By John Gutekunst Parker Pioneer Nov 13, 2018
Free vision clinic comes to Parker
Many Parker area residents received free eye exams and glasses during the week of Nov. 5-10 thanks to One Sight, a non-profit that helps low-income people with free eye clinics. The clinic was held in the Moovalya Plaza Shopping Center in the space once occupied by River Rags.
The clinic was sponsored by the Colorado River Indian Tribes, with support from La Paz County. Kerrie Armstrong, the coordinator for the event, said Walking Stick, an organization that provides services to Native American reservations, arranged for the One Sight Clinic.
Members of the CRIT Tribal Council were on hand for the grand opening of the clinic Nov. 5. La Paz County Attorney Tony Rogers read a resolution from the County Board of Supervisors supporting the clinic. Breakfast for the occasion was provided by the La Paz County Farm Bureau.
The interior of the building was set up with exam stations and stations for the fitting of glasses. Thousands of frames to choose from were on display.
The clinic saw many patients in its five days of operation. Some days, the line of people waiting for eye exams stretched beyond the entrances of stores next to the clinic.
One Sight Clinic Director Dawn Yager said One Sight operates 30 charitable clinics each year, including 14 in the United States. They have operations in Australia, India and Africa.
Yager said they had 47 volunteers working at the Parker clinic. They represented the United States and five other countries. She said they expected to see over 1,000 people in the five days the clinic would be in operation.
On their website, One Sight says their goal is to provide vision care services to the 1-in-7 people in the world who lack access to that care. They say they are unleashing the potential of 1.1 billion people, and they see more than 3,500 people each week in their clinics.
The website says, “When we see better, we live better.”
To find out more about One Sight, go to their website at www.onesight.org.
