(PRESS RELEASE) CHICAGO — The National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health at Prevent Blindness (NCCVEH) has issued the call for nominations for the seventh 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 July 10, 2021.
The award will be presented to the recipient at the Annual Meeting of the NCCVEH to be held virtually on Friday, Sept. 10, 2021.
The award consists of a commemorative plaque, recognition and opportunity to present at the Annual Meeting. The award recipient will be featured on the NCCVEH website with an overview of their innovative approaches to children’s vision and eye health systems. An all-volunteer committee for the Bonnie Strickland Champion for Children’s Vision Award will review all nominations and select the award winner.
In 2014, the Bonnie Strickland Champion for Children’s Vision Award was established by the NCCVEH Advisory Committee to commemorate Bonnie Strickland and her groundbreaking work to establish a comprehensive system for children’s vision services in the United States. 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 an individual or group comprised of diverse stakeholders, including family/caregivers and community leaders, who are implementing changes to improve children’s vision in the United States. Nominees should be able to demonstrate an impact in one or more areas of a population health system supporting children’s vision:
- Key Stakeholder Engagement or Collaboration
- 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 inequities
- Infrastructure development at the local, state, or national level
- Making the connection between vision and overall health, early childhood development and learning
“Prevent Blindness was founded back in 1908 with the mission of saving sight in newborns,” said Jeff Todd, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness. “With the Bonnie Strickland Champion for Children’s Vision Award, we continue that mission by recognizing the amazing efforts of those today who work to ensure that children’s eyesight is a priority.”
The 2020 Bonnie Strickland Champion for Children’s Vision Award was presented to Logan Newman, NBCT, ABO, MS Ed, Program Developer and NYS Certified Science teacher, Career in Technical Experience Teacher, and founder of the East High School Vision Care Program for his innovative, educational and vocational approach to vision and eye care for disadvantaged and underserved youth in Rochester, New York.
Additional previous award winners include Anne L. Coleman, MD, MPH, UCLA Stein Eye Institute, for her work at the UCLA Mobile Eye Clinic (UMEC); the Vision in Preschoolers (VIP) Study Group; Richard Bunner, retired from the Ohio Department of Health; Sean P. Donahue, MD, PhD, Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at Vanderbilt University; the Illinois Eye Institute (IEI) at Princeton Vision Clinic; and the Pediatric Physicians’ Organization at Children’s (PPOC).
For more information or to submit a nomination for the 2021 Bonnie Strickland Champion for Children’s Vision Award, visit here, or contact Donna Fishman at dfishman@preventblindness.org.