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.
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.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
View Children’s Healthcare Urgent Care Centers in a larger map
What a great campaign!
Thank you! It’s an important one for kids:)
I would also recommend getting your child’s eyes checked at a early age.
Thanks for sharing.
Great campaign for an important cause. I had no idea kids should have that many exams by age 5, either.
This is a great cause, hope they get lots of books!
Excellent post. Keeping ones eyes healthy is so very important!
What a great idea.
Our son had his first exam at 5 and needed glasses. We had no idea!
What a great drive!
I love reading, especially with my girls. Sounds like a great program!
I never knew that little kids needed eye exams!
What a great program!