Former Optician Is a “Hero” For His Work with Kids

The Utah man mortgaged his home to get his non-profit started.

A former optician in Utah who mortgaged his home to provide eye exams and glasses to needy kids has been featured as a hero in People magazine. Joseph Carbone closed his business in 2006, took out a second mortgage, and launched EyeCare4Kids, which has helped more than 75,000 kids. With a clinic in Midvale UT and two school-based units in Las Vegas funded by casino magnate Steve Wynn, Carbone, 71, remembers his own vision problems as a child in a family that could not afford glasses until he was 17.
“Somewhere around one in three or one in four American kids need glasses, but their parents can’t afford them,” says Carbone. “If kids can’t see what the teacher is writing on the blackboard in school, they give up and drop out. A single pair of glasses can change everything.”

Read more and see images at People