A Practice Rooted in Its Community

Boling Vision Center has been part of the Michiana community since 1960, and the relationships we have built across more than six decades of service go far deeper than the clinical. We live here. We work here. We raise our families here. And we believe that a practice with the expertise and resources to make a meaningful difference in its community has a responsibility to do exactly that.

The community impact work at Boling Vision Center takes many forms, from the nonprofit mobile eye care unit that brings free vision care to thousands of students every year, to the charitable surgery programs that restore sight to patients who could not otherwise afford care, to the community partnerships that extend our reach into the corners of Michiana where the need is greatest.

Community Outreach Programs

The following programs represent Boling Vision Center's most direct and sustained investments in making quality eye care accessible to every member of the Michiana community.

Kindness to Prevent Blindness

Kindness to Prevent Blindness is Boling Vision Center's umbrella nonprofit program for charitable eye care in the Michiana region. Operating through five distinct branches, including the K2PB mobile eye care unit, Operation Sight, the EYLEA Assistance Program, nonprofit partnerships, and financial hardship assistance, K2PB works to ensure that cost is never the reason a person in our community goes without the vision care they need.

More than 20,000 students are reached annually through the program's school-based initiatives, and the reach continues to grow as new partnerships and expanded school district coverage bring the program to more communities across Northern Indiana.

Mobile Eye Care & School Programs

The K2PB mobile eye care unit is a custom-built, fully equipped eye care clinic that travels directly to schools across Elkhart and St. Joseph County, providing free vision screenings, medical eye exams, and prescription glasses to students in first, third, fifth, and eighth grades. More than 4,000 students are screened annually, with referred students seen on-site and equipped with glasses before they return to their classrooms.

Operation Sight

Operation Sight is a charitable cataract surgery program of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) through which Boling Vision Center's surgeons volunteer their time to perform free cataract surgery for uninsured patients who meet income eligibility requirements. For patients who qualify, it removes one of the most unnecessary barriers to clear vision: the cost of a procedure that takes less than 20 minutes and can restore independence and quality of life in ways that extend far beyond eyesight.

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ASOA EyeTalks Radio

Hayley Boling, our CEO at Boling Vision Center is featured on the latest episode of American Society of Ophthalmic Administrators (ASOA) EyeTalks Radio. Take a listen below!

Charity & Access-to-Care Initiatives

Beyond our formal programs, Boling Vision Center pursues community impact through a range of initiatives that reflect our values and our ongoing commitment to being a practice that shows up for its community in meaningful ways.

EYLEA Patient Assistance Program

For patients who depend on EYLEA retinal injections to preserve their central vision but lack insurance coverage for the medication, Boling Vision Center enrolls eligible patients in the EYLEA Assistance Program to ensure that financial circumstances are never the reason a patient goes without the treatment they need.

Nonprofit Partnerships

Boling Vision Center's Kindness to Prevent Blindness program works directly with community nonprofit organizations to provide free eye examinations and glasses to individuals living below the federal poverty level. Current partners include the Minority Health Coalition, Church Community Services, YWCA of Elkhart County, Guidance Ministries, Vista Community Health, Center for Healing and Hope, and the South Bend Center for the Homeless.

Financial Hardship Assistance

For uninsured or underinsured community members facing financial barriers to essential eye care, Boling Vision Center provides hardship assistance on a case-by-case basis. We believe that financial circumstances should never determine whether a person loses vision that could have been saved.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Boling Vision Center is proud of its beautifully diverse team and its commitment to being part of the solution in building a more equitable community. We stand with those committed to positive change and believe that a practice rooted in compassion must extend that compassion to every dimension of the community it serves.

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A Community That Gives Back to Us

The community impact work at Boling Vision Center is not a one-way transaction.

The Michiana community has given this practice 65-plus years of trust, loyalty, and support, and everything we do in return is an expression of the gratitude we feel for being allowed to serve it.

The families who have trusted us with their vision across three generations, the community partners who collaborate with us to reach the people who need care most, the donors and volunteers who make Kindness to Prevent Blindness possible, and the guests who have become part of the Boling Vision Center story over the decades are all part of a community relationship that we do not take for granted for a single day.

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Get Involved

There are meaningful ways to support the community impact work of Boling Vision Center and Kindness to Prevent Blindness.

Make a Gift

Tax-deductible donations fund free eye exams, free glasses, and the ongoing operation of the K2PB mobile unit.

Make A Gift Today

Volunteer

Community volunteers are essential to the K2PB screening program and other outreach initiatives.

Become A Volunteer

Partner With Us

If your organization serves individuals who may benefit from access to charitable eye care, we welcome the conversation.

Partner With Us

To learn more about any of our community programs or to connect with our team about getting involved, please contact our Director of Business Development, Beatrice Phillips, at 574-283-8393

Amazing Happens Here

Three generations. One unwavering standard.

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