The Citizenship and Service-Learning office has a long-standing relationship with vision health. In 2013, the office began administering free vision screenings in the community. An estimated 80,000 screenings have taken place over the past 9 years. This program enables service-learning students to get hands-on experience and use high-tech equipment. The program is partnered with the Vision Rehabilitation Center of the Ozarks, where community members who have been flagged for vision issues can receive care. Screenings take place at many locations and events including local daycare facilities and school districts as well as the Salvation Army, Springfield Dream Center, OTC campus, and the annual HOPE Connection event. This semester, the vision screening team can add one more location to its list, the Missouri State campus. As a result of partnering with AmeriCorps this past summer, we are now offering free vision screenings in University Hall and in the Plaster Student Union. A dedicated team of student employees will be stationed at these locations to provide vision … [Read more...] about Service-Learning and AmeriCorps partner to offer free on-campus vision screenings
Missouri State service-learning students conducted 250 vision screenings for Springfield’s homeless population as part of this year’s HOPE Connection event. A total of 182 were referred for follow up care to the Jordan Valley Community Health Center, MSU Care Clinic or Vision Rehabilitation Center of the Ozarks, where they were scheduled for a further examination by an optometrist or fitted for corrective lenses. HOPE Connection is an annual day-long service event coordinated by Community Partnership of the Ozarks, hosting a consortium of agencies and volunteers from the region that provide essential services to the impoverished, including “enhanced direct services” for veterans as part of Veterans Stand Down. This is CASL’s third year at the event, but the first in which service-learning students were able to screen clients before visiting the health clinic. This provided subsequent vision professionals more precise information about a client’s vision health than in years prior. Service-learning students used Welch/Allyn’s SPOT Screener, digital imaging cameras that quickly … [Read more...] about Service-learning takes vision screenings to the homeless at Hope Connection
Earlier this year, CASL partnered with the Vision Rehabilitation Center of the Ozarks (VRCO) to produce a promotional documentary premiered during the organization's annual "Dining in the Dark" fundraising event. The VRCO supports southwest Missouri's vision health with low or no-cost optometry services. Citizenship & Service-Learning often refers patients to the VRCO that are found to have potential vision problems through our signature Vision Screening Program. The "Dining in the Dark" fundraiser, in which guests are blindfolded during dinner to simulate the difficulties of blindness and low vision, raises funds for advancing VRCO services and technology. CASL supported the VRCO's efforts through the production of a promotional documentary that was played during the dinner. CASL Director, Dr. Kathy Nordyke and VRCO director, Wendy Jackson executive produced. Charles Whitaker and Tatym Brown produced all video content on a $0 budget. Watch the full video below and be sure to visit VRCO's website for information about how you can help support their efforts. … [Read more...] about CASL and VRCO partner in fundraising video