Shady Side Academy sophomore sets sights on helping others with eyeglasses fundraiser
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A Shady Side Academy sophomore is spearheading a no-contact fundraiser aimed at assisting vision care in poor regions across the globe.
Morgan Golden, 15, is collecting used glasses to help the nonprofit Project Theia, which provides surgical care, education and other assistance in underserved communities.
“During such a difficult time in our country, it is special for our community to be able to do something positive for others,” Golden, a resident of Fox Chapel, said.
She is being helped by two friends, Lindsay Scheffler and Madelinn Kubiska, to collect used eyeglasses and sunglasses through Aug. 31. Adult and children’s sizes are both accepted.
Dropboxes are available at Beechwood Farms in Fox Chapel, Pearle Vision at The Waterworks and Shady Side Academy Senior School.
Project Theia, named for the Greek goddess of sight, aims to deliver surgical care to underserved global regions. Co-founders Katie Duncan and Jenny Yu are both fellowship-trained oculoplastic surgeons who hope to improve the lives of people with vision loss and facial deformities.
Duncan is an oculoplastics surgeon at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center (GBMC) and Yu practices medicine at both the University of Pittsburgh and Everett and Hurite.
Travels abroad have included a trip to India in 2017, where Project Theia provided reconstructive and pediatric surgeries to the Goutami Eye Institute in Andhra Pradesh.
In Kenya in 2019, members spent a week at Hekima Place, a girls orphanage and school to provide vision screenings and basic physicals.
Already, Golden’s effort has taken in about 250 pairs of glasses.
“We are so thankful for all of those who donated,” she said.
Yu, who worked with Golden to coordinate the fundraiser, said Project Theia members have seen the joy of children and adults when they realize that a pair of glasses changes their world.
“Even though our organization is more focused on surgeries, our ability to provide a pair of glasses positively affects a person’s life, especially in a child’s vision development,” Yu said.
She said it’s encouraging to see young people get involved in volunteerism.
“One person’s willingness to act towards good has ripple effects,” Yu said. “Morgan and her friends have done just that despite our current situation.”