My name is
The mission of I Volunteer....
Is to provide professional eyecare and used, donated, eyeglasses to poor citizens of the Western Hemisphere; to see people who have vision and eye problems in areas where the social structure does not provide a safety net for the poor. Our patients do not pay money for their examination or glasses.
Just imagine not being able to see well enough to be literate. Or if you had the chance to learn to read in school, losing your ability to maintain clear focus and to see well enough to be productive in your middle and later years of life. What a tremendous cost to a society.
We cannot control where we were born. I feel that I am very fortunate to be educated as an optometrist, It has provided me with a skill to help others. I have been a volunteer eye doctor serving the poor, part time since 1979. I have been to Mexico, Peru, Guatemala and have helped Native Americans in Minnesota, USA. I enjoy volunteer work.
My past affiliations have been with VOSH (Volunteer Optometric Service to Humanity) and I Care International. At present, I have decided to proceed in a different direction and have organized missions without direct assistance from VOSH or I Care International.
Over the past several years, I have obtained portable examination equipment so that I can correctly identify eye problems rapidly. I am working with other service organizations to assist in providing me with used eye glasses.
What is a Doctor of Optometry (O.D.)?
In the United States of America, Doctors of Optometry have eight years of college and professional education. We practice optometry independently and in groups. We specialize in the examination, diagnosis, treatment and management of diseases of the visual system, the eye as well as the diagnosis of related systemic conditions. In the typical I Volunteer clinic we will be helping our patients by prescribing glasses.
Ask your eye doctor to participate and recycle (donate) your used eye glasses.
Now for you doctors and eye professionals
We see patients from 8-5 for four and one half days. You will be welcomed by many; sometimes hundreds of patients. Some will have walked miles, to wait all night long just to get a spot in the waiting line. Most will have waited a lifetime for their first eye exam.
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