Hope Alliance brings free eye exams, glasses to Utah students this fall

Hope Alliance provides free vision care and prescription eyeglasses to underserved communities in Utah and internationally. The Park City-based nonprofit is one of 10 Utah organizations receiving a 2026 Select Health Award. Photo: Hope Alliance

Mobile Vision Van Go clinics will visit six Park City schools and four Grand County schools, providing free exams and prescription glasses to students in need.

PARK CITY, Utah — Hundreds of Utah students will receive free eye exams and prescription glasses this fall through Vision Van Go, a mobile vision clinic operated by Park City-based nonprofit Hope Alliance.

The program will visit six schools in the Park City School District and four schools in the Grand County School District, providing on-campus exams for students referred through school vision screenings.

For some students, it will be their first comprehensive eye exam.

“I love thinking about the possibilities that come with every pair of glasses we provide to a child,” Hope Alliance Executive Director Diane Bernhardt said. “It can mean reading the words on the board clearly, seeing a teacher’s smile across the classroom, or catching a ball with confidence.”

School nurses screen students and refer those who may need additional vision care. During the clinics, licensed volunteer optometrists conduct eye exams and determine prescriptions, while trained community volunteers help operate the clinics.

Students who need vision correction receive prescription glasses at no cost. When needed, Hope Alliance provides two pairs, allowing students to keep one at home and one at school.

At Jeremy Ranch Elementary School, outreach coordinator Ketzel Morales said one student who had been struggling to identify letters improved her letter-recognition score by nearly 80% after receiving prescription glasses through the program. By the end of the school year, Morales said, the student could identify every letter and had become more confident and social with classmates.

Morales recalled another student who realized after receiving glasses that street signs contained words.

“A first grader told me after his exam that he did not know street signs had words on them until he put his glasses on,” Morales said. “That is the kind of thing that sticks with me: how much of the world these kids have been missing without even knowing it.”

Hope Alliance said its school vision clinics served nearly 300 students in 2025, with almost one-third receiving their first eye exam.

Hope Alliance is a Park City-based nonprofit that provides free eye exams and prescription glasses to children and adults who otherwise may not have access to vision care. In addition to its Utah programs, the organization operates international clinics in Guatemala, Uganda, and Mexico with licensed optometrists, trained volunteers, and local partners.