New Jersey Special Olympics athletes receive free eye care

An eyeglasses company in Parsippany, New Jersey, is providing Special Olympics athletes with new sunglasses, improving their enjoyment of their favorite outdoor activities. According to the Daily Record, the Opening Eyes vision care program, in partnership with Safilo USA, handed out free eyewear to 75 athletes on Tuesday.

"It's something very close to me and the organization as a whole," president of Safilo Ross Brownlee told the news source. "It's only when you actually have it on your doorstep that the entire organization can understand and appreciate what our involvement is."

Participants were first given free eye exams by local optometrists, then they selected a new pair of frames. Opening Eyes was started nearly 20 years ago by Dr Paul Berman after he found out that 67 percent of Special Olympics athletes had not had an eye exam in at least three years, and 37 percent were in need of eyeglasses.

The American Optometric Association says that maintaining good eye health should be a priority for all athletes. Wearing corrective eyeglasses can improve vision skills such as depth perception, which is especially important in sports like tennis and racquetball, which require players to accurately judge the distance between the ball, other players and boundaries.