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Foundation reports mobile vision screenings and menstrual-supply pilot; announces fundraising totals
Summary
The Foundation for Portland Public Schools told the board it funded a pilot mobile vision clinic that provided screenings, exams and upcoming prescription glasses, and installed menstrual‑product dispensers at three schools; the foundation reported recent donations totaling about $90,832 from organizations and $272,675 from individual donors.
Andy Wiseman Summers, executive director of the Foundation for Portland Public Schools, told the board on Jan. 21 that the foundation recently hosted a mobile clinic from Boston nonprofit 2020 On‑Site that provided vision screenings, eye exams and prescriptions for dozens of students at Portland schools.
Summers said the clinic ran for three days at Portland Adult Ed and other sites, and that all but two students screened required either prescription glasses or referral to an ophthalmologist. He said prescription glasses were expected to arrive any day and that the foundation is coordinating follow‑up with Greater Portland Health.
The foundation also purchased menstrual-product dispensers and pads for Deering High School, Casco Bay (the meeting site) and Lincoln Middle School. Summers said the dispensers address a barrier in which students previously had to ask a nurse for supplies.
Summers reported $90,832 in business and foundation gifts since his last quarterly report and $272,675 from 275 individual donors during the most recent appeal; donors supported funds including athletics, scholarships, Families in Crisis, and health care access.
Why it matters: The foundation’s work delivers in‑school services and small equipment pilots that aim to reduce barriers to attendance and health care access. The foundation asked the board and district to continue flagging unmet needs so the foundation can prioritize fundraising and support.
The board asked clarifying questions about the pilot sites and how nominations for the foundation’s distinguished alumni award will be publicized; Summers said nominations are due Feb. 28 and awards will be presented at the foundation’s May 14 event.
