Saving Sight and Local Legislators Host Care Fair

Sonja Buckley, KidSight vision screening technician, screens children at the 2nd Annual 24th Senatorial District Care Fair on October 8.

On Saturday, October 8 Saving Sight teamed up KidSight, Senator Jill Schupp and local state representatives to host the 2nd Annual 24th Senatorial District Care Fair at the Overland Community Center. The Care Fair introduced underserved members of the community to local health and wellness resources and provided access to basic preventative health services to promote healthy communities in the surrounding area.

“People accessed all these services at no cost and we think it’s a great event to bring the community together around making sure that people are healthy and fit and know where to go when they need healthcare resources,” said Senator Schupp.

Nearly 250 community members came to take part in the Care Fair. This was a
huge increase in attendance from last year’s inaugural event. The increase in participants was attributed to improved event promotion and to an increase in
local health vendors offering health services at the Care Fair.

“This event today had over 30 different vendors, everything from vision screening and glaucoma screening, to flu shots, to blood pressure screenings, but also mental health services and services for kids,” said Senator Schupp.

In addition to health vendors offering hearing screenings, blood pressure checks, vaccinations, nutrition education, fitness instruction and other healthcare informational services, Saving Sight provided KidSight Vision Screenings for children and Healthy Vision Screenings for adults. In all, 26 children and 35 adults stopped by the Saving Sight booth for a screening. Sonja Buckley, KidSight vision screening technician, provided screenings for participants of all ages and was also able to provide attendees with reading glasses from Saving Sight’s Eyeglass Recycling Program. The readers were a huge hit, and those who received a pair were grateful to have the glasses to help them see to read in their daily life.

“I want to say thank you to Saving Sight who really encouraged me to put on this health fair a second and third year,” said Senator Schupp. “Saving Sight provides vision screenings for children ages 6 months to 6 years. What we know is that, when we catch it early, they can help prevent childhood vision loss and that is so important to ensuring that our children have a healthy future, do well in school and do well in life.”