Volunteers from Essilor’s North American Technical Center and local business, Eye
Designs Optical, with the Essilor Vision Foundation gave their time and services in
support of providing vision exams and glasses to the children at Marjorie K. Rawlings
Elementary School.

The team at the Park Street North American Technical Center has worked with
Marjorie K. Rawlings Elementary School over the years in support of different needs
and events. When they were struggling to find services to provide glasses for children
in need they gave us a call. We were honored to be able to help and support the
school and the children.

We contacted the Essilor Vision Foundation to see what we could do for the school.
The Vision Foundation provided all the equipment and necessary materials for the eye
exams. All we needed to do was find a doctor who would be willing to donate their
time for the community. Dr. Valerie Potter from Eye Designs Optical & Vision Care, a
local company in St. Petersburg, volunteered her services and staff. They were eager to
work with the Essilor Vision Foundation to provide the eye exams and glasses to the
children.

On Tuesday, May 10th we met at the school and set up all the equipment sent from the
Essilor Vision Foundation.

Dr. Valerie Potter and Sarah Lovallo, a licensed optician from Eye Designs, along with
Kathy Jonas, Charles Hann, Missy Kane, and Gevan Peacock from our St. Petersburg
Research and Development group met at the school to provide the eye exams.
Each child received an eye exam and help with frame selection.

The R&D Technical Center then made all of the prescription eyewear prescribed by the
doctor. On May 31st we went back to the school with the glasses for the fitting. Ron
Mills, the contract optician at the Technical Center, went to the school with some of
the R&D staff to do the actual fittings for the children.

It was great seeing several companies in the community coming together to help
out a local school and to know that we were making a huge difference in the learning
capability of a child by providing proper eyewear.