Fighting Blindness Canada (FBC) is marking World Glaucoma Week, March 12 – 18, 2023, with activities to raise awareness of glaucoma, the leading cause of preventable, irreversible blindness worldwide that impacts over 725,000 Canadians.

“While there is no cure for glaucoma, early detection and treatment can help prevent damage to the optic nerve, which can prevent loss of sight,” said Dr. Larissa Moniz, Director of Research and Mission Programs at Fighting Blindness Canada. “It is essential to have regular eye exams to monitor eye health and detect early signs of glaucoma.”

As part of World Glaucoma Week, Fighting Blindness Canada is inviting Canadians to participate in the following:

• Attend FBC’s View Point webinar: “Innovative Glaucoma Treatments” on Wednesday April 12, 2023, 3 p.m. EDT with speaker Dr. Patrick Gooi from the University of Calgary
• Watch pre-recorded View Point webinars featuring leading glaucoma experts.
• Visit FBC’s Glaucoma Resource Page and download the Glaucoma Tip Sheet to learn about glaucoma risk factors and early warning signs.
• Sign the petition to support Bill C-284 that calls for a National Eye Care Strategy; eensuring timely diagnosis and access to new treatments for people with glaucoma and other eye diseases.

Click HERE for the full press release.

Optometry Giving Sight (OGS) has opened the call for applications for its 2023 grant cycle.

OGS funds organizations that focus on optometry-centric programs including the establishment or support of optometry schools, eye clinics, vision centers, and optical labs; the delivery of eye exams and low or no-cost glasses to underserved or marginalized populations;  integrated, long-term programs with a view toward providing sustained eye care to communities; and service delivery tied to the education and/or development of optometry.

“Hundreds of millions of people around the world do not have access to basic eye care, and as a result suffer from avoidable uncorrected refractive error. The organizations and projects we support are dedicated to providing more than short-term care; they expand optometry’s reach and long-term impact. By enabling people in underserved communities to pursue education and training in this field, they are able to deliver vision care to change the lives of thousands of others for years to come,” said Lois Schoenbrun, CAE (Ret.), FAAO, OGS Executive Director, North America.

Grants average $25,000 to $45,000 USD/CAD, and can range up to $100,000. Awards are contingent upon the nature of the project, the amount of funds available, and the number and range of applications submitted. For the first time this year, OGS will consider applications for multi-year funding.

Domestic and international nonprofit organizations interested in applying for funding from OGS must complete a pre-qualification questionnaire by March 20. Organizations that qualify for further consideration will be emailed access to the full application by the end of the month. Funding decisions will be announced in July.

To be eligible for funding, organizations must qualify for public charity status under section 501(c)(3), 501(c)(6), or be a registered Canadian or international charity. For further information about eligibility and the OGS grant process, visit givingsight.org/funding.

Click HERE for the full press release.

EssilorLuxottica introduces Leonardo, a learning platform open to the vision care industry. Employees, clients, store managers, staff, and anyone from the vision care industry can learn from one single source featuring expert-curated content from EssilorLuxottica that can be tailored for every learner.

Leonardo offers an intuitive, user-friendly experience across all devices, accessible anytime and anywhere. Leonardo can tailor the learning experience based on the user’s interests and needs, becoming more intelligent over time. The platform recommends users’ interests and needs, becoming smarter, and shows the most popular learning modules among other eye professionals and employees in the “top 10” and “trending now in vision care,” tracks favourites and highlights skills that employees in an optical practice might need or benefit from.  

“We are part of this industry at a unique time, where challenges and opportunities are hurtling towards us with rapid fire. Having a digital school environment where we can learn how to better respond to those challenges and be ready to seize opportunities is critical to future growth. We designed Leonardo to be accessible not just for a small few but for every member of the vision care community. This broad “unlocking” of knowledge can help unlock the industry’s potential,” said Alessandra Senici, Head of Leonardo, EssilorLuxottica.

Leonardo delivers more than 7,000 hours of video, interactive courses, podcasts, and virtual classes in up to 30 languages. Leonardo is a community of experts and learners, offering access to quality eye care and eyewear education on eyewear collections and lens generations design and technologies, vision care, practice management, and clinical and scientific evidence-based knowledge. Moreover, the offer is enriched by live sessions and courses led by EssilorLuxottica experts and renowned external experts on myopia, presbyopia, light management, and refraction.

Leonardo will now serve as the single learning platform for EssilorLuxottica customers. The open platform can be accessed here.

Click HERE for the full press release.

Fighting Blindness Canada (FBC) is pleased to hear Ontario has approved public coverage of Luxturna® (generic name: voretigene neparvovec-rzyl). This gene therapy treatment slows and may even restore some vision loss due to inherited retinal diseases retinitis pigmentosa and Leber congenital amaurosis, caused by mutations in the RPE65 gene.

“This is a significant milestone for the vision loss community because having access to a treatment that can help slow or stop progressive vision loss is life-transforming,” said Dr. Larissa Moniz, Director of Research and Mission Programs, Fighting Blindness Canada. “Canadians who have already received Luxturna® have reported colours appearing more vivid and brighter, and improvements in night vision that give them independence.”

“While we are very pleased to hear Ontario is moving forward with public coverage, we continue to call on other provincial and territorial governments to immediately sign the agreement to cover the cost of this treatment to save sight,” Moniz added.

Ontario becomes the fourth province in Canada to approve public funding of Luxturna®, following Quebec, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. More than 40 Canadians can benefit from the one-time injection treatment.

Click HERE for the full press release.