Vision screenings are an integral part of Unite for Sight's volunteer efforts. They are a chance for our volunteers to offer a preliminary screening to the underserved in our community and help connect those in need with free services from local optometrists and ophthalmologists such as professional exams, consultations, and free prescription eyeglasses. Monthly, our chapter conducts a screening at the Delonis Center, a community kitchen and shelter in downtown Ann Arbor. Other screenings are held less frequently at schools and churches in the greater Ann Arbor area. For more information about our vision screenings, or if you would like to volunteer, please contact our Director of Vision Screenings (listed on our contact page).

Education is another important facet of Unite for Sight's mission to eliminate preventable blindness. As a chapter, our major education outlet is through local elementary schools. We give an interactive presentation to grades 2-5 on a monthly basis at several elementary schools in Ann Arbor within walking or short driving distance of campus. The presentation includes a basic discussion of the anatomy of the eye, information about optometrists and eye safety, a trivia game, and a small craft project. Our group is always well-received by students and teachers alike with many local teachers asking us back each new school year. If you would like to volunteer at an elementary education program or need more information about our chapter's education efforts, please contact our Director of Elementary Education (listed on our contact page).

Our chapter conducts an ongoing eyeglass drive throughout campus and the greater Ann Arbor community. Gently used reading glasses, distance glasses, sunglasses, and cases are collected throughout the year by individual chapter members as well as in more formally organized drives. Past collections include Trick-Or-Treating and Caroling for eyeglasses, partnering with local schools, and collecting in members' neighborhoods. The eyeglasses are sent to Unite for Sight's partner clinics overseas in Guiana, India, and Honduras with volunteers who distribute them to adults and children in need. If you would like to learn more about our eyeglass collection efforts or have glasses that you would like to donate, please contact our Director of Eyeglass Drives (listed on our contact page).

Our chapter is also involved in several unique community service endeavors in the local area.

Twice a month we volunteer at the Penrickton Center for Blind Children in Taylor, MI. This center is a residential and day-care facility for children aged 1-12 who are blind and have an additional mental or physical disability. In the summer months, we assist with therapeutic horseback riding, and in the winter, we help the children interact with therapy dogs. Other volunteer events at the center include a Halloween and Christmas party for both the children and their families and a holiday gift drive.

Some of our chapter members also volunteer at the Sunrise Senior Living Communities in the Ann Arbor area by visiting with the residents and occasionally giving an eye health presentation. This presentation is oriented toward common eye problems in the elderly and emphasizes the need for continued visits to an optometrist as well as maintaining a healthy diet and exercise regime. Although elementary education is the main focus of our chapter's education efforts, we hope to conduct more regular senior eye health presentations in the future.

For more information about these volunteering opportunities, please contact our Director of Community Service (listed on our contact page).