The 2020 Perfect Vision Campaign, a partnership between the Experiences That Matter Foundation and Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine, provides free vision care for children from historically underrepresented communities in the Chicago area.
The program is one of the recipients of Northwestern’s 2024 Racial Equity and Community Partnership Grants, alongside initiatives to boost literacy, food access and more.
Led by Neighborhood and Community Relations, the program is designed to nurture partnerships between community organizations and Northwestern representatives that address the root causes of racial inequities and work toward structural change.
“By leveraging Northwestern's resources and the expertise of community organizations, we address the root causes of inequities in the Evanston and Chicago areas,” said EL Da’ Sheon Nix, director of Evanston Community Relations.
This year, 10 recipients were awarded more than $570,000 in grants ranging between $25,000 and $75,000. The funding will allow grantees to pursue projects in Evanston and Chicago related to health equity, economic and social empowerment and children and learning.
“We focus on ensuring everyone has access to the eye care they need,” said Dinai Yelverton, founder of the Experiences That Matter Foundation. “By addressing the critical issues of affordability and accessibility, our campaign tackles key social determinants of health, promoting equity and well-being within our community. This partnership means the world to us, as it empowers us to continue the vital work we were called to do.”
Thanks to secured funding through the Community Benefits Agreement with the City of Evanston, the program will be supported for at least 15 more years.
Now in its fourth year, the program has now provided 53 total grants, including the 2024 recipients listed below.
2024 Racial Equity and Community Partnership Grant recipients
Books & Breakfast is partnering with the School of Education and Social Policy’s Center for Education Efficacy, Excellence, and Equity to address the literacy gap in District 65.
The Chicago 400 Alliance and the Northwestern Public Interest Program are collaborating on the project “We Shouldn’t Have Laws We Don’t Talk About: The Registry and Banishment Archives.”
The Childcare Network of Evanston is working toward universal screening for speech and language disorders in Evanston early childhood centers with the help of the department of communications sciences and disorders in the School of Communication.
Connections for the Homeless will collaborate with the Institute for Policy Research’s Foundations of Health Research Center on a project to understand health outcomes among people experiencing homelessness in Evanston.
Evanston Latinos is partnering with Lending for Evanston and Northwestern Development (LEND) to bolster Latine economic community development in Evanston.
The Experiences That Matter Foundation, Inc. is collaborating with the Feinberg School of Medicine’s department of ophthalmology on the “2020 Perfect Vision Campaign.”
The Garfield Park Community Council is working with Food, Activity and Nutrition Initiatives at the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago to explore opportunities for food-access initiatives in the neighborhood.
Lorenzo’s House has once again teamed up with the Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease at Feinberg on “Music, Movement & Memory: Providing Access to Families Across Chicago.”
The Shorefront Legacy Center of Evanston is collaborating with Kate Masur, a professor in the department of history in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, on a project to preserve and disseminate local Black history.
Women Initiating New Directions (WIND) is teaming up with the McCormick School of Engineering and Center for Civic Engagement to help system-impacted women develop leadership and authorship skills.
