Villa Vision sight initiative is firmly on the ball

Villa Vision has its eye firmly on the ball - after winning a top accolade for helping youngsters safeguard their eyesight.

The Aston Villa Foundation 's Villa Vision initiative won the Best Corporate Social Responsibility Project award at the 2022 Football Business Awards.

Founded by the Villa Foundation back in 2019, Villa Vision is a project which delivers eye health and awareness sessions to schools in inner-city Birmingham.

The programme is supported by Aston University through funding and optometry students who volunteer in schools, as well as Essilor, and their Vision for Life.

Essilor have equipped the Villa Vision van with the latest technology in eye screening and testing. The technology allows the Foundation to provide eye screening and eye tests whilst also giving free glasses to children who need them.

The project has been a major success, with funding provided by the Premier League and the Professional Footballers Association. Over 2,100 children have engaged through our interactive workshop, and over 1,800 children having received a vision and colour vision screening test since September 2021.

Eighty per cent of learning is done with our eyes, but children from lower income families are statistically less likely to get their eyes tested. More than 25 primary schools have received the full Villa Vision programme so far, with around 75 children having received a fully comprehensive eye test by Villa Vision.

Over 100 pairs of glasses have been prescribed and dispensed for those children requiring them, while 15 priority wards within Birmingham are covered through Villa Vision.

Guy Rippon, head of Foundation, said: “We are delighted to have won the Best Corporate Social Responsibility Project at the Football Business Awards.

“The Villa Vision project is a fantastic scheme where we tried to do something different. Villa Vision really tackles a local need and gives children the tools they need to learn effectively in the classroom, which in turn helps them with their long-term prospects.

“The project wouldn 't work without our partners Aston University and Essilor Vision for Life, and we are very grateful for their ongoing support, as well as that of the PFA and Premier League in funding the scheme. ”

Pictured: Villa Vision team