GIVE THE GIFT OF SIGHT

GIVE THE GIFT OF SIGHT, A LUXOTTICA GROUP FOUNDATION

Since 1988, initially through LensCrafters, Luxottica Group has been a frontline social leader through our family of three vision care charities focused on restoring and preserving clear vision. Through our Give the Gift of Sight and Community I-Care programs, Luxottica provides free eye care and eyewear for the needy all over the world. The Group also works to preserve vision through the Pearle Vision Foundation by funding research and education to find cures for preventable eye diseases.

This family of social programs engages the hands, hearts and minds of all Luxottica people across the globe. Their efforts transcend brands, titles and continents, making everyone part of something bigger by offering a chance to give back to the world. Through commitment comes the realization that Luxottica doesn’t just sell eyewear - it helps the world see more clearly.

RESTORING CLEAR VISION

Over 250 million people around the world suffer from poor vision because they don’t have access to, or simply cannot afford eye care. Poor vision impedes a child’s ability to learn in school and robs an adult of independence, mobility and quality of life. Give the Gift of Sight (North America) and Community I-Care (Australia) harness the energy and business expertise of people working in Luxottica - employees, associates and doctors - to give clear vision to those in need.
Give the Gift of Sight, founded in 1988, and Community I-Care, founded in 2003, provide free vision care and eyewear to underprivileged individuals in North America, Australia, New Zealand and in developing countries around the world. Together, these programs, in their international missions, domestic missions and other domestic programs, have helped more than six million people on five continents.

INTERNATIONAL MISSIONS

Each year, Luxottica employees and optometrists, in partnership with Lion’s Clubs International members, hand-deliver eye exams and recycled eyewear free of charge to underprivileged individuals in developing countries around the world. These two-week missions, staffed by 25 optometrists and volunteers, are each designed to help nearly 20,000 people. Since 1991, there have been more than 135 optical missions to 32 developing countries.

DOMESTIC PROGRAMS

Every year, Luxottica Group employees provide free eye exams and new glasses to tens of thousands of people across North America, Australia and New Zealand through our domestic programs. These programs include domestic missions, mobile eye care units, in-store programs, eyewear collection and recycling. To date, these programs have helped over three million children and adults see their world more clearly.

DOMESTIC MISSIONS

Luxottica Group employees and other local volunteers participate in missions in their home countries every year. These missions which range from a few days to two weeks, provide complete eye exams and new glasses to children and adults in need. Through 2007, 64 missions were held, helping over 68,000 children in need.

MOBILE EYE CARE UNITS

Mobile eye care units travel across North America and Australia annually providing complete eye exams and new glasses to children in need. Through 2007, they helped over 350,000 children.

IN-STORE PROGRAMS

Each year through the Vision Voucher programs, Luxottica store associates work with local agencies to provide complete eye exams and new glasses to customers deemed in visual and financial need. To date, this program has helped over 1 million people.

OUTREACH

Luxottica Group employees and affiliated doctors take their skills to those in need in the community who can not come in to our stores for service. Outreach programs include vision screenings, eyewear adjustments, cleanings and more.

EYEWEAR COLLECTION & RECYCLING

Eyewear distributed on Give the Gift of Sight international missions are collected in Luxottica Group affiliated outlets around the world, through Lions Club International and community organizations. Every pair of glasses is checked, cleaned and repaired by volunteers and prepared for distribution on international missions. To date, over three million pairs of eyewear have been recycled in the three recycle centers in Mason, Ohio (Luxottica Retail North America headquarters), Agordo, Italy (Luxottica Group Manufacturing plant), and Port Washington, New York (Luxottica Wholesale North American headquarters).

2007 ACHIEVEMENTS

Luxottica’s efforts to restore clear vision to those in need in 2007 resulted in care being provided to 779,500 people worldwide. 460,576 people were helped on our 20 international missions to Mexico (five missions), Thailand, Guatemala, and Paraguay (two missions each), Panama, Romania, Bulgaria, El Salvador, Ecuador, Chile, Nicaragua, Laos and Myanmar.
Domestically, 39,104 people were helped during domestic missions, 6,901 by mobile units, 108,604 people through in-store voucher programs and 164,135 people through OutReach programs. 965,424 pairs of glasses were recycled in the three recycle centers.

2008 GOALS

1. Providing programs that enable all Luxottica employees across the globe to get involved.
2. Creating stronger and stronger links between all Luxottica Group employees.
3. Raising awareness and encouraging participation amongst as many people as possible.
4. Fundraising amongst employees.

PRESERVING CLEAR VISION

Another important aspect of our social effort includes funding research and education that promote sight preservation. This is achieved through our Pearle Vision Foundation (United States) and monetary grants from Luxottica (Italy). Pearle Vision Foundation was begun in 1986 to fund research and education to help find cures for preventable causes of blindness. The Foundation provides research grants to support four specific focus areas: studies on diabetic retinopathy (the number one cause of adult blindness in the US), new treatments for retinoblastoma (fast-growing cancer in the eye), ways to maintain healthy vision and new, preventive methods for various eye diseases. The Foundation also supports vision education through scholarships to students pursuing a doctor of optometry degree. In 2007 in Italy, Luxottica continued to support Telethon by funding a research project conducted by Professor Alberto Auricchio at the Istituto Telethon di Genetica e Medicina on gene therapy of the eye’s photoreceptors, which are damaged by diseases like pigmentary retinitis and Leber’s congenita amaurosis.

2007 ACHIEVEMENTS

During 2007, we awarded 14 research study grants totaling $330,000. One third of the money granted supported research projects to advance the study of diabetic eye disease to help researchers to move closer to enhancing the quality of life for millions of people living with diabetes. Other areas of support in 2007 focused on research into pediatric eye diseases and agerelated macular degeneration.

The Pearle Vision Foundation also received approval from the United States Internal Revenue Service to begin the Dr. Stanley Pearle Scholarship Program. Each year, $40,000 in scholarships will be awarded to students of optometry across the United States.

2008 GOALS

In 2008, we are focused on two main goals:
1. Further funding of research on diabetic and pediatric eye disease.
2. Launching of the Dr. Stanley Pearle Scholarship Program, supporting 20 optometry students with a $ 2,000 scholarship each.

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

Our social responsibility programs tie together Luxottica employees across the globe. Employees from Europe, Australia, New Zealand, China and North America work together, through recycling efforts and international mission teams, towards a common goal of providing clear vision to those in need. During this process, associates get to know one another and learn as a global team.
Meeting people from different parts of the world and visiting different countries provide experiences that training courses simply cannot achieve. People learn to recognize and respect new languages, foods, customs and unusual cultural situations. Our missions, particularly the international ones, require intense teamwork to optimize the use of resources and time and, as a result, multi-cultural teams form relationships and learn that diversity may unite rather than divide.