COMMITTED TO
YOUR VISION
A Campaign by Illinois College of Optometry
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“Committed to your vision” means more than just a commitment to our patients' eye and vision health. It means investing in every graduate’s vision of their future. It means building a future where the possibilities within the optometric profession expand, and most importantly, it means committing to the betterment of our community and our profession.
Every day we strive to continue our commitment to:
Patient Care
Patients have a right to optimal care, regardless of their ability to pay. Patient care has always been our foundation, and we want to continue that commitment by reinvesting in the clinic and several programs to meet our patients’ needs.
FOCUS AREAS
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Access for everyone – providing better care for more populations. We want to be prepared to meet current demands and to ensure that no one is turned away. Vision of Hope underwrites care for nearly 65% of our un/underinsured patients.
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Clinic updates – providing optimal care. We are committed to staying in this community and to continue serving our South Side neighbors. We want to build a a innovative space that serves our patients' needs.
GOAL
$750K
Programs
Capital
$500K
$250K
Research & Education
ICO trains and educates optometrists who change the course of our profession. Every year, we graduate leaders in the field who are ready to take on new challenges and to expand optometry’s scope. In a world where access to eye care is increasingly important, we want to commit to building and nurturing classes that serve all of our patient populations through innovations in optometry.
FOCUS AREAS
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Access for any student – expanding access and increasing socioeconomic diversity of the student body through scholarships.
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Research funding for students and residents -providing funding for students to increase participation in ICO research activities and representation at national conferences.
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A state-of-the-art research facility – allowing us to make advances that will change how we think about dry eye, glaucoma, myopia and much more.
GOAL
$1.5MM
Research Center (capital)
Scholarships & Awards
Programs
$800K
$500K
$200K
Our Community
We want to commit not only to our students’ vision of the future, but also to that of our community. By that we mean both our student community and the community at large.
FOCUS AREAS
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Student wellbeing and growth – providing a space and resources to promote personal wellbeing and mental health at every stage in their optometric journey.
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Increased representation of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color on campus – raising awareness of optometry through our newly launched White Coat Project as well as our long-established Focus on Your Future program.
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Continued support for Chicago Public School children – continuing to serve over 7000 CPS students every year and continuing to be the largest outreach program of any Chicago-area medical institution.
GOAL
$250K
Programs
Scholarships
$125K
$125K
Will you commit?
