ChildSight seeks to improve the eyesight and academic potential of children living in poverty in the U.S.
We bring education into focus™ for children who would otherwise be left with untreated vision problems
— and unfulfilled potential.

Donate to ChildSight

Back to School Match! Make your donation by Friday, October 31, 2014 and your gift will be generously matched by a private foundation who has offered to donate $1 for every $2 raised for ChildSight New York.

Jon us for Glasses for Glasses

Join us Monday, September 29, for Glasses for Glasses
Purchase tickets


Who We Are

Success Story: Meet Alvin

ChildSight provides children in need with one of the most basic – yet critical – tools needed to succeed in school and in life: clear vision. 

We go directly into schools – public, parochial, charter and alternative – in low-income neighborhoods in all five boroughs of New York City.

We provide vision screenings, refractions by a licensed optometrist, prescription eyeglasses, and ophthalmological referrals for further care if needed for children living in poverty who would otherwise be left with untreated vision problems – and unfulfilled potential.

ChildSight is a program of Helen Keller International, a registered 501(c)(3) organization and one of the oldest non-profits dedicated to saving the sight and lives of the world’s most vulnerable.

The program also serves communities in need in New Jersey, Connecticut, Ohio and California.

Contact us at childsight@hki.org

Vision Health and Children

80% of what a child learns occurs through the eyes.

Common vision problems like nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism, affect 1 in 4 children in the U.S.

These problems can often be corrected with a simple pair of prescription eyeglasses.

A lack of access to quality vision care and the expense of a new pair of eyeglasses make this simple solution of reach for thousands of families living in poverty.

Many children from low-income families are left with undiagnosed and unaddressed vision problems, limiting their ability to learn and thrive. 

20 Years of Impact
in New York City

Since 1994, ChildSight has screened the vision of more than 650,000 students and delivered nearly 90,000 pairs of free prescription eyeglasses to New York City children in need.

3 in 4 New York City teachers we surveyed in 2014 saw an improvement in class participation by those students who received eyeglasses from ChildSight.