Community Outreach

We see you

Free eye exams to the uninsured. Vision screenings for entire elementary schools. Glasses for people who desperately need but can’t afford them.

These are just a few ways our students give their service and expertise to the community. In return, they receive the gift of working in diverse clinical settings, where financial, geographic, or physical barriers prevent access to basic eye care.

This is why the IU School of Optometry graduates doctors who have a greater awareness of the issues that influence access to health care, and who continue to engage in the communities where they live and work.

A young boy wears special glasses for his vision exam, while a student holds up a book of shapes. The boy's shirt reads: 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good. – Harry Potter'

School vision screenings

The IU School of Optometry has provided school vision screening for kindergarteners and first graders at more than a dozen schools in Bloomington and Indianapolis. These screenings help identify students who need glasses or other interventions to help them function at their highest level in school and later in life.

A man holds a pair of black rimmed glasses

Bloomington Health Center (formerly Volunteers in Medicine)

The Bloomington Health Center - part of the Indiana HealthNet system - provides medical services to Indiana residents, including those who qualify for discounted fees based on family size and annual income.

We partner with the Bloomington Health Center to offer free comprehensive vision care and reduced cost eyeglasses to those who qualify.

Science Fest

Have you ever wondered...How do we see? Why do some people need glasses? Why do we have two eyes? What would it be like to be an optometrist? Join the Indiana University School of Optometry at ScienceFest to learn why…and have fun in the process!

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Habitat Build

Each year, IU School of Optometry students raise money to fund a Habitat for Humanity build in Monroe County, Indiana. IUSO students and faculty also contribute their time and expertise to help with construction of the house.

Helping our community

The IU School of Optometry partners with our community to provide free eye exams and glasses every Martin Luther King Jr. Day. IUSO cancels classes and closes its Atwater Eye Care Center for the school’s Day of Vision event. Our students, faculty, and staff volunteer their time on Day of Vision at AECC to provide free eye exams and glasses to people in need throughout the Bloomington community.

Volunteering around the world

Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity (VOSH) has traveled to Frome, Jamaica, since 2015 to provide care to elementary school students, workers in the hospitality industry, and other members of the community.

Prior to that, VOSH traveled to Guanajuato, Mexico, where for 25 years they provided care to approximately 3,000 patients each year, while also dispensing 15,000 pairs of glasses. As part of that 25-year legacy, the IU School of Optometry helped build a clinic in Silao that still tends to the needs of the local populace.

IU School of Optometry Community Outreach program

The IU School of Optometry Community Outreach program—or IUSOCO—provides access to vision health care services for the medically underserved. At the Indianapolis Eye Care Center, glasses and medically necessary contact lenses are provided to qualified patients at a reduced rate.

Contact IUSOCO at 317-321-1470 to learn more.

Dr. Candy holds an infant up to a machine for his eye exam.

InfantSEE

The School of Optometry is an active participant in InfantSEE, a public health program designed to ensure that eye and vision care becomes an integral part of infant wellness care. Under this program, our optometrists provide comprehensive infant eye assessments within the first year of life as a no-cost public health service.

Larue D. Carter Memorial Hospital

The Larue D. Carter Memorial Hospital in Indianapolis is one of six Indiana psychiatric hospitals accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. School of Optometry doctors and students perform eye exams on children and adolescents with serious emotional disturbance, adults of all ages with serious mental illness, and adults with chronic addictive disorders, and provide comprehensive eye care on a weekly basis in a fully equipped room located in the hospital’s medical clinic.

Vision for the Future

Vision for the Future focuses on children's eye care before they start school.

Learn more about Vision for the Future