Essilor of America Bestows In-Kind Donation To Illinois College Of Optometry
By Essilor News
08/09/2006
Dallas – (August 9, 2006) – Illinois College of Optometry is proud to announce the donation of 9,000 pairs of customized eyeglasses over the next three years from Essilor of America in support of the Illinois Eye Institute. The donated glasses will be prescribed by the Illinois College of Optometry faculty for patients served through its charitable activities in the Chicago area. Illinois College of Optometry will honor Essilor at a dedication ceremony on Friday, August 18, during which the Institute’s patient reception area will be named in Essilor’s honor.
As part of the gift, Essilor also coordinated the donation of frames and related lab work. Optical Supply (OSI), an Essilor Lab, in Grand Rapids, MI, is donating all related lab work, including surfacing and finishing. Children and adults within the Institute’s charitable programs will be able to choose from a selection of frames, and then Essilor will create lenses to meet the prescription and material needs of each patient. Single or bifocal lenses and polycarbonate material will be available when appropriate. Beginning this summer, Essilor will deliver the prescribed eyewear to the Illinois College of Optometry each week for distribution to patients. In appreciation of the donation, the patient reception area at the Illinois Eye Institute will be named in Essilor’s honor.
“We are thrilled to provide this gift to the Illinois College of Optometry in support of the Illinois Eye Institute. Everyone deserves quality vision correction and this donation will help provide proper eye care to deserving Chicago-area residents in need,” said Mike Daley, president of Essilor Lenses. “We hope that supplying these eyeglasses will help to improve both the patients’ vision and their quality of life.”
“We are so grateful to Essilor of America for their generous gift of 9,000 pairs of eyeglasses over the next three years”, said Dr. Arol Augsburger, president of the Illinois College of Optometry. “Essilor has been a tremendous partner in our efforts to offer the highest quality of services to our patients. These lenses will make a meaningful difference in helping patients in need to see so they can perform essential functions for daily living.”
The Illinois Eye Institute is one of the nation’s leading clinics and research centers focusing expressly on eye care. They offer a full spectrum of primary and specialty eye care for people of all ages. The Institute is also one of the nation’s leading educational centers, training eye care professionals as well as providing continuing education to eye doctors worldwide. Eye care professionals at the forefront of their profession combine their expertise to bring patients the latest developments in vision correction, diagnosis of eye disease and comprehensive treatment.
About the Illinois College of Optometry
The Illinois College of Optometry (ICO) is the largest and oldest educational institution dedicated solely to the teaching of optometrists in the United States. Founded in 1872, ICO has established itself as one of the world’s leading urban optometric institutions and has been serving the Chicago community for over 130 years. For more information, visit www.ico.edu.
About Essilor of America
Essilor is the leading manufacturer of optical lenses in the United States and is the market leader in progressive, high-index and anti-reflective coated lenses. A pioneer in the development and production of ophthalmic lenses, Essilor employs over 6,100 people in more than 100 facilities throughout the 50 states. Essilor manufactures optical lenses under the Varilux®, Crizal®, Thin&Lite®, DEFINITY™ and other Essilor brand names. Essilor Laboratories of America (ELOA) is the largest, and most trusted, optical lab network in the U.S. and offers a wide choice of services and lens brands, including Essilor premium lenses, to eye care professionals across the nation. Essilor of America, Inc. (Essilor) is a subsidiary of Paris-based Essilor International, S.A., a publicly held company traded on the Euronext Paris stock exchange (Reuters: ESSI.PA).
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Varilux and Crizal are registered trademarks and DEFINITY is a trademark of Essilor International, S.A. Thin&Lite is a registered trademark of Essilor of America, Inc.