Baltimore County Public Library has partnered with the nonprofit Vision to Learn to provide free eye exams and glasses to children from low-income families to ensure they can properly see and learn ahead of next school year.

“We are delighted to offer this partnership with Vision To Learn for another year,” BCPL Director Sonia Alcántara-Antoine said in a statement. “Children who cannot see well, cannot learn, and at Baltimore County Public Library we are directly addressing the inequities that get in the way of residents’ ability to succeed and thrive. Providing free eyeglasses to children who need them is just another way the Library continues to serve the community.”

Vision to Learn will visit 12 of the library system’s from June through August, where a licensed optometrist will administer eye exams to children age 17 and younger.

Children who require glasses will be able to choose from assorted frames and an eyeglass order will be placed. The new eyeglasses will arrive about 2 to 3 weeks after the examination, at which point the child’s parent or guardian will be notified of the glasses’ arrival.

Appointments are available from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on select days. The appointment will last about 10-15 minutes, including an eye exam, frame selection, and equipment cleaning between patients.

To schedule an appointment, visit BCPL’s website.

Vision to Learn will be visiting the following library branches on these days:

Also, this weekend BCPL will celebrating the start of its Summer Reading Challenge on Saturday with a special kick off event at North Point Branch.

Listen to a storytime at 11 a.m., meet the Ravens’ Poe and the Oriole Bird from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and enjoy a musical appearance by Guava Jelly from 1-2 p.m. Throughout the event, also participate in other activities, including face painting, balloon twisters, virtual reality demonstrations, 3D printers, and free crafts with the group “(cool) progeny.”

There will also be vendors from Port Discovery, Baltimore’s Child, Department of Natural Resources, Dundalk Renaissance, Living Legacy Foundation, and Atlantic Financial Federal Credit Union.

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