Give A Wink: A Charity Giving to Children's Eye Health

Ficklets enjoys hearing stories of good deeds and when it involves the eyes, our ears definitely perk up.  Children are our greatest resources for the future and should be afforded every opportunity for good health.  We heard about a business called Give Wink which is located in North Miami Beach.  Started by a mom, Francine Delarosa, Give Wink is a full service children's store that offers a wide selection of furniture, bedding, room decor, toys, games and more.  From that, Give a Wink was born.  Give a Wink is a charity started by Francine because she believes that the “eyes are the windows of the world.” 


Francine gives back to her community by donating a full eye exam and prescription glasses to a child in need from each sale of $100.  This wonderful concept does not costs the customer anything extra as once a customer purchases at least $100 of product(s), the charity begins. 


To donate money or prescription glasses to Give Wink, or find out more information about the charity or Give Wink products, please visit www.givewink.com.








Ficklets are eyewear charm huggers to help kids love their glasses.

NJGREATS FIRST EVER ACROSS THE BORDER GREATS

Check out NJGreats for this great post about Ficklets!

THE “A-HA” MOMENT THAT TURNED INTO FASHIONABLE BUSINESS

The first time I saw “Ficklets” on twitter, I had to find out what they were. I found out, they are not only fun to say, but fun to wear.Ficklets are charms for eyeglasses, invented by Ros Guerrero.  Inspired by her daughter Gem, one morning Ros looked across the breakfast bar counter at her, and the only part of her face she could see were her eyeglasses. She thought, those frames need some jazzing up. The idea for Ficklets was born.

Ros describes herself as a “serial entrenpreneur”. After spending 10 years in both retail and wholesale in the European luxury business, she and husband Roy became parents to Gem. They learned early on that she was born with a disability and starting their own business would be the best option for the family. For almost 7 years, Ros experienced commercial and residential investing, window treatment design and even was partners in a nail salon. Ficklets was the “a-ha” moment she was searching for.  After extensive market research, and a final prototype, they concluded that there was no concept like Ficklets in the market place. Her confirmation came when Gem wore them to school and came home with a note from the teacher saying her eyeglass charms got tons of attention from students and staff. 

To read more, please click on NJ Greats!

Public Health Resources for Vision Care

If you are in need of some assistance with vision care or need some information, check out these great resources:

  

Community Health Centers – partnering with the National Association of Community Health Centers, the AOA is working to improve access to center eye and vision care services.


Healthy Eyes Healthy People® – Healthy Eyes Healthy People® is an ambitious public-private initiative to improve the eye and visual health of the American public.


InfantSEE® – affords a one-time, comprehensive eye assessment at no cost for infants in their first years of life. 


VISION USA™ – helps low-income, uninsured people and their families by providing basic eye health and vision care services free of charge. 


Optometric Disaster Relief Fund – offers optometrists financial assistance for damages incurred from natural disasters.






*Information courtesy of Arizona Optometric Association



Ficklets are eyewear charm huggers to help kids love their glasses. 

First Eco Kids Ophthalmic Collection for Children

Photographed by Matt Lambros/Black Box Studios

Interested in non-toxic and hypoallergenic materials in your children's glasses?  Want the most eco-friendly glasses you can find?  Look no more as Modo has presented the first Eco Kids ophthalmic collection for children between the ages of 8 and 12 designed to match the Eco collection but with a playful touch. 


“We are thrilled to enter the kids category with Eco. It is certainly a great tool to educate children on actions that can improve our planet,” said Alessandro Lanaro, CEO of Modo. “We feel very proud of leading the sustainable category in the eyewear industry.” 

With over 11 styles, Eco Kids have created a new line of glasses that have specs such as a soft oval made of recycled acetate or thin square unisex frames made of recycled stainless steel.  

The collection reflects the many features of Eco which is an UL Environment Validation certifying the products are made from a minimum of 95% recycled stainless steel or acetate.  


When you are ready to exchange the old glasses, there is a system to donate unwanted frames via a mail in recycling program.  Each frame comes with a case made with recycled polyethylene terephthalate (soda bottles) and a box made with recycled paper and printed with soy ink.  Also, with each purchase, a tree is planted with Trees for the Future which is a non-profit.

Importance of Good Vision Health

Vision health is an important part of one's life and is often overlooked until an obvious problem presents itself.  Given January is National Glaucoma Month, it's an ideal time to get those peepers checked!  My eight year old was diagnosed with an optic pit and required glasses almost a year ago.  I had no idea as she never had any complaints but when the headaches started and her school work started to slip, I knew it was time to get her eyes checked.  If you are like me and you didn't really know a lot about vision tests and how to choose the right doctor, you can check out the Zeiss educational tools. 


I did learn that once you reach age 40, you might become one of most adults who suffer from presbyopia which is a result of crystalline lens of the eye losing its flexibility making it difficult to focus up close.  


Do you know the differences between an optometrist, ophthalmologist and an optician?  Sounds confusing doesn't it?  The optometrist performs the eye exams and writes the prescriptions.  They can also diagnose and treat some medical conditions of the eye.  An ophthalmologist is a medical doctor who can treat a full range of eye diseases and conditions.  They also perform surgery for cataracts and other eye conditions.  An optician fills the prescription.

Some other common vision problems include:

1. Nearsightedness – condition in which visual images come to a focus in front of the retina, causing blurry distance vision
    
2. Farsightedness – condition in which visual images come to a focus behind the retina making it more difficult for the eyes to focus on near objects
    
3. Astigmatism – condition in which the cornea's curvature is asymmetrical, so light rays are focused at two points rather than one, resulting in blurred vision

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Make sure you are getting your annual eye exam and check out the resources to help ensure you pick out the right doctor!

Children: Contact Lenses and Emergency Room Trips

Photo courtesy of Cute Kids Glasses

Last year, Pediatrics published a story from the American Academy of Ophthalmology in which they reviewed emergency room medical records from over 100 hospitals between 2004 and 2005.  They found that nearly 34,000 cases a year were due to contact lens injury in children and teens.  The majority were with teens in the 16 and 21 years category with 11 and 15 years olds second.  This was an interesting study as I had no idea how many children were and are injured by contact lens wear.  One thing noted is it didn't mention if these lenses were prescription or those fashionable, trendy over the counter ones you can purchase to alter the appearance of the eyes.


To me, this is alarming and perhaps a renewed look has to be done on proper education for children acquiring a contact lens prescription.  I myself, will hold off a bit longer for my eight year old.  I think it's definitely something she should be older for and of course, dependent on the maturity level of the child.


Does your child wear contact lenses and if so, how old is he/she when they started to wear them?

Ficklets Featured on Little Four Eyes

 Ficklets is very honored to be featured as part of the Little Four Eyes directory of blogs and bloggers focusing on children's vision and eyeglass products.  Little Four Eyes is a community for family and friends of little ones in glasses, contacts or patches.  There are great tips and resources if your child is new to glasses or have been wearing them for awhile.  They are also on Facebook.


Take a minute and check them out and see what an invaluable resource they are!  


Thank you for including Ficklets.




 

Ficklets are eyewear charm huggers to help kids love their glasses.