Vision Awareness Patch Program
There are an estimated 4 million boys and girls participating in scouting programs in the United States, with nearly 2 million additional adults who serve as leaders. Programming for these groups starts at the kindergarten level, with many children participating up to and through high school. A Vision Awareness Patch Program has been created to help optometrists across the country build awareness among the thousands of scouts in their communities. This program can reinforce the importance of eye exams to not just the children, but also parents, caregivers, and scout leaders. As doctors of optometry, you know more than anyone that clear and comfortable vision is imperative to a child’s success, and it can only be accurately assessed through a comprehensive eye exam. The Vision Awareness Patch is a way to promote awareness of the care you provide to your community. It is also an opportunity to introduce scouts to careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) while highlighting the profession of optometry. The program entails reaching out to local scouting programs in your community, coordinating with local troops on patch activities (e.g. inviting the troop to your practice or bringing the activities to a troop meeting), and distributing the Vision Awareness Patches to the scouts who complete the patch requirements. A number of materials are available to help you get started.
In addition to the suggested activities described in the patch requirement documents, you can access free resources like classroom exercises and activity sheets from the AOA website in the "Resources for Teachers" section. The AOA also offers activity sheets for children in the AOA Marketplace. Questions? Please contact Marietta Richman and Maria Richman, OD at [email protected], or the NJSOP at NJSOP.org. Additional Resources:
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