Imagine you are just starting high school. You want desperately to do well. You are mentally ready. Your parents have sacrificed so much, wanting the very best for you. They have sent you to Serra. You are ready to do your very best. One problem, though. Your vision is waning. You don't know what to do. Vision care is very expensive. You are frustrated and your anxiety is palpable, wondering if everything will be for not. Thankfully, if you are a Serra student, this was never anything any you would have to worry about.
In September of 2017, Serra was made aware of an extremely generous group known as Vision to Learn. Sponsored by Charlie Steinmetz and the Steinmetz Foundation, the mission of Vision to Learn is to help as many students as possible identify vision difficulties and improve the vision of students experiencing difficulties so that each student might be more physically able to reach his or her maximum potential. Having worked with some of our partner schools, including St. Anthony of Padua in Gardena for a while now, Vision to Learn has been on the Serra campus twice this year. Upon their arrival, Vision to Learn has screened all of our students for vision, and those that demonstrated vision difficulty were offered eyeglasses free of charge so that they might learn better, at least not having to ever worry about their vision limiting their ability to learn.
On Monday, May 21, the Vision to Learn crew dropped off many pairs of eyeglasses to an extremely grateful Serra community. "To see students who needed eyeglasses but who had never had them until now, and to see their reaction to their improved vision was awesome," said Mr. Guzman. "There were grins from ear to ear from students who had not seen with such clarity in a long time. The buzz for Vision to Learn was powerful."
Hopefully, the partnership between Serra and Vision to Learn will continue to be a helpful one, an agent of great assistance for those who need it most.