October, 28, 2025

Ferris State Optometry students, faculty and staff help elementary students be ready to learn through with vision care

Students in Ferris State University’s Michigan College of Optometry provided eye care services to 66 elementary school students as part of a bi-annual partnership with the Fremont Lions Club aimed at serving the community and helping young students be successful.

Nearly 50 pairs of eyeglasses were needed, which will be made in the Ferris State University Eye Center Optical Lab and then delivered to the children at school.

The program welcomed students from Fremont, Hesperia, White Cloud, Newaygo, and Grant visiting MCO’s Dow Interactive Learning Center and University Eye Center recently.

Students had complete eye exams performed by MCO third- and fourth-year students and supervised by volunteering faculty.

The Students in Need of Eyecare program was established in 2012 to support rural, high-poverty school districts in the region, providing children identified by the school as lacking access to eye care services with comprehensive, dilated eye examinations and complimentary glasses.

“Healthy eyes and good vision are critical to learning,” MCO professor Sarah Hinkley said. “The children receive a fun, field-trip experience exposing them to a college campus and the students and faculty of the Michigan College of Optometry use their skills to give back. Families are educated about the importance of continued local eye exams in their local communities.”

Hinkley said the program started after a conversation with her father, an elementary teacher in a high-poverty rural school district, to assist children who need eye exams and glasses but don’t have access to care because of geography, finances, or parental involvement.

The elementary students also received an opportunity to visit the university, planting the seed of a college education and some visited the Card Wildlife Center as well.

The program is funded through grants, this year from the Fremont Area Community Foundation’s Donor Funds, the Fremont Lions Club, the White Cloud Lions Club and Ferris State University Academic Service Learning.

The Fremont Lions Club makes SINE its signature program and helps to plan, organize and chaperone the program. The Michigan College of Optometry donates significant resources to make it possible.

“The program would not happen consistently without the leadership of the Fremont Lions Club, the Michigan College of Optometry at Ferris State University, and the school staff who make it happen,” Hinkley said. “It would also not be possible without the generous grant funding of the Fremont Area Community Foundation and significant financial and personnel contributions from the Fremont and White Cloud Lions.”

Members of the Fremont Lions Club and school staff assisted as chaperones. If a child needed glasses, they were taken to our University Eye Center optical department for selection. Glasses will be hand delivered to the schools after they are made.

Ferris State’s MCO is one of two optometry colleges in Michigan and the oldest, delivering personalized instruction that emphasizes practical experience. The program prepares doctoral and post-doctoral students for careers as optometric health care providers serving patients and society through its research, scholarly activity, evidence-based clinical education, and patient-centered care.

Service is a key part of the MCO mission. The on-site University Eye Center gives students early opportunities for practical experience in a busy health care setting.

The Eye Center is a full-service clinic serving university employees, students, and the surrounding community. In addition to providing comprehensive care, the UEC has specialty clinics in ocular disease, pre- and post-surgical care, specialty contact lenses, dry eye, myopia control, pediatrics, low vision rehabilitation, and binocular vision and vision therapy.

Additional information about Michigan College of Optometry programs is available here.