History of Opening Eyes Founded by New Jersey-based optometrist Dr. Paul Berman in 1991 as a way to “simply help those in need,” Opening Eyes has provided thousands of opportunities to vision care professionals from across the world to volunteer to provide free vision screenings for tens of thousands of Special Olympics athletes. Katsuya Ito, an Opening Eyes Clinical Director; Jay Emmett, Special Olympics Board Member; and Dr. Paul Berman, Founder and Senior Global Clinical Advisor, Opening Eyes, at the 2005 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Nagano, Japan. Volunteers conducted 871 vision screenings at the Games, the results of which showed that more than two out of five athletes failed their vision test, and 13 percent had an eye disease.       In April 2005 Berman was given the Optometrist of the Year award from the World Council of Optometry (WCO). Dr. Berman was presented this award in Accra, Ghana, to honor his achievements toward WCO's mission of facilitating the enhancement and development of eye and vision care worldwide. To highlight his award, an Opening Eyes screening was conducted in conjunction with Lions Clubs of Accra and Special Olympics Ghana. Also named the 1998 New Jersey Optometrist of the Year and the 2000 Sports Vision Optometrist of the Year, Berman has been a consultant for Olympic teams and professional organizations including the NBA's New Jersey Nets, NFL's New York Giants, and the NHL's New Jersey Devils as well as on the faculty of the State University of New York, State College of Optometry and has lectured internationally on sports vision. Despite all his accomplishments, he is most proud of being the founder and global clinical director of Opening Eyes. Initially working with the Sports Vision Section (SVS) of the American Optometric Association (AOA) — Berman is a past chair of the SVS — Berman began building Special Olympics Opening Eyes. The Sports Vision Section of the AOA is a group of over 500 optometrists throughout the USA involved with the vision screenings of athletes at events such as the US Olympics Festival, Olympics Sports Festival and the Junior Olympics. The first screening conducted in association with Special Olympics was at the 1991 World Summer games in Minneapolis. At that event, 370 athletes were screened. Athletes who failed the evaluation or needed follow-up were referred to their local eye care practitioners. This initial experience highlighted the largely unmet need for quality vision and eye health care for Special Olympics athletes. The 1995 World Summer Games in Connecticut marked a turning point in the Opening Eyes program. Instead of athletes receiving only a summary sheet recommending further care, direct clinical care was provided on site. The program was expanded to include not only screening tests, but also refractions (tests to determine eyeglass prescriptions) and the fabrication of prescription glasses. Nine hundred five athletes were evaluated and 400 pairs of prescription eyeglasses were distributed free of charge. "While we are proud of getting our athletes onto the starting line in sport and in life for over 30 years, we are equally committed to getting them to the finish line. Health, including vision health, is essential to a rewarding athlete experience."      – Special Olympics Chair Timothy Shriver The experience at the 1995 World Games significantly improved the clinical care and transformed attitudes of the doctors and student clinicians who volunteered at the Opening Eyes screening. At the end of 1997, Special Olympics Incorporated assimilated this vision program into its corporate structure. The program was then known as the Special Olympics Opening Eyes Vision Health Program. It became an integral component of the Special Olympics Healthy Athletes Initiative. With the Lions Clubs International Foundation donation in 2000 that made it possible to expand Special Olympics' Opening Eyes initiative globally, the program named changed to Special Olympics-Lions Clubs International Opening Eyes. In 2002 Special Olympics was cited for the success of Opening Eyes at World Sight Day, where leaders from governmental, professional and voluntary organizations gathered in Washington, D.C., USA, to draw attention to the burden of preventable blindness in the world, raise awareness about the importance of sight and its preservation and identify effective programs and collaborations to address preventable blindness. Special Olympics Chair Timothy Shriver (then President and CEO) was recognized by National Eye Institute Director Dr. Paul Sieving and Lions Clubs International Past President Frank Moore III for his leadership of Special Olympics-Lions Clubs International Opening Eyes. "Promoting vision health and care is the motivating force for the World Sight Day partners. We stand with our partners here, and around the globe, to demonstrate our determination in making vision a public health priority," said Eve Slater, M.D., assistant secretary of health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. "While we are proud of getting our athletes onto the starting line in sport and in life for over 30 years, we are equally committed to getting them to the finish line," said Shriver. "Health, including vision health, is essential to a rewarding athlete experience."