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Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Nationally Recognized Bloggers Participate in Book Drive for Charity


To read well, a child first needs to see well, as 80 percent of what we learn is through our eyes. However, an astonishing one in four children has an undetected vision problem—many of which are due to lack of vision care. To shed light on the critical role healthy vision plays in helping to develop a child’s passion for reading and learning,VSP Vision CareTransitions Optical and Bess the Book Bus have launched the national “Eyecare About Reading” Book Drive competition. The Book Drive will provide free books, eye exams and glasses (when needed), totaling more than two million dollars, to children in need.

Three well-known bloggers: Meghan Cooper from JaMonkey (Atlanta, GA), Mocha Dad  Frederick Goodall (Houston, TX) and Kara-Kae, founder of The Mom Diggity (Oklahoma City, OK), will compete to collect the most books in their communities through August 22. The books will be donated to local charities as well as to Bess the Book Bus, a mobile literacy outreach program that travels across the country providing free books to underprivileged children in schools, shelters and community organizations.

“Reading opens worlds of opportunities for children throughout their academic and personal lives,” shared Jennifer Frances, founder of Bess the Book Bus. “I am thrilled to be a part of this campaign, which will help to spread the love of reading to kids, many of whom have never had a book of their own or access to proper eye care, potentially hindering their reading skills.”

How the Book Drive works:
  • For every three books donated in the competition (either through the bloggers or online), VSP will donate one free eye exam (and, if needed, glasses fitted with Transitions lenses) to charities in the bloggers’ communities for children without access to these services. VSP will provide up to 5,500 free eye exams in total for the campaign, a value of more than $2,000,000.
  • The blogger who collects the most books will receive an additional 100 free eye exams (and glasses with Transitions lenses) for their charity, as well as a special visit from Bess the Book Bus and the VSP/Transitions Optical Mobile Eyes clinic nicknamedEyenstein.
“Increasing access to quality eyecare is a priority for VSP,” said Connie Vavricek, director of industry outreach at VSP Vision Care. “To partner with organizations such as Transitions Optical and Bess the Book Bus, who share our passion to give back, increases the collective reach to make a positive impact on the life of a child.”

How to participate:
  • If you live in Atlanta, Houston or Oklahoma City, visit JaMonkeyMocha Dad and The Mom Diggity for book drop off locations.
  • If you live outside of these areas, visit www.Facebook.com/VSPVisionCare, select the Book Drive Tab and make a “promise” to protect your eyes. For every promise received, Transitions Optical will donate one free book to Bess the Book Bus. 
“Transitions Optical has a long-standing history of supporting literacy initiatives through our four-year partnership with Bess the Book Bus and our My Eye Promise program, encouraging everyone to promise to care for their eyes, and in turn also help children in need through our automatic book donations to Bess the Book Bus,” said Dan McLean, marketing manager, communications, Transitions Optical.  “The Eyecare About Reading book drive competition is another great way to get parents, children and teachers thinking about the important connection between healthy vision and reading and learning before the start of the new school year.”
Renowned children’s authors John Perry, Margaret Mason, Deborah Diesen, Rebecca Emberley and Cynthia Lord are also showing their support for the campaign by providing free signed copies of their award-winning books as well as exclusive video content.

To donate a book, visit the Book Drive Tab at www.Facebook.com/VSPVisionCare.

To learn more about VSP Vision Care community programs, visit www.vspglobal.com/globaloutreach. To learn more about Transitions Optical’s community programs, visit www.eyedidntknowthat.org. For more information about Bess the Book Bus, visit www.bessthebookbus.org.



All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by the company.  Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Please refer to this site's Disclaimer  for more information. I have been compensated or given a product free of charge, but that does not impact my views or opinions.

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