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Emerson School student keeps eye on philanthropy with project
Sarah Pinkerton and Dr. Pam Boyce, of Boyce Family Eye Care in Park Ridge, show some of the donated eyeglasses that will be sent to Haiti and Guatamala. | Contributed photo
Updated: March 24, 2012 8:04AM
A sixth-grader at Emerson Middle School in Niles recently teamed up with a Park Ridge optometry office to collect unwanted eyeglasses for use in countries where poverty often prevents people from receiving regular eye care.
Sarah Pinkerton, of Park Ridge, worked with Dr. Pam Boyce, of Boyce Family Eye Care, 528 Devon Ave., to collect 118 pairs of used eyeglasses.
The glasses will be given to the Illinois College of Optometry, cleaned, sorted and distributed among patients in Haiti and Guatemala during mission trips conducted by the college’s students, Boyce said.
“These missions to underdeveloped communities around the world provide life-changing care for thousands of people in need,” she said.
The prescriptions of the glasses are matched up with the needs of the patients, Boyce said.
Unwanted glasses were collected at Boyce Eye Care and at Field Elementary School in Park Ridge.
Pinkerton said she organized the collection not for a required school project, but to help those in need improve their eyesight.
Boyce Family Eye Care will continue to accept donations of old eyeglasses on an ongoing basis, Boyce said.
