By Raunak Haldipur
GKB Opticals believe that the eyes are the most precious organs of one’s body and one needs to take utmost care of them.
GKB Opticals, being a stalwart in vision care and eyewear, started CSR activities in September 2014, with the objective of ensuring that every individual from the underprivileged background of the society receives equal access to eye care. However, the name Better Vision Program (BVP) has been in operation since the early 2000s when GKB used to go to schools to get eye testing done for children.
The story behind the initiative
To fulfil their objective, GKB started CSR activities based on vision correction, whereby they reach out to a number of individuals (both children and adults) belonging to the economically marginalised sections of the society and provide them free eye-screening and free spectacles if required. In partnership with schools and grass root level NGOs, GKB conducts eye-camps, based on vision correction in their project premises. In the camp, free eye-check up is provided to the target people from economically backward families and a pair of spectacles is provided to those people, who require vision correction.
The reason behind taking this initiative are some facts that GKB has highlighted in their “Better Vision Program” report. It is surprising to note that the number of people with visual impairment worldwide in 2014 was 285 million, of whom about 39 million were blind and 246 million had low vision. With 7.8 million blind people in India, the country accounts for 20% of the 39 million blind population across the globe. Refractive error is the most common cause of visual impairment, which already affects nearly 20% of the general population.
What does GKB offer?
GKB offers world-class testing facilities right at your doorstep. Individuals do not have to waste their valuable time in searching for ophthalmologists or optical shops for knowing whether they require any power correction or not. They also have a team of qualified optometrists and eyewear professionals with advanced equipment assess the power requirement of each individual. They instantly solve vision problems of individuals, counselling them to choose the right pair of glasses, as per his/her job requirement, budget and preference.
The process is really simple to avail these benefits. There is a registration, objective eye test, subjective eye test and then personal counselling.
How does this initiative work?
The Better Vision Program aims at increasing awareness regarding the importance of correct and clear vision, amongst all the members of the society so that they can experience the best vision at all times, helping them to perform maximally in their fields. BVP provides on-site eye testing, aiming to reach out to all spheres of the society through their diverse portfolio of sincere services, providing them with the best vision at affordable costs. The highlight of the program is providing instant solutions to any eye-related problem, at any location, for every individual.
The initiative is driven by a charitable awareness campaign. The awareness campaign is for corporate houses, institutions and residential complexes. In the awareness campaign, GKB provides on-site eye testing camps, education or individual counselling and guidance as well as special facilities and discounts for participants and their family members. In case of the charitable campaign, GKB provides subsidised spectacles, Better Vision Program (BVP) onsite or using a mobile van unit and also subsidised products for their range at select GKB stores. A dedicated mobile van for Better vision program helps in reaching out to the different corporate houses, residential premises & diverse institutions, no matter how distant these premises might be.
The Companies Act mandates that every company which has a net profit of over ?5 Crores or more or a net worth of ?500 Crores or more or a turnover of over ?1000 Crores should have a CSR program and should spend at least 2% of their average net profits of the last 3 years on CSR activities. Though we do not have much details of the CSR spends of GKB Opticals, they do fall into this bracket.
Featured Image Source: marcoverch on Visual Hunt / CC BY