Guess How Much We Raised for BGCO!
Here at MVC and our sister location Wellington Vision Care, we are so proud to share that we support The Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa (BGOC). Did you know that the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa has more than 100,000 visits per year, and has been helping at-risk youth and children across Ottawa from almost 100 years?
The Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa provides a safe space and free access to life-changing programs for thousands of children and youth during the most vulnerable hours of the day – after school and weekends. These hours can either represent an opportunity to learn and grow, or they can be a time of risk to youth and children’s health and safety. These programs, which are based on education, physical activity, healthy lifestyle, leadership, and social skills are critical to the well-being of many young people! Our young Ottawa citizens truly are our future, so it only makes sense to invest in them in any way we can.
During the months of July and August, we committed $10 from every pair of glasses purchased to donate to The Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa, to help kids at risk with back to school during these uncertain times. If you purchased glasses during this time, thank you for helping youth or children in need! We are so proud to share that our lovely patients purchased a total of 907 pairs of glasses between Merivale Vision Care and Wellington Vision Care, resulting in a donation of $9,070! One of our wonderful lens manufacturers Shamir kindly and graciously donated another $1,000 to support our initiative, resulting in a final total of $10,070! Because of this amazing total, we are able to outfit 210 children and youth ranging in ages from 4 years to 15 years old with tons of school supplies to help them start the academic year off right.
Each child and youth will receive a reusable water bottle, lunch box, and a backpack stuffed to the max with school supplies like paper, graph paper, and much more! Our friends at Transitions included some cool pencils that change colour, of course!
Our Dispensing Manager Kari’s living room AND dining room are both currently bursting at the seams with school supplies! Each pack is suited to the child’s age. Big kids and teens will receive items like calculators and math sets along with their other supplies, and little kids will receive items like markers and crayons along with their supplies.
One little boy was overjoyed to hear that he would be receiving one of our back to school stuffed backpacks. He loves his time at The Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa! When saying thank you to us, he said that The Boys and Girls Club keeps him active, and away from spending too much time playing video games. We hope he, and all of the other kids we are able to help out have a wonderful and safe return to school and an exceptional year! Thank you for helping us give back!