Yesterday, on the new Dr. Drew’s Life Changers show, he featured a mother who has been unable to afford to fix or buy new glasses for her children. She was having to make the gut-wrenching decision between paying bills and putting food on the table versus enabling her children to see. This was a segment near and dear to our hearts and a clear example of why the VSP Eye Pledge campaign is so important.
You can be a life changer!
If you haven’t yet, please take a moment to take the free Eye Pledge and help direct a free eye exam and glasses, donated by VSP Vision Care on your behalf, to a Boys and Girls Club child in need in your local community. Then please share and encourage others to join us in helping to remove the need for 50,000 children and their parents to make a decision between sight and other family essentials.
One of the most important exams in a students’ school year isn’t administered in the classroom, but rather in the optometrist’s office. For millions of children around the U.S., vision problems that go undetected, and a lack of access to eye exams and glasses, make learning a challenge. To provide children in need with quality eyecare, VSP Vision Care is partnering with Boys & Girls Clubs of America to launch the VSP Eye Pledge, an online eye health awareness campaign. For every Pledge received VSP will donate a free eye exam and glasses to up to 50,000 Boys & Girls Club kids in need around the country, valued at more than $19 million!
1 Eye Pledge = 1 VSP Gift Certificate for a Child in need
Go to SeeMuchMore.com and take the Eye Pledge in just three easy steps:
- Select the Eye Pledge that’s right for you
- Direct a free VSP eye exam and glasses gift certificate a Boys & Girls Club of your choice
- Share your pledge to help spread the word and help us reach our goal!
Check out this video featuring BGCA discussing the importance of the campaign and the impact it will have to help children reach their full potential.
For more information about the VSP Eye Pledge campaign and to take the pledge, please visit www.SeeMuchMore.com. The site also includes an interactive, virtual savings calculator to learn about savings with VSP vision benefits, allows users to browse the latest eyewear styles, and provides helpful information about healthy vision.
Can eating carrots improve your vision? That question is the next eye health myth Bill Nye and Dr. Roger Phelps tackle in the latest VSP EyeFiles series. Watch as Bill and Dr. Phelps uncover the answer and also discuss other delicious eye healthy foods that should be added to any diet like kiwi, whole grains, salmon, dark chocolate, red wine, tuna, sunflower oil, spinach, egg yolks, and kale.
Guest Blog: Dr. Michelle Calder Carwell, an optometrist in Northville, from her Visionista Blog.
If you’ve had Lasik surgery and want to upgrade to a new pair of sunglasses this summer, we’ve got a great tip that could save you over $100 on your new shades. Thanks to a little known benefit from VSP, VSP vision insurance members who have undergone Lasik vision correction surgery can use their bi-yearly eyeglass benefit toward a pair of non-prescription sunglasses. Yes, we said that right: If you’ve had Lasik and you have VSP, you can get your non-prescription sunglasses completely or partially paid for.
Normally, the frame benefit can only be applied to prescription sunglasses (for non-Lasik patients.) But if you’ve had Lasik surgery, VSP wants you to still protect your eyes from damaging UV rays and is willing to let you apply your usual frame benefit toward a pair of fantastic suns.
Depending on your particular VSP plan, this benefit can save you up to $150 dollars on non-prescription sunglasses, at a savings of up to 50% off the retail price (or better, depending on brand and model.)
Available Only Through VSP Optometrists. Find a VSP doctor near you!
There are two important things to keep in mind around this Lasik sunglass benefit from VSP:
To use the benefit, you will have to visit a participating, authorized, independent VSP optometrist. Because it requires an VSP insurance pre-authorization from an optometrist.
You will also want to consider whether you may need to use the frame benefit in the next 24 months for reading glasses, versus sunglasses. This is more of a concern among patients and clients who are over 40 years of age and may need reading glasses in the near future, despite their Lasik.
To determine your exact sunglass benefit, please contact VSP’s member services at 800-877-7195, imember@vsp.com. With just a couple pieces of information, they can pre-authorize you in minutes over the phone so you’ll know exactly what you qualify for.
In Episode 3 of the VSP EyeFiles series, Bill Nye debunks the eye myth about wearing glasses with an out-of-date prescription. Can they really hurt your eyes? Find out Bill’s conclusion and join him as he visits Dr. Phelps for an eye exam and picks out a new pair of glasses! Are you in need of a new look? Enter VSP’s Eyewear Makeover contest today!
Guest Blogger – Edward Tepper works as an accountant, is an avid photographer and a rider for Team Type 2. He was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 2008 and through cycling and exercise, stays happy and healthy while properly managing his condition. He shares his personal experience on how switching to progressive lenses helped him.
Ed Tepper with Team Type 2
I’ve been wearing glasses since ever I can remember, and I’m now 61. About 30 years ago a friend talked me into wearing contact lenses and I did up to about 9 months ago. The story about me changing back to glasses started a few years ago when I could no longer read close up or clearly see a computer screen without “cheater” reading glasses. I had several pairs that I kept in different rooms at home and in my office. Then one night at a nice restaurant I had to ask my wife to read the menu to me because I left my cheaters at home. Needless to say, the ribbing continued through dessert. Read more »
VSP wants to give you a FREE pair of glasses / sunglasses. So far, we already received over 65 entries. Its easy to enter, just go to VSP’s Facebook Page and click the “Contests” tab. From there, simply upload a photo of yourself wearing your current specs and see the votes pour in! Everyone can vote once a day so invite all your friends through Facebook to vote! The last day to enter the contest is July 13th.
Jill N. is a member of VSP's Corporate Public Relations team.
With the disastrous Tennessee flooding continuing to cause major problems throughout the region, VSP wants to remind our doctors, members and non-members of disaster relief services available from VSP, if you are affected by the flooding or any type of natural disaster.
VSP Network Doctors in affected areas: Please email vspoutreach@vsp.com or call 800.852.7600 ext. 5697 to let us know how you are doing and if your office is damaged or closed. We are available to offer any assistance you may need so you can continue to provide care to your patients.
A car is pinned up against a tree by floodwater flowing under a bridge on Sunday, May 2, 2010 in Nashville, Tennessee. Severe storms dumped heavy rain on Tennessee for the second straight day. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
VSP Members in affected areas: If you have lost or broken your glasses due to a disaster and need replacements, you (or your VSP doctor’s office) can call VSP’s Customer Care at 800.877.7195 for an authorization for new services.
Non-VSP members in affected areas: If you are a non-VSP member and have lost or broken your glasses due to a disaster and need replacements, you may request a free VSP eyecare voucher from the local American Red Cross.
To find VSP doctor locations, use the “Find a Doctor” feature on vsp.com or contact Customer Care at 800.877.7195.
I’ll admit it, I’m addicted to technology. My Blackberry is attached to my hand, I can’t imagine life without my computer, and I think Facebook is the best thing that ever happened to my far-flung family and friends.
Every once in a while, I run across a story that reminds me that technology can be used to serve a much bigger, far-reaching purpose than my own creature comforts. I found this story about how specialized glasses are helping Lance Corporal Craig Lundberg, a British soldier blinded in Iraq, actually see again so incredible that I thought it needed to be shared.
For questions about this blog, e-mail vspblogadmin@vsp.com.
For other questions, contact Member Services at 800.877.7195 Monday – Friday.
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