HEALTH: TOMS Celebrates World Sight Day on October 9 to Help Restore Vision to Those in Need Around the Globe

One of the great things about being the Lifestyle Editor for GBN is that I sometimes get to share positive stories about things that people and companies are doing purely for the betterment of society. When I heard about World Sight Day and TOMS I had to share.
From a fashion standpoint, I simply love the styles. I discovered TOMS had an eyewear line when my own eyesight started to de-crisp a few years back. Since no one wanted to read me food labels, pill bottles or menus anymore, I knew it was time for glasses to become a daily part of my life. But it wasn’t really that big of a deal because I had the privilege of going to the doctor, getting a prescription and driving the saleswomen completely nuts when I couldn’t decide which frames best flattered my face. I’m lucky. But what about the millions globally who can’t afford glasses or don’t have access to proper eye care? Everyone on the planet knows someone who is affected by some sort of visual impairment and TOMS wants to help out.
TOMS is asking a very important question: WHAT DOES SIGHT MEAN TO YOU? Every year, World Sight Day raises global awareness about blindness and visual impairment. This year, World Sight Day is on October 9 and TOMS is hosting an all-day event at the their Flagship store in Venice, California. TOMS is also supporting the day by encouraging fans to take to social media and contribute to an Instagram gallery with images of what sight means to you with the hashtag #givesight. The images collected with the designated hashtag will be curated online leading up to October 9, and select images will appear in TOMS stores around the world on World Sight Day.
I have always loved the philosophy of this company and its One for One initiative. In 2006, American traveler Blake Mycoskie had the life-changing idea to create a shoe company after befriending children in a village in Argentina. Realizing that the children had no shoes or protection for their feet, the idea for the shoe company TOMS was born. TOMS matches every pair sold with a new pair for a child in need.
TOMS Eyewear started in 2011 with the idea of helping restore sight to persons in need with every purchase of sunglasses and optical frames. With restored sight, people are able to begin or go back to work and school, help at home, get around independently, and rejoin their communities in the United States as well as countries such as Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda, India, Egypt, Nepal, Guatemala, and Tibet.  Sight restoration often allows multiple people to return to daily activities: the person who was visually impaired, and the caretakers assisting them in their day-to-day life. 
With every purchase of TOMS Eyewear, TOMS will help restore the sight of a person in need through surgery, medical treatment, or prescription glasses – One for One.
Did you know…

• 285 million people around the world are blind or visually impaired. Eighty percent do not have to be. (Source: IAPB.org)
• 19 million of the visually impaired or blind are children. (Source: WHO)
• 80% of what a child learns in the first 12 years of life is through vision. (Source: Gustafos- 
on, Kinne & Strawhacker)
• 90% of the world’s visually impaired people live in developing countries. The majority of 
those have conditions that are either preventable or curable. (Source: IAPB.org) 
With restored sight, people are able to begin or go back to work and school, help at home, walk independently, and rejoin their communities. Sight restoration often allows multiple people to return to daily activities: the person who was visually impaired, and the caretakers assisting them in their day-to-day life.

Join TOMS in this effort and share what sight means to you. And if you happen to be in Venice on October 9^th, stop by the flagship store.
WORLD SIGHT DAY EVENT: TOMS Store, 1344 Abbott Kinney, Venice, CA
For more information on Tom’s and World Sight Day: http://www.toms.com/world-sight-day/.  For Tom’s Eyewear and products check out: http://www.toms.com