Helping Women Students Achieve Their Goals

The Needs Clearing House, Inc. of Greenwich is partnering with the Bridgeport Lions Club and the Connecticut Student Nurses’ Association, to provide eye screenings, glasses and other vision services to women enrolled in the Mercy Learning women’s center in Bridgeport.

The Mercy Learning Center has more than 850 low income women, mostly immigrants who go to the center for various reasons, one of which is to learn English in hopes of getting a GED.

The directors at the center have found that many of the women set on bettering their life fall behind in courses because of vision problems.

The Needs Clearing House and its partners will provide free vouchers to uninsured women at the learning center, for vision screenings and referrals to local eye doctors, beginning Monday, Aug. 31. Glasses also will be provided to those women free of charge.

• To sign up for breaking Greenwich news alerts and more, click here.

So far, The Connecticut Student Nurses’ Association has screened 77 students of which there were 12 requiring further examination via a referral. Of the 12 requiring a referral, eight of the students are uninsured and will qualify for vouchers and glasses. Many more women at the learning center will be prescreened by the student nurses this fall.

In addition, one woman was determined to be in need of cataract removal, which the Needs Clearing House is working to have provided by a renowned eye surgeon. Each cataract removal typically costs around $3,000.

Anyone wishing to make a donation may send a check payable to “The Needs Clearing House”, PO Box 7621, Greenwich, CT 06836. The Needs Clearing House is a 501c3 Public Charity. Please write “Vision Project” in the memo section of your check. You also can log onto www.theneedsclearinghouse.org and donate via PayPal.

For more information about the program, contact Needs Clearing House President Joe Kaliko at 203-629-5555; Rose O’Halloran, a nursing student at Sacred Heart University and President of the Connecticut Student Nurses’ Association at 508-864-9548 or Dot Pickens of the Bridgeport Lions Club at 203-362-3332 , ext. 1390.