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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 1, 2004

Contact:
Charlie Padow, TCWF
(818) 702-1900

Iris Hosea, LaGrant Communications
(323) 469-8680 ext. 224

FOUNDATION GRANTEE OFFERS FREE VISION EXAMS AT LOS ANGELES TIMES’ KIDCITY EVENT

Los Angeles Eye Institute Mobile Eye Coach To Serve Youth at July Event at Pasadena Rose Bowl

Woodland Hills, CA – The Los Angeles Eye Institute (LAEI) will provide free vision screenings at the Los Angeles Times’ KidCity event at the Pasadena Rose Bowl on July 17 and 18, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The vision screenings are made possible by a partnership between the Times’ Reading by 9 program and The California Wellness Foundation (TCWF). Reading by 9 will also offer free books, donated by Scholastic Inc., to all youth who receive vision screenings.

“We are pleased to continue our partnership with the Los Angeles Eye Institute and the Los Angeles Times in this youth-focused event,” said Gary L. Yates, TCWF president and CEO. “Together, we are advancing our commitment to improving the health and wellness of underserved Los Angeles children.”

At last year’s inaugural event, more than 45,000 people attended the weekend celebration of learning and literacy, which also showcased literary and creative arts, culture and history, science and technology, and sports and health. An even larger crowd is expected this year.

“Learning to read by age nine is linked to a child’s ability to develop a full and healthy life,” said John Puerner, Los Angeles Times publisher. “The free vision screenings sponsored by The California Wellness Foundation at the Times’ KidCity event will help establish a solid basis for reading success.”

LAEI was founded in 1999 by five African-American ophthalmologists who were alarmed at the lack of access to vision care and the high incidence of preventable eye problems and vision loss among low-income children and adults in the South Los Angeles area. The founders created LAEI with the goal of preserving and restoring vision for underserved and economically disadvantaged people.

“We work to bring eye care services to the community,” said Nicholas V. McClure, LAEI executive director. “Our Mobile Eye Care Coach allows us to go directly into communities that often face obstacles in obtaining regular eye care treatment.”

LAEI’s 40-foot Mobile Eye Care Coach will be stationed at the “Neighborhood District” of the event, located on the concourse of the Rose Bowl. Youth between the ages of 5 and 21 are eligible for the free vision screenings. In addition to LAEI’s vision screenings, KidCity will feature four city-themed areas, five outdoor stages and more than 150 youth-related exhibits.

Launched in 1998 by the Los Angeles Times, Reading by 9 is a multiyear campaign designed to help kindergarten through third-grade students read at grade level in English by the age of nine. Its activities include public awareness campaigns, information resources, book drives, volunteer tutoring of struggling readers, reading incentive programs for children, and literacy leadership training for elementary school principals and volunteers.

“Research has shown that one-third of preschool age children experience vision problems,” said Lani Lattin Duke, Reading by 9 program director. “For this reason, early vision screenings are critical for youngsters to learn to read well.”

The California Wellness Foundation is a private, independent foundation created in 1992, with the mission of improving the health of the people of California by making grants for health promotion, wellness education and disease prevention. The Foundation prioritizes eight issues for funding: diversity in the health professions, environmental health, healthy aging, mental health, teenage pregnancy prevention, violence prevention, women’s health, and work and health. It also responds to timely issues or special projects outside the funding priorities.

Since its first year of operation, TCWF has awarded 3,598 grants totaling more than $438 million. It is one of the state’s largest private foundations, providing an average of $40 million in grants each year in pursuit of its mission.

For more information on KidCity, please visit the Los Angeles Times website at http://www.latimes.com/extras/kidcity/home.html.

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Note to reporters & editors: "The" in The California Wellness Foundation name is part of the Foundation's legal name. Please do not drop or lowercase the "T."