In 2009, the Glazer Family Foundation introduced the Glazer Family Foundation Vision Mobile, an eye examination facility on wheels that travels to Title I schools to provide comprehensive vision exams and prescription glasses, free of charge.
Since the Vision Mobile hit the road, thousands of local children have been provided this much-needed service of not only detecting but correcting serious vision problems for those who could not otherwise afford such health assistance.
This fall, the Glazer Family Foundation Vision Mobile has also attended every Tampa Bay Buccaneers home game, parking on Tampa Bay Boulevard by Raymond James Stadium's busy South Plaza. The Mobile has offered free eye screenings for any parent wishing to have their child's eyesight checked. Almost 500 children have had their eyes screened before Buccaneers home games this year, and more than 60 of them have been identified with vision problems.
In fact, five pre-kindergarten children have been identified with Amblyopia, or "lazy-eye," during these on-site stadium examinations. Without the intervention of the Glazer Family Foundation Vision Mobile, those children would have remained at high risk for permanent vision loss. In addition, one child with Down Syndrome was identified as having significant vision issues that had previously gone unnoticed because traditional vision screening techniques had failed.
There are many more success stories stemming from one of the signature initiatives of the Glazer Family Foundation. Fans attending the Buccaneers' remaining two home games – December 9 vs. Philadelphia and December 23 vs. St. Louis – should keep a look out for the mobile screening unit, which will once again be parked near the South Plaza.
Between games, the Glazer Family Foundation Vision Mobile has taken to the road again this winter, and will be visiting 12 public schools throughout Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties to carry out its mission. To hear more about the Vision Mobile and the Glazer Family Foundations' support of local youth, visit www.GlazerFamilyFoundation.org.
