NEW “CHILDREN’S SPORTS EYE SAFETY” BROCHURE AVAILABLE FROM
PREVENT BLINDNESS AMERICA AND TRANSITIONS® HEALTHY SIGHT FOR LIFE FUND

Guide Helps Parents, Teachers, School Nurses and Coaches Understand How to Protect Against Sports-Related Eye Injuries
PINELLAS PARK, Fla., March 27, 2009 – While participating in sports can have a healthy influence on kids; it also carries an increased risk of eye injury. A new brochure from Prevent Blindness America – made possible by a grant from the Transitions® Healthy Sight for Life Fund – helps those in a position to make a difference understand the danger, and teaches them how to protect children’s eyes and become advocates in their communities.

Targeted toward caregivers, school personnel and athletic coaches, the guide includes:

• A description of the various types of risk factors that exist (depending upon the type of sport and level of physical contact)
• General recommendations for eye protection for many popular sports
• A section on UV protection during sports participation and beyond
• A checklist to aid consumers in recognizing eye injuries and assessing the level of emergency assistance required
• Tips for becoming an advocate for the use of protective eyewear anywhere and anytime sports are played

“Now that approximately half of all kids are involved in at least one organized athletic activity, the need for protective eyewear has never been more urgent,” said Hugh R. Parry, president and CEO, Prevent Blindness America. “With almost all sports eye injuries being preventable, it is both tragic and unnecessary that a lack of awareness on this topic continues to exist.

“We hope that by educating adults, we are creating advocates for eye safety – on an individual and a community-wide level.”

The brochure is available to consumers through Prevent Blindness America and to eyecare professionals via the Transitions Optical, Inc. point-of-sale ordering system. It was also distributed during the Transitions Championship For Healthy Sight official PGA TOUR event at Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club, on March 16 when the focus of the Transitions “Live Your Vision” pavilion was “Sports Vision Protection.”

“When we find new ways to educate consumers, it provides opportunities for eyecare professionals to engage in more productive discussions about the importance of protective eyewear,” according to Mary O’Hara, regional giving officer and professional communications specialist, Transitions. “Education – especially early in life – is the surest way to enact long-term change in healthy eye habits.”

Complimentary copies of the “Children’s Sports Eye Safety” brochure can be requested online at www.PreventBlindness.org or www.Transitions.com/POS, or by calling Transitions Optical Customer Service at (800) 848-1506.