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VOSH-ONE
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What exactly is VOSH?
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Who pays for your services?
Everything we do is funded by ourselves and the generosity
of others; people like you. That is why we need your help so
we can help others.
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How can I help?
CARE! That is the first step in helping us accomplish our
goal. Financial donations are needed to help pay for many of
our missions and supplies. To be a part of a team that can
help us help others, any donation amount is greatly
appreciated and used wisely. Usually the costs of housing
and food are provided by the host countries, but the costs
of collecting and shipping supplies, buying equipment and
creating infrastructure can be overwhelming.
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I do not have extra money to help. Is their other ways I can
help?
YES! Please, send us your old eyeglasses. If time is a
luxury you have, and if you want to help us on one of our
missions, please contact us. Caring bodies can go a long way
to helping us help others.
Participating in a VOSH-ONE eye care mission trip can be the
experience of a lifetime..and not just yours!
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When I donate money how much goes to your employees and
salaries?
Nothing...Zip...Nada...Chapter members pay their own mission
expenses. VOSH-ONE has no salaried employees or directors.
More than 90% of donations are for humanitarian eye care.
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How did VOSH start?
The VOSH concept originated with a Kansas optometrist, Dr.
Franklin Harms, in 1972. His basic idea was to collect
a library of used eyeglasses and distribute them in the
areas of the world where eye care is unavailable.
What was once a simple state project has evolved into a
rapidly expanding organization. There is a continually
growing number of individual state and foreign chapters.
Most optometry schools have student chapters (sVOSH)
encompassing the domestic, foreign and student chapters in
VOSH International.
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What do you do on
your missions?
While some VOSH eye care missions may be carried out by a
single dedicated professional working alone, more frequently
services are carried out by a team that may include eye
professionals, physicians, nurses, physical therapists,
dentists, assistants and lay people.
A local service group from the host country (often a Lion's
Club or a Rotary group) facilitates organization and
arrangements before the mission arrives.
The team will send ahead thousands of pairs of used glasses
that have been carefully sorted, cleaned, labeled and
cataloged in order to fill prescriptions. While a
considerable amount of this work is done by VOSHERS
themselves, Lions Clubs throughout America have been a major
resource for recycled glasses.
Depending on the size of the team, VOSHERS will examine
hundreds, sometimes thousands of patients over a four- to
six-day period.
Along with prescribing and dispensing glasses, optometrists
will identify patients who require further treatment for
glaucoma, cataracts, pterygia, diabetes and other medical
conditions. Clinics may include an eye surgical team or,
sometimes a surgical team will conduct a follow-up clinic
shortly thereafter. VOSHERS do make an effort to assure
follow-up for acute cases, but the larger burden for such
care remains with the host country, so we must do what we
can when we can.
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Is there any
other way people can get help on their own?
In many cases this will be the first, and sometimes the only
examination patients will ever have in their lifetime.
Resources are not there for so many, so we cannot turn a
blind eye. In many developing countries there is no system
to provide eyecare to the needy.
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Do you have any
affiliation with VOSH/International?
Currently VOSH-ONE is one of 24 (and growing) nonprofit
chapters that are coordinated by the parent organization,
VOSH/INTERNATIONAL, whose duty is to keep abreast of chapter
activities throughout the United States, including student
volunteer groups. Since it's inception, VOSH has evolved
into a dynamic nonprofit, volunteer organization dedicated
to the preservation of human sight, mainly in developing
countries where there is no system to provide eyecare to the
needy. VOSH also serves as a resource for other
organizations
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So who exactly is VOSH?
We are optometrists, ophthalmologists, medical personnel and
trained lay persons who have no political or religious
agenda. Yet, we work with religious or government groups who
are committed to tolerance. VOSH/International is the voice
of 27 chapters and 17 student chapters in the United States,
Canada, Mexico, Honduras and the Netherlands. Volunteers pay
their own way and derive satisfaction from helping others.
Many of us return year after year.
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Are
donations tax deductible?
Donations are 100%
tax-deductible. VOSH/International is a tax-exempt IRS
501 (c) (3) humanitarian organization and VOSH chapters are registered non-profit
organizations which have a board of directors and advisory
committees.
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