Site for sore eyes

Two Roo visionaries believe good eyesight is something that should be accessible to all Kansas Citians.

UMKC students Chanukya Dasari and Birju Solanki founded the Kansas City Free Eye Clinic (KCFEC) in 2008 in an effort to provide a broad range of vision services to those in need in the Metro.

Since then, the clinic has been able to help many people across the city and has received many national awards in the process.

"The first of its kind locally, the eye clinic is the nexus between concerned health professionals, organizers and patients in the community," Dasari said.

Services provided by KCFEC include refractory correction, cataract removal, glaucoma treatment, retina therapy and more.

Currently, KCFEC sets up clinics in the offices of local professionals. One such clinic was held Saturday in Olathe, Kan.

"KCFEC compliments the numerous free health clinics around the city by providing essential vision care, normally limited in such settings," Dasari explained.

Participants in the "Open Clinic Day" received free eye exams, including screenings for refractive error, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy and updated prescriptions for lenses. Some patients even qualified for glasses at no cost through a program called ReadyFrames, which was also founded by a UMKC student.

More than 90 Kansas Citians were served on Saturday by volunteers including professionals and students.

Rep. Dennis Moore attended the event to offer his support for the community service initiative.

In the year and a half since its inception, KCFEC has remained active in the community.

In 2008 and 2009, KCFEC paired up with Union Station to promote "Dialogue in the Dark," an exhibit offering an exploration into the world without sight.

Also this year, KCFEC was honored at the Clinton Global Initiative Meeting in Austin, Texas, becoming one of eight commitments chosen from a pool of several thousand international submissions. The program was discussed on-stage by former President Bill Clinton.

The organization also received the CGI Outstanding Commitment Award with a $10,000 grant sponsored by the Pat Tillman Foundation.

KCFEC is continuing to grow and expand its services.

"In addition to its open eye clinics in the offices of local professionals, Kansas City Free Eye Clinic will begin to offer mobile eye services as well, at local health fairs and free health clinics around the city," Dasari said.

Recently, KCFEC teamed up with UMKC's Sojourner Free Health Clinic to screen the homeless population for various eye diseases.

In addition, KCFEC's VisionBridge initiative aims to provide free glasses to students in the Kansas City Missouri School District.

"In the works is the ReadyFrames program which will make available prescription glasses to the general public for as low as $10," Dasari revealed.

For more information about KCFEC, to donate to the organization or to volunteer, visit www.KC FreeEyeClinic.com.

The organization welcomes student volunteers.

Also, any UMKC student can go online to www.readyframes.org to qualify for a pair of glasses for $10.

alang@unews.com