Halma Gift Of Sight campaign to end preventable blindness starts in the US with Volk

Statistics show that preventable blindness is set to affect more than 115 million individuals by 2050, with 80% of global blindness being reversible or preventable through early diagnosis. As world leaders in eye health technology, our parent company, Halma plc, understands the critical need to raise awareness for the importance of maintaining good eye health through regular screening.  
 
On October 11, 2018, designated as World Sight Day, Halma officially launched its Gift of Sight campaign focusing attention on the global issue of blindness and visual impairment. The campaign is a partnership with the Himalayan Cataract Project (HCP), an international organization focused on eradicating preventable and curable blindness in underserved communities. 

We were thrilled to host the first US pilot program for this initiative. On December 17, 2018, 71 Volk employees, and some family members, received free eye screenings at our facilities in Mentor, OH. Through these 20-minute exams, using Volk's Pictor Plus and sister company Keeler's Tonocare, trained Volk employees captured Visual Acuity, Fundus Images, and Intra-ocular pressure (IOP) for both eyes. Screenings also looked at Diabetic Retinopathy, and assessed the likelihood of Glaucoma.  

Participating in this campaign brings our employees together for a common purpose while creating life-changing impact for our daily work. We are proud to be part of Halma who, through this campaign, showcases their dedication to us as employees ensuring we receive proper care, and serves our communities around the world. As Arjit Bansal, product manager, Volk, said: “On a humanitarian level it satisfies me – and it’s given me a great opportunity to test some of our products and see the real-life impact of what we are doing. I can see people getting screened and understanding more about their eye health, and I feel like the purpose that we started with has come to life. I am proud to be part of an organization that really cares about people.” 

In conjunction with the employee eye screenings and awareness campaign, Halma plans to raise up to $200,000 for HCP. Gift of Sight will continue its screening events in 2019 across Halma locations worldwide.  

A selection of pictures can be found here. To learn more and see a film on Gift of Sight’s work in Ghana, click here and for information about HCP, visit www.cureblindness.org.  

You can check out our portable fundus cameras here: Pictor Prestige and VistaView.