Tulsa Leaders Plan Free Eye Exams For Students

Something exciting is happening at Tulsa's Dream Center, which could have far-reaching effects for hundreds of Tulsa kids.

Aaron Johnson from the Dream Center, James Ashford from Vision Care Direct, and State Senator Kevin Matthews sat down with News On 6 in the Dream Center Library to talk about an idea that could help hundreds of kids do better in school.

"A lot of kids that struggle to read ... they struggle to see," Ashford said 

Reading, they all said, is essential to doing well at anything. If you can't read well, you just won't do well.

“We want to stir the dreams that it is possible ... you can go to college, you can get a job, you can be an entrepreneur. That's why we focus on literacy at the Tulsa Dream Center," Johnson said. 

And there is a connection between not being able to read well, not doing well in school, and not being able to see as well as you should.

So, how does that get fixed?

"Get these kids together on a single day, load 'em into Dream Center buses, take 'em out to these eye doctors, get 'em all exams and glasses at no cost to the kids,” Ashford said. 

He and his company will line up the optometrists, AJ and the Dream Center will coordinate the kids, and Senator Matthews will help get the word out and see if other agencies might get involved.

They are aiming for a day in the summer before school.