Eyecare About Reading Book Drive

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Even though I’m a parent of two children I’m still learning new things about parenting them. Watching my husbands eye’s start to get worse over the years I was concerned about my daughters eye sight as well. Did you know that 1 in 4 children have an undetected vision problem? I had no idea!

The other thing I was unaware of was that your child’s first eye exam should be preformed at 6 months of age. I’ve recently learned about that due to having a preemie but JaMonkey had’t had an eye exam until her Preschool testing. Having a serious vision problem would hinder her ability to learn. A simple eye exam could prevent her from becoming one of the 20% of students that struggle to read.

To help support proper eye care in children I (and 2 other bloggers) have teamed up with VSP, Transition Optical and Bess the Book Bus to hold the “Eyecare About Reading” Book Drive competition. I’ll be representing Atlanta while participating in this national book drive to collect books for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, as well as Bess the Book Bus, a mobile literacy outreach program dedicated to getting books into the homes of underprivileged and underrepresented children and families.

For every 3 books donated during the competition (either online or in select cities), VSP will donate 1 free eye exam (and, if needed, glasses fitted with Transitions lenses) to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta who will then give them to children without access to these services.
If Atlanta collects the most books during the competition Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta will receive 100 extra eye exams along with a special visit from Bess the Book Bus. The book drive will be from July 17th- August 22.
If you live in the Metro Atlanta Area we would love your help! Bring your new books* to any Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Urgent Care Centers throughout the Metro Atlanta area. The centers are open 11am-9pm on weekdays and 9am-9pm on weekends.
*Books must be in NEW condition for the safety and health of Children’s patients.  If you are interested in donating your used books please see my note below. 
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Urgent Care Centers:

Children’s at Mount Zion (through Friday 27th and Hudson Bridge location opens August 1)
Attn: Lisa Gaither

2201 Mount Zion Pkwy

Morrow, GA 30260-3312
404-785-8660

 

Children’s at North Point
Attn: Rose Weber

3795 Mansell Road
Alpharetta, GA 30022-8247
404-785-8540

 

Children’s at Satellite Boulevard
Attn: Katina Artis

2660 Satellite Boulevard
Duluth, GA 30096-5803
404-785-8330

 

Children’s at Town Center

Attn: Dana Hunter Tatum
2985 George Busbee Parkway
Kennesaw, GA 30144-6812
404-785-8010

 

Children’s at Forsyth

Attn: Roshonda Gideon
410 Peachtree Parkway, Suite 300
Cumming, GA 30041-7407
404-785-3100

 

If you live outside of these areas, visit  www.Facebook.com/VSPVisionCare, select the Book Drive Tab and make a “promise” to protect your eyes. For every promise received, Transitions Optical will donate one free book to Bess the Book Bus.

 

To support the initiative, the following national children’s book authors have signed on to show their support and will be providing signed books and much more!

John Perry: The Book that Eats People

Margaret Mason: These Hands

Deborah Diesen: The Pout-Pout Fish, The Big-Big Dark, The Barefooted, Bad-Tempered Baby Brigade

Rebecca Emberley: Chicken Little

Cynthia Lord: Rules, Touch Blue, Hotrod Hamster

*If you have a large collection of used books that you would like to donate please email me I can coordinate a time to pick them up for the book drive. meghan at jamonkey dot com 


View Children’s Healthcare Urgent Care Centers in a larger map

About Meghan

Creator of JaMonkey & Atlanta Moms on the Move
Meghan also writes for Fox 5 Atlanta's My Atlanta Moms.
Follow Meghan on Twitter @JaMonkey As well as Google+

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  1. What a great campaign!

  2. I would also recommend getting your child’s eyes checked at a early age.
    Stefani recently posted..My Thoughts Of The 2012 Kia SorentoMy Profile

  3. Thanks for sharing.
    Stefani recently posted..My Thoughts Of The 2012 Kia SorentoMy Profile

  4. Great campaign for an important cause. I had no idea kids should have that many exams by age 5, either.
    Crystal recently posted..My Birthday Princess & Shirt ReviewMy Profile

  5. This is a great cause, hope they get lots of books!

  6. Excellent post. Keeping ones eyes healthy is so very important!
    nicole @nicky_olea recently posted..No Space AvailableMy Profile

  7. What a great idea.

    Our son had his first exam at 5 and needed glasses. We had no idea!
    Rachel recently posted..Kid Friendly Hotel at a Great Price. County Inn and SuitesMy Profile

  8. What a great drive!
    RJ recently posted..Interview Saturday: Sarah ElizabethMy Profile

  9. I love reading, especially with my girls. Sounds like a great program!

  10. I never knew that little kids needed eye exams!
    Jenn @therebelchick recently posted..Cinnabon Cinnamon Streusel Recipe…with Del Monte Peaches! #SmartSnackMy Profile

  11. What a great program!
    Kathy recently posted..Dr.Seuss’ The Lorax on Blu-Ray/DVD and in 3DMy Profile

Trackbacks

  1. [...] so excited to see that my friend Meghan from J@Monkey and two other prominent bloggers have teamed up with VSP, Transition Optical and Bess the [...]

  2. [...] asked Frances about the ways that she gets the books for her program aside from book drives like the one we are holding. She explained, “We work a lot with First Book and also with Capstone Publishers and Townsend [...]

  3. Book Drive Continues to Collect Books for Children in Need | VSP Blog says:

    [...] We’ve got three cities collecting books for children at local organizations. In the lead is Atlanta with 215 books. Next up is Oklahoma City, just pulling into second this week with 75 books. Houston [...]

  4. [...] have a gift. My daughter loves to read so we read to her every night. Sometimes a few books. The Eyecare about Reading Book Drive is coming to an end. I’m so happy to share with you the amazing children’s authors that [...]

  5. [...] you are new here, you might want to subscribe to the RSS feed for updates on this topic.I’ve talked about all the important details of making sure that you are caring for your children’s eye’s [...]

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