Mobile Eye Exams Help More Children Get the Vision Care They Need
October 10, 2025
Children who fail a vision screening are referred to an eye doctor for a complete eye exam to determine if they need glasses or other treatment. But data shows that, in Arizona, most of these children don’t get a follow-up exam, and their vision problems go uncorrected.
The Arizona Lions Vision and Hearing Foundation is determined to do something about it by bringing mobile eye exams to schools.
“We’ve been doing vision screenings at schools for many years,” said Donna Harris, board president of the Arizona Lions Vision and Hearing Foundation. “School nurses expressed how frustrated they were that, year after year, the same children were being identified but weren’t getting an eye exam or treatment. So we decided we were going to make that happen.”
Over the last two school years, the Lions’ new mobile vision care program has visited select public schools in Maricopa County and served more than 2,000 children from low-income families with eye exams and glasses, free of charge. The three-year pilot program was made possible by a grant from Vitalyst Health Foundation.
“We’re hoping that children are able to see and achieve academically in school,” Harris said. “Poor eyesight can also create behavioral problems. With glasses, they can see better, they don’t have all that anxiety, and they can deal with the world better.”
Free Mobile Eye Exams and Glasses
Harris volunteers her time and expertise to coordinate operations and make it easy for schools to host a visit from the Lions mobile eye clinic.
To qualify for consideration, schools must have at least 25 students without vision insurance who have been screened and referred to see an eye doctor. “We’re far exceeding that number,” Harris said. “The majority of schools have 40 or 50 kids, and one had almost 100.”
In advance of the scheduled mobile eye exams, the school nurse sends a consent form to parents, as the eye exam is a medical procedure.
The Foundation arranges to bring a volunteer eye doctor and optician to the school on the day of the exams. The doctor conducts a comprehensive eye exam to evaluate each child’s potential vision problem. “Almost always, they need glasses,” Harris said.
Children then see the optician to pick out any frames they like. The Lions send the frames and prescription details to a lab to create glasses for each child. In three or four weeks, glasses are delivered back to the school, clearly labelled for each child.
All at no cost to the child’s family or to the school.
“We make the whole process as easy as possible for the school nurses,” Harris said. “They are so devoted to their children and fabulous to work with, but they’re overwhelmed” with their workload. “They’re unsung heroes, as far as I’m concerned.”
Closing the Gap
Increasing the availability of mobile and on-site vision care for children is a strategic priority of Eyes On Learning.
Arizona is making good progress in increasing access to vision screening, a quick and effective way to check for potential vision problems in children, but data shows that only 24% to 28% of school-age children in Arizona who fail their vision screening receive a follow-up eye exam. The rest are left to struggle with uncorrected vision problems that can affect their ability to learn. The rate of eye exams following screening is even lower among preschool-age children.
Percentage of children who received an eye exam following vision screening in 2023, by age
| Age | 0-2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6-8 | 9-11 | 12+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | 5% | 8% | 11% | 15% | 24% | 27% | 28% |
| Age | Percentage (%) |
|---|---|
| 0-2 | 5% |
| 3 | 8% |
| 4 | 11% |
| 5 | 15% |
| 6-8 | 24% |
| 9-11 | 27% |
| 12+ | 28% |
The Lions mobile eye exam program is a model for how Arizona can close the gap between vision screening and successful treatment.
“Without Eyes On Learning, I don’t think a program like this would even exist,” Harris said.
After serving 800 kids in the 2023-24 school year and another 1,275 in 2024-25, Harris hopes to reach even more in the final year of the $249,000 grant from Vitalyst.
Another grant from Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust is funding a new mobile van and efforts to expand the program beyond Maricopa County.
The ultimate goal is to provide free eye exams and treatment for every low-income child in Arizona that needs vision care.
“We’ve proven that the model works. The answer is not that hard,” Harris said. “Doctors are interested in donating their time. It’s just a matter of organization and funding to expand this program to meet the need statewide.”
Harris and the Arizona Lions Vision and Hearing Foundation are determined to see that goal become a reality.
“We’re a volunteer organization,” Harris said. “Our motto is, ‘We serve.’”
Thank you to the students and staff at Lowell Elementary in Mesa, Arizona for participating in the video and photography featured on this site.