Mobile Eye Care & School Programs

Boling Vision Center's K2PB mobile eye care program brings free vision screenings, exams, and glasses directly to schools across Michiana, ensuring that every child has the vision care they need to learn, grow, and succeed, regardless of their family's financial circumstances.

Vision Care Where Children Are

The single greatest barrier between a child with a vision problem and the care that could address it is often not awareness. It is access. A failed school vision screening means nothing if the referral for follow-up care never results in an appointment, and for families without insurance, reliable transportation, or flexibility in their schedules, that follow-up appointment is frequently the step that never happens.

The K2PB mobile eye care program was built to close that gap entirely by bringing the care directly to the child rather than asking the family to find a way to the care.

The Need in Our Community

The statistics behind the K2PB program reflect a reality playing out in Michiana classrooms every day.

One in four children has a vision problem
Sixty percent of children with learning difficulties have an undetected vision problem
Seventy percent of juvenile delinquents have an undetected eye problem
Eighty percent of information in the classroom is presented visually
When vision problems are found, an estimated forty to sixty-seven percent of students, particularly those living below the poverty line, never receive the recommended follow-up care

These are not numbers about children somewhere else. They are numbers about children in our schools, in our community, and in the classrooms where the foundation of their future is being built right now.

The Mobile Eye Care Unit

Launched in 2018 in collaboration with the Elkhart Education Foundation, the K2PB mobile eye care unit is a custom-built, fully equipped eye care clinic housed in a converted recreational vehicle. It features two examination lanes and all the diagnostic equipment needed for comprehensive medical eye care visits, and it travels directly to schools across Elkhart and St. Joseph County.

The unit was specifically designed to address the requirements of the Indiana Department of Education, which mandates vision screenings for students in first, third, fifth, and eighth grades. By meeting that requirement in the school building and following it through to actual care, K2PB transforms a regulatory checkbox into a genuine health outcome.

How the Program Works

The K2PB school program operates as a coordinated, community-supported effort involving volunteers, school staff, Lions Club members, and Boling Vision Center's own doctors and clinical team.

Step One: Community Screenings

Trained community volunteers perform school-based vision screenings for students across all four required grade levels. These screenings identify students who show signs of a vision problem and need further evaluation. Thousands of students are screened annually through this process.

Step Two: Mobile Unit Exams

Students referred from the screenings are seen by Boling Vision Center doctors and staff in the mobile unit, which travels directly to the school. With support from school nurses and Lions Club volunteers, these medical eye exams are performed at no cost to the student or their family. No transportation required. No time off work for parents. No cost at the door.

Step Three: Free Glasses

Students who need prescription glasses receive them free of charge through the program. By providing glasses in the school building alongside the exam, K2PB ensures that the entire cycle of care, from screening to correction, is completed without a single additional barrier for the family.

The Impact The numbers tell part of the story.

More than 4,000 Elkhart Community Schools students across four grade levels are screened annually through the K2PB program. Of those, the students identified as needing further care are seen, examined, and equipped with glasses before they return to their classrooms, rather than sent home with a referral slip that may never be followed up on.

The rest of the story is harder to quantify but no less real: the child who finally understands why reading has been so hard, the teacher who notices an immediate difference in a student's engagement, the parent who didn't know a solution was this close and this accessible.

Looking Ahead: Expansion

The K2PB mobile program is not standing still. Future expansion will extend the reach of the program to additional school districts across the region, ensuring that more students in more communities have access to the same level of care currently available in Elkhart and St. Joseph County.

The program also has its sights set on local businesses, bringing the mobile unit to worksites so that adults can access vision care during the workday without leaving their employer or their productivity behind.

A True Community Collaboration

The K2PB mobile program works because it is genuinely collaborative. The Elkhart Education Foundation provides the nonprofit infrastructure and community relationships.

Boling Vision Center provides the doctors, clinical staff, and equipment. Community volunteers, school nurses, and Lions Club members provide the on-the-ground support that makes the screening process possible at scale.

It is a model that demonstrates what is possible when a community's institutions decide to solve a problem together rather than wait for someone else to address it.

Support the Program

The K2PB mobile eye care program is funded entirely through tax-deductible donations and in-kind community support. Boling Vision Center doctors and staff donate their time for school visits. Every dollar contributed goes directly toward ensuring that another child receives the vision care they need to succeed.

Make a Gift

Your donation funds free eye exams, free glasses, and the ongoing operation of the mobile unit that makes this program possible.

Make A Gift Today

Become a Volunteer

Community volunteers are the backbone of the K2PB screening process. If you want to invest your time in ensuring that children in Michiana can see clearly and learn fully, we would love to have you join our team.

Become A Volunteer

Contact Us

To learn more about the K2PB mobile eye care and school program, to discuss a potential partnership with your school or organization, or to find out how to support the mission, please contact our Director of Business Development, Beatrice Phillips, at 574-283-8393.