Sight So Prescious
Officials: All kids need 20-20 vision
Kia Owens tries on a pair of glasses at Bishop Optical Saturday. [photo by Brian Leddy / Independent]

By Karen Francis
By Diné Bureau

GALLUP — When children are unable to see because they do not have good vision and cannot afford corrective lenses, it can affect their grades and school performance. Now, 9,000 Navajo children will have the opportunity to get a free pair of glasses from Bishop Optical thanks to an appropriation from the Navajo Nation.

In addition to the funds from Navajo, local businessmen are donating to the program. Doug Bishop announced that he is donating another 1,000 glasses — bringing the total to 10,000 — and Sammy Chioda, owner of Sammy C’s Rock N’ Sports Pub & Grille, is donating certificates for pizza worth $10.99 each to every child who gets glasses.

On March 21, the Navajo Nation’s Office of Youth Development was at the Bishop Optical store on Second Street to celebrate the kick-off of the “Looking Ahead Youth Eyeglass Project.” Staff members from OYD were there to help parents fill out the proper paperwork on-site. They will be visiting the store on select Saturdays so parents can bring in children for the program.

On Friday, Ryan Gauvin was at the store to get glasses for his son whose glasses had been stolen while he was at school.

“His glasses cost $300. It’s kind of hard to replace,” Gauvin said. “I think it’s kind of cool that Youth Development’s doing this. It helps out a lot of people that otherwise wouldn’t have glasses.”

Gauvin’s son William said he was “very excited” to come out for the program.

“I was really glad to come here to see again,” he said.

Julie Smith, special programs manager at Bishop Optical, said, “This is a really great opportunity to all the Navajo people, especially their children, because a lot of them don’t have money to pay for their glasses.”

“A lot of parents are very, very happy that finally this type of program is happening for their children and they truly appreciate it,” she added. “It’s actually helping them to improve their grades, as well as their relationships with their families, their friends because now they have a whole new world to actually see.”

Vans from Bishop Optical will also be making site visits to schools on Navajo — bringing the program to the school districts for those that can’t make it out to Gallup or Farmington. On Wednesday and Thursday last week, Bishop Optical did just that and made site visits to Chinle and Many Farms, fitting over 300 students with glasses.

Bishop said that when the staff went to Chinle, “in a matter of six hours we saw 250 children. A lot have never worn glasses before.”

Alvin Gee, with the Chinle ODY, said that parents appreciated Bishop Optical coming out to the schools.

“Some of the comments we got is that it’s convenient and also that it doesn’t take the student away from a full day of school. Other comments were some families have three children where they have to buy glasses for each one,” he said.

Gee said he met with the area principals before the program came out.

“Some teachers have students that are struggling. Students can improve learning and grades,” he said.

Fort Defiance ODY Supervisor Yvonne Kee-Billison said that the program will pay for the frame and the lenses. Anything beyond that would be paid for by the parent.

Even with the 10,000 eyeglasses to give away, the ODY expects to run out by June. The ODY serves 80,000 children, Marilyn King-Johnson, director of ODY, said.

The funds for the program came from an appropriation to ODY for $495,000, which was sponsored by Speaker Lawrence T. Morgan, Iyanbito/Pinedale, during a Dec. 19 Navajo Nation Council special session.

Navajo children in kindergarten through 12th grades are eligible for the program and need to bring in a Certificate of Indian Blood to their nearest ODY to get the referral form needed. Every child also needs a current eyeglass prescription from an optometrist.