Milwaukee Private Schools Group or would like to find out how your Private School can get involved please contact, April at [email protected] to find out more.



Upcoming Trainings


Sign up for one of our upcoming Children’s Vision Screener Trainings. If you have questions or if you would like to schedule a training, please contact Shelby at [email protected].

Thursday, January 2, 2020
Certified Children’s Vision Screener Training – Milwaukee Public Schools
1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
North Division High School
1011 W. Center Street
Milwaukee, WI 53206
REGISTER NOW! 
Friday, March 20, 2020
27-E2 Lions Certified Vision Screener Training & SPOT
5:00 PM – 8:00 PM
The Lismore Hotel
333 Gibson Street
Eau Claire, WI 54701
REGISTER NOW!
Friday, January 17, 2020
Certified Children’s Vision Screener Training – Watertown Unified School District
12:30 PM – 3:30 PM
Watertown Unified School District
111 Dodge St.
Watertown, WI 53094
REGISTER NOW!
 


Corporate and Community Partners


Thank you to our community and corporate partners who joined with Prevent Blindness Wisconsin this fall to make healthy vision possible through the Adopt-a-School Program!

Executive Benefits Network partnered with Prevent Blindness Wisconsin to provide vision screenings to students at HOPE Christian Schools: Prima. Together, we vision screened 172 children and referred 49 children to further vision care. We’re so grateful to Executive Benefits Network for helping us reach students who would not receive vision screenings were it not for their dedicated employee volunteers!

Satisloh North America provided vision screenings to Germantown students. Together, we vision screened 400 children at Amy Belle Elementary School and referred 46 of those children to further vision care. Support from Satisloh also enables Prevent Blindness Wisconsin to build local program infrastructure needed to ensure all Germantown School District Students have access to sight-saving vision screenings. This year, Prevent Blindness Wisconsin trained and certified 50 Germantown High School students as children’s vision screeners. These students use their vision screening certification to help the Germantown School District nurse, who alone serves more than 3,900 students at 6 schools, provide vision screenings to students throughout the district. Thank you Satisloh for helping bring the future into focus for so many Germantown children!

The Woman’s Club of Wisconsin partnered with Prevent Blindness Wisconsin to once again provide vision screenings at the Early View Academy of Excellence. Together, we provided vision screenings to 148 students and of those students screened, 42 were referred to further vision care. Because Early View Academy of Excellence does not have a school nurse to provide vision screenings, the support and dedicated service of the Woman’s Club of Wisconsin is essential to ensuring these students have access to sight-saving vision screenings. Thank you Woman’s Club of Wisconsin for adopting Early View Academy of Excellence! We couldn’t do it without you!

EBN 2019 Woman's Club 2019
 Satisloh Am group Satisloh PM group 


Healthy Vision is a Great Resource

Thank you to the Green Bay Area Public School District Head Start for including us in their Resource Fair! The Resource Fair was a wonderful opportunity to connect parents with vision health resources in their area, provide assistance in scheduling eye exams, and help parents set their children on a path for healthy vision for life. This work is made possible by the Greater Green Bay Community Foundation. Thank you!



School-Based Screenings Help Save Sight

A school-based vision screening can be the first step in identifying and correcting a vision problem. Thank you to all the school nurses, public health nurses, and volunteers who provide school-based vision screenings to students! For support on starting a school-based vision screening, review our School Nurse Vision Screening Toolkit, sign up for our Certified Vision Screener Training, or contact Shelby at [email protected] with any questions.



Give the gift of sight year-round by getting your Lions Club certified today!

Healthy vision is a wonderful gift to give at any time of the year. Ensure that your Lions Club is ready to provide sight-saving services by scheduling a Certified Children’s Vision Screener Training! Contact Shelby at [email protected] to organize a training in your area.

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NACDD Adult Vision Health Program

We are happy to announce the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) selected Prevent Blindness Wisconsin again for full federal funding of $58,875 (100% of program costs) to build and expand the capacity of preventative adult vision health programming within local public health department Well Woman Programs. 

Partners for this grant cycle include the City of Milwaukee’s Public Health Department: Breast and Cervical Cancer Awareness Program and Waukesha and Jefferson County’s ProHealth Care Hispanic Health Resource Center. We are well underway with programming, vision screening 46 adults already and scheduling 9 eye exams for further needed care. 

We would like to thank the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors for this gracious funding—we are excited to take this program above and beyond for adults in our community. Thank you to our partners at the City of Milwaukee Health Department ad ProHealth Care Hispanic Health Resource Center, your support and persistence has been an incredible crutch for our partnership and the success of this programming.

MBCCAP Vision Screening 1 - crop MBCCAP Vision Screening 3 - crop
NACDD Logo

Grants Galore!

Prevent Blindness Wisconsin is proud and honored to announce it has been awarded grants from the following foundations:

Thank you Community Foundation of Central Wisconsin for supporting the Children’s Vision Screening Program in Portage County which supports certified vision screenings for approximately 4,000 children each year.

Thank you Community Foundation of Southern Wisconsin for supporting the Children’s Vision Screening Program in Crawford, Grant, Green, Iowa, Rock, Sauk, Vernon, and Walworth Counties which makes healthy vision possible for more than 20,000 children annually.

Thank you Elizabeth Elser Doolittle Charitable Trust for supporting essential information technology infrastructure and upgrades, which will be used throughout the year to ensure partners and volunteers, are properly trained, equipped, and supported to make healthy vision a priority in communities across the state.

Thank you Marjorie L. Christiansen Foundation for supporting the Southeastern Wisconsin SEES (Screen, Educate, Engage, Support) Program, which will address the vision health needs of at-risk adults by providing free certified adult vision screening and follow-up support, addressing barriers to vision care, and implementing vision health programming.

Thank you Waukesha County Community Foundation for supporting the Children’s Vision Screening Program in Waukesha County which ensures approximately 14,000 children, receive certified vision screenings and are placed on the path to healthy vision for a lifetime.

Prevent Blindness Wisconsin’s sight-saving programs would not be possible without the generous support of local funders. Thank you again for helping make healthy vision possible for children and adults across Wisconsin.


December is Toy Safety Month

Toy Safety Intro 


December is Safe Toys and Gifts Awareness Month. The holiday season is a joyous time of year and we want to ensure trips to the emergency room are avoided. Approximately 36% of toy-related injuries occurred to children younger than the age of 5 and 44% of these toy-related injuries were to the head or face. We want your family to enjoy the holiday season injury free. Follow the tips below for safe holiday gift ideas.

Safe Toy Tips for Eye Safety
• Age appropriate toys
• Toys that are made of durable material (quality plastic or wood) are less likely to break and will last longer. Broken toys can have sharp, pointed edges, which pose a risk to a child’s eyes.
• Toys stamped with the symbol ASTM F963. This symbol means it follows the safety standards of the American Society for Testing and Materials.
• If you are purchasing any sports equipment, such as baseballs, basketballs, or tennis racquets, a pair of polycarbonate sports safety glasses would make a great pairing gift

Age Approriate Label Toy Safety

Digital Devices as Gifts
Increased digital device use can affect how children’s eyes develop. The greater the exposure to blue light and digital devices, the greater the risk for the eye to become more elongated, leading to myopia (nearsightedness). Myopia is a refractive error that causes objects up close to appear clear, while objects far away in the distance appear blurry.

Prevent Myopia! Keep it 20/20/20 and get outside!
The 20/20/20 rule helps the eyes reset themselves and allows for use of both distance and near muscles, preventing the onset of myopia. The amount of screen time should also be monitored and limited; it is recommended children younger than 2 should not have any screen time and children ages 2-5 should only have an hour of screen time a day.

20.20.20 updated

Shop Amazon Smile!

This holiday season, do your online shopping on Amazon Smile. Select Prevent Blindness Wisconsin as your charity and 0.5% of eligible purchases will benefit Prevent Blindness Wisconsin and our sight-saving services!

Amazon-Smiles-Logo


Join Our Team!

Racine County Vision Screening Coordinator
Looking to join our team? Prevent Blindness Wisconsin is hiring a part-time Racine County Vision Screening Coordinator to assist with children’s vision screening and results follow up. If you are interested in learning more view job description or email [email protected].

Development Intern
| Come learn with us | hands on experience | great resume builder!

We seek a motivated, detail-oriented, self-starter with an interest in non-profit fundraising who can fill an integral role in our Resource Development department.

Do you possess • Interest in the non-profit sector and transforming lives • Extensive computer skills • Detail-oriented and organized with strong written and verbal communication skills. • Punctuality and dependability • A curious mind to learn and a hearty sense of humor! Read the full intern description and how to apply!

Staff Picture Walk 2019


Take the 20/20 Challenge!


 2020 Logo

Prevent Blindness Wisconsin makes the world a brighter place for children and adults across Wisconsin through our sight-saving vision health services. You can give the gift of healthy vision by joining the 20/20 Monthly Giving Challenge.

Celebrate the year 2020 – the year of healthy vision – by becoming a monthly donor to help Prevent Blindness Wisconsin achieve its vision for each Wisconsin resident to have healthy vision at every stage of life!

An investment of $20 per month provides one Certified Vision Screening for a child or adult, helping them take the first step on the path to healthy vision for life.

Will you accept our challenge to make a gift of $20 per month for 20 months and help 20 individuals improve their vision health?


Your support allows us to carry out our vision for each Wisconsin resident to have healthy vision at every stage of life.

Thank you!

 Donate
 2018 Email pictures

 

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