(PRESS RELEASE) The National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health at Prevent Blindness has issued the call for nominations for the third annual Bonnie Strickland Champion for Children’s Vision Award. The Award recognizes significant efforts by an individual or group of individuals to improve public health approaches for children’s vision and eye health at the state or national level. The deadline for submission is June 15.
The award was established by the NCCVEH Advisory Committee to commemorate Bonnie Strickland and her work to establish a comprehensive system for children’s vision in the U.S. Strickland served as director of the Division of Services for Children with Special Health Needs, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, prior to her retirement in 2014.
Nominees for the Bonnie Strickland Champion for Children’s Vision Award may include individuals (such as a parent advocate, legislator, or professional) or a group made up of diverse stakeholders, including family and community leaders, who are implementing changes to improve children’s vision and eye health in the United States. Nominees should demonstrate an impact in one or more areas of a public health system supporting children’s vision:
- Key Stakeholder Engagement or Collaboration, including representation from families and diverse racial/ethnic/geographic and socio-economic levels target populations
- Training and Education
- Public Awareness
- Provision of Resources and/or Services
- Surveillance and Accountability
- Reduction of Health Disparities
- Infrastructure Development- Local, State, or National Level
The Bonnie Strickland Champion for Children’s Vision Award Committee will review all nominations and select the award winner.
The Bonnie Strickland Champion for Children’s Vision Award will be presented to the recipient at the NCCVEH annual meeting Aug. 4 in Alexandria, VA. The award consists of a commemorative plaque, recognition and opportunity to present at the Annual Meeting, and roundtrip airfare for one to Alexandria, along with one night of lodging. The award recipient will be featured on the website for the National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health with an overview of their program.
Past recipients of the Bonnie Strickland Champion for Children’s Vision Award include the Pediatric Physicians’ Organization at Children’s (PPOC), based at the Boston Children’s Hospital in Brookline, MA (2015 award winner); the Illinois Eye Institute (IEI) at Princeton Vision Clinic, based at the Illinois College of Optometry (2016 award winner); and Sean P. Donahue, MD, Ph.D., Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at Vanderbilt University (2017 award winner).
“At Prevent Blindness we believe that all children deserve an improved system to ensure that vision problems are identified early and treated in a timely manner, standards for screening and care are uniform across the country, and that appropriate surveillance and preventive interventions are in place,” said Jeff Todd, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness. “Through this award, we are able to recognize the efforts of others who are helping to put our kids on the path to a lifetime of healthy vision.”
For more information or to submit a nomination for the 2018 Bonnie Strickland Champion for Children’s Vision Award, visit https://nationalcenter.preventblindness.org/content/bonnie-strickland-champion-childrens-vision-award or contact Kira Baldonado at (800) 331-2020 or kbaldonado(at)preventblindness.org.