The Cincinnati Eye Institute Foundation has received a $50,000 grant from the Jacob G. Schmidlapp Trusts, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee to support Onesight Vision Center at Oyler School for the 2012 – 2013 school years for student transportation and an office manager.
The grant will be used to provide students, throughout the 45 Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS) who have failed school vision screenings, transportation to the Onesight Vision Center at Oyler School for a complete eye exam with the center’s full time optometrist. Then the Center will serve all CPS students in need of primary eye care. The Center opened in October 2012 through the combined efforts of OneSight, The Cincinnati Eye Institute Foundation, Ohio Optometric Association, The Cincinnati Woman’s Club, Cincinnati Health Department and Cincinnati Public Schools.
The Onesight Vision Center at Oyler School sees students who do not have health insurance, as well as students who have Medicaid and other insurance coverage. Many CPS students qualify for or have Medicaid coverage, however insurance coverage does not guarantee access to care. The reasons include: a shortage of local eye care providers; unfavorable office hours for single and working parents; transportation concerns; illiteracy; and homelessness, among others.
“The grant also allows us to hire a fulltime office manager, which means we can provide more eye exams to CPS students. It also means we are able to provide follow-up services, and follow up with that student to make sure their parents are informed,” said Don Holmes, Executive Director, The Cincinnati Eye Institute Foundation, and Executive Member, Onesight Vision Center at Oyler School.
The Jacob G. Schmidlapp Trusts supports charitable or educational purposes; for relief in sickness, suffering and distress; for the care of young children, the aged or the helpless or afflicted; for the promotion of education, and to improve living conditions. Jacob G. Schmidlapp was born in Piqua, Ohio in 1849 to German immigrants, and overcame poverty and great personal tragedy to become one of the most respected and successful men of his time. He founded the Union Savings Bank in 1876, which merged with Fifth Third Bank in 1919. In 1903, he established a trust to help improve lives and a second Schmidlapp Trust was established in 1919. The Onesight Vision Center at Oyler School is now financially assisted by the Jacob G. Schmidlapp Trusts, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee.
The Cincinnati Eye Institute Foundation is a nonprofit organization serving the Greater Cincinnati region with programs and services that help preserve and improve sight. The Cincinnati Eye Institute Foundation educates the public about vision-related issues, and provides access to eye care services to under served adults.
For more information about making a donation, or about any of the programs and services offered by The Cincinnati Eye Institute Foundation, please call (513) 878-2300, or visit www.CEIFoundation.org. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of the Jacob G. Schmidlapp Trusts, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee.