SACRAMENTO – Senator Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica) celebrated Vision To Learn in Sacramento today as a 2026 Nonprofit of the Year, recognizing nearly 15 years of service bringing quality eye care to students around California and the nation.

“You cannot underestimate the difference eye care makes to a student’s educational experience,” said Senator Allen. “Undetected visual problems create unnecessary barriers that can leave children falling behind in the classroom, simply because they cannot clearly see and read the material being taught. Vision To Learn breaks down these barriers so that these bright young minds can thrive in school and later into their careers.”

Vision To Learn started with a partnership with Los Angeles Unified School District and now works with school districts in 15 states plus Washington D.C. The nonprofit’s licensed optometrists and trained opticians bring mobile eye care services directly to students at schools, where students receive vision screenings, eye exams, and select their new prescription glasses from a wide selection of frames on the clinic.

A 2021 Johns Hopkins study remarkably found that children who received glasses made greater learning gains than those achieved by extending the school day or other methods of intervention. Students in the bottom quarter of their class academically, and students with learning disabilities, showed gains equal to four to six months of additional lessons.

“Glasses have been shown to be the most effective tool to increase academic achievement, at far less cost than other interventions,” said Joan Chu Reese, Executive Director of Vision To Learn. “Today, more than 278,000 California students go to school each day with the glasses they need to succeed. Vision To Learn is thrilled to work alongside Senator Allen to ensure access to basic, yet critical, eye care for kids.”

Vision To Learn has provided eye care to 3.8 million children nationwide and helped 663,530 students receive glasses so they may see clearer and learn better.